It’s easy to admire and fall in love with the Ford F-150 Raptor, but its width and size aren’t suitable for some off-road trails. This high-powered F-150 dominates the wide open spaces, but when you need something smaller but still built to tackle the tough and tight trails, the Ford Ranger Raptor is the off-road truck for this purpose.

Many trails were carved by narrower vehicles

It’s disconcerting to arrive at a trailhead and know you can’t explore it because your truck is too big. The F-150 Raptor required commercial truck clearance lights, just to give you an idea of how big this off-roader happens to be. A more appropriate choice for many of the two-track trails has to be the smaller Ford Ranger Raptor. Many of these tighter trails were blazed by narrower machines like the Jeep CJs and Toyota 4Runner models.

The new Ranger Raptor isn’t a narrow midsize truck by any stretch of the imagination. It’s only 0.1 inches narrower than a regular F-150 at the fenders. This makes it much wider than the regular 2024 Ford Ranger but much narrower than the F-150 Raptor.

How wide is the 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor?

The Ranger Raptor is 79.8 inches wide, which is 4.3 inches wider than the regular Ranger. This extra width enables the long-travel suspension to do its magic and provide ample wheel articulation for some serious off-road adventures.

How does this width compare to the venerable F-150 Raptor? The Ranger Raptor is 6.8 inches narrower than the larger truck, making it more agile and capable on tighter trails.

Does the Ranger Raptor have enough power?

You wouldn’t expect the smaller off-road-focused truck to have the same power as its larger sibling, but maybe it has the same powertrain as another proven off-roader. The Ford Ranger Raptor has the same 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine found under the hood of the Bronco Raptor.

This engine gives the midsize truck 405 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque. That’s a little less than the Bronco Raptor, which delivers 418 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque to the wheels. This power difference is offset by the slightly lower weight of the midsize truck, which weighs 392 pounds less than its SUV counterpart.

Modern cabin elements for the modern off-road adventurer

The Ford Ranger Raptor is the top model in the lineup. Its packed with impressive interior design, tech, and control elements. This midsize truck has:

• Dual gloveboxes
• Bang & Olufsen audio system
• 12.4-inch vertical touchscreen
• Supportive and comfortable sport seats

Looking to the rear, you’ll see a five-foot bed behind a crew cab. This makes it easy to carry plywood and drywall during the week. The bed also features outlets and under-rail lighting to make this truck useful at a jobsite. Unfortunately, the bed step of the regular Ranger is not part of the Ranger Raptor equipment.

Although the desert seems like a wide open space, some of the most popular and fun trails run through narrow canyons. The Ford Ranger Raptor is a much better truck for exploring some of these narrow paths than the much wider F-150 Raptor.

Source: Car and Driver