RIGHT SIZED RAPTOR

Ford's quest to Raptor all of the things finally comes to the redesigned Ranger mid-size pickup. Its transformation into a powerful off-roader proves to have been worth the wait.

- Dan Edmunds

AS MUCH AS WE LOVE the Ford F-150 Raptor and its undeniable off-road prowess, it’s just too big for trails blazed by narrow four-by-fours such as Jeep CJs, Suzuki Sidekicks, or your author’s Toyota 4Runner. Two-tracks are the skinny jeans of automotive lanes, and “trail pinstriping” is a common F-150 Raptor accessory. But the Ranger Raptor is the right fit for combating this peril to resale value.

The same twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 that powers the Bronco Raptor motivates the Ranger Raptor. Because of its longer exhaust piping, the Ranger Raptor makes a little less power and torque: 405 horsepower and 430 pound-feet instead of 418 horsepower and 440 pound-feet.

That’s nothing to fret over because the Ranger Raptor’s 5498-pound curb weight is 266 pounds lighter than a Bronco Raptor’s. As a result, the Ranger Raptor gets to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds and finishes the quarter-mile in 14.1 seconds at 97 mph, beating the Bronco in both measures. More important for the Blue Oval versus Bow Tie crowd, the Ranger Raptor’s romp to 60 mph humiliates the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2’s 6.8-second effort, which is not unexpected given the former’s 95 extra horsepower.