Playing in the sandbox with Ford Ranger Raptor Jr.

At speed on Ford Performance Racing School’s slippery track, I stabbed the brakes and rotated my 2024 Ranger Raptor into a 90-degree right-hander. The beast skittered through the mud before the 33-inch allterrain tires gripped like talons — my cue to floor the throttle across the apex before pitching the truck into an opposite, 90-degree left-hander. This is one swift predator.

Ford’s F-150 Raptor invented the off-road performance space and is the standard by which off-road production trucks are judged. But the 6,000pound, sand-eating king of the desert might be better understood as a T-Rex.

The 5,325-pound Ranger Raptor is a velociraptor all right.

Lighter and more nimble than its stablemate, the newest member of the Raptor brood is a capable — and relatively affordable — entry into the Raptor family. That includes the Bronco Raptor, the most versatile of the herd, with tools like ginormous 37-inch tires and detached sway bar. But all that hardware means Bronco Raptor tips the scales at 5,764 pounds and empties your wallet of $91K. Another T-Rex.

Up a hill into the Oquirrh Mountains, my $57,065 Ranger Raptor ($34K less than Brother Bronc, which, ahem, is the price of a 2024 Ford Mustang) carved up a deep trail before tiptoeing along a narrow ridge overlooking the breathtaking Salt Lake valley. Tiptoeing isn’t as easy in Bronco and F-150 Raptors. At over 80 inches wide, these T-Rexes legally require three amber safety lights normally reserved for heavy-duty trucks.

Can you fit that in your garage? I can’t.

I can’t wait to take Ranger Raptor through the narrow canyons of Holly Oaks north of Detroit. Or the concrete canyons of downtown Detroit. The pickup is based, of course, on the all-new Ranger, a midsize truck that will fit in your garage or your company’s parking garage, and won’t take out the ordering kiosk in a fastfood drive-thru. I say “based on” because Ranger Raptor shares Ranger’s interior upgrade including digital displays, 12-inch console screen, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, wireless charging, the works.

It also shares Ranger’s expanded wheelbase, which was ordered up with Raptor in mind. With the front axle pushed toward the front bumper, the Raptor boasts a 33degree approach angle and an elongated engine bay to fit a longer V-6 engine like the 405-horsepower, twin-turbo V-6 the Ranger Raptor shares with the Bronco T-Rex — er, Raptor.

Over a series of moguls, I pushed the Ranger a little too hard (easy to do with 405 horses at the other end of the reins) and the pickup porpoised, but with no consequence thanks to the combination of approach angle, 10.7inch ground clearance and the Raptor family’s secret sauce — live-valve Fox shocks.

An engineering marvel, the shocks quickly adapt to changing terrain. That capability offers a variety of modes from SPORT to OFF-ROAD to BAJA, with the last really loosening up the suspension for the Performance School’s punishing courses.

Owners should jump at the chance to explore the Raptor’s envelope. The Utah facility has been free to Raptor owners since 2020 (buy your own ticket and hotel, and the playground is yours for a day) and opens up to Ranger Raptor owners this summer.

Ford has made an international name with supercars like the Le Mans-winning Ford GT and Baja-winning, 720horsepower F-150 Raptor R supertruck. But it’s accessible performance vehicles like the Fiesta ST and Mustang GT— and, now, Ranger Raptor — that have endeared it to fans everywhere.

I’m partial to the latter because it’s so accessible to Metro Detroit, and because Holly is home to all manner of off-road talent including Raptor rivals like the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro and Chevy Colorado ZR2.

I arrived at the Ford Performance School the same way owners will get to work every day: via a quiet road drive. The quiet is notable compared to the Bronco Raptor, which is inherently noisy thanks to its removable roof, doors and open plastic fenders.

The Ranger Raptor’s macho, by contrast, melted into the background on my 45-minute trip to Ford’s off-road playground. I dialed the meaty DRIVE MODE controller (shared by all Raptors) to NORMAL, set adaptive cruise control to 75 mph, and followed the Raptor train.