This is a story about three Ford Rangers. And what my experience with those three pickups last year teaches is applicable to many vehicles. Including expensive sporty things with giant wings hung out over their butts.
The Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The big wing helps expand its limits. It doesn’t do much when the limits are exceeded.
The three 2024 Rangers were a Sport 4×4 powered by the standard turbocharged four, a Sport 4×4 powered by the 2.7-liter EcoBoost turbocharged V-6, and the studly Ranger Raptor with a 3.0-liter version of the EcoBoost turbo V-6. Of course, the Raptor is the most capable of the three. And the Raptor is, by far, the most expensive. It’s also the only one I got stuck while off-roading.
Barely off-roading too. Embarrassingly stupid.
Put a 405-hp V-6 into a mid-size pickup, mix in a long-travel suspension finished with brilliant BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A K03 tires, and, no surprise, the result is sweet awesome. Bounding over hills and dales, crawling up sandy ridges, and generally being a bold butthead is super-easy with the Ranger Raptor. It all imparts a feeling of indomitability that invites ever more risk-taking. Last May, I high-centered it on a berm that sits at the end of an access road parallel to the 101 freeway just north of Ventura, California. Not a distant far-off trail, but a berm a few yards from one of the world’s busiest freeways.
I tried rocking back and forth. I went through every electronically selected terrain mode. Putting small boulders under the tires didn’t help. I placed my body mass behind it and shoved. But it just didn’t have traction.
I called AAA… they wouldn’t go off-road with their tow rig – though it was only about 100 yards if that. I walked about a mile to a Ventura County Fire Department station just off the Seacliff exit. They couldn’t help. So, I took my iPhone and threw a Hail Mary. I posted on Facebook looking for a friend nearby who could come bail my ass out.
Facebook to the rescue.
The illusion of invincibility is a problem. In football, helmets made players feel invulnerable. Defenders trained using their heads as spears. Offensive linemen would lead with their noggins to collide with defenders. Emboldened to take big chances, in their later years too many former college, NFL, and even high school players suffer from degenerative spine conditions, generalized nerve damage, and the cruel burden of repeated concussions. That sense of being beyond risk is the worst thing about any piece of equipment.
Get behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 RS and that same superpower feeling goes right through the steering wheel into your fingers and ultimately down your spine. But here in Southern California watching tow trucks pull high-end Porsches out of the ravines along Angeles Crest highway is not a rare sight. Even a GT2 RS isn’t enough to turn a driver into Max Verstappen. And even the real Verstappen will get in over his head eventually. We can all screw up and it won’t be the car or truck’s fault.
The four-cylinder Ranger’s 2.3-liter turbo engine is rated at 270 hp and produces excellent low-end torque with 310-lb. ft at its peak. Combined with the standard 10-speed automatic transmission, it’s more than capable enough for what 90 percent of truck owners will ever do with their trucks. The standard Ranger 4×4 suspension isn’t as supple or advanced as the Raptor’s, but yeah, it’s good enough. The advantages of the Raptor’s ability compared to other Ranger 4x4s are marginal. Not overwhelming.
The 2.3-liter Ranger. It’s more truck than most of us will ever need off-road.
Crammed between the four and Raptor is the same basic truck with the 315-hp Ecoboost 2.7-liter V-6. It’s less raucous than the four, and better at highway cruising, but again, it’s only marginally better than the four and only marginally worse than the Raptor.
The 2.7-liter EcoBoost Ranger. Its additional power makes it a better cruiser. And the low-key appearance doesn’t scream “high school quarterback” like the Raptor.
What isn’t marginal are the differences in price. The crew cab 2025 Ranger Raptor starts at $57,315 before options and after a $1595 destination charge. The cheapest crew cab Ranger XL 4×4 starts at $38,755 including the same destination charge. An XLT 4×4 with the 2.7-liter EcoBoost starts at $43,730. None of these trucks are cheap, but is the Ranger Raptor truly worth $18,560 more than an XL for the way most owners would use the truck? And that’s before factoring in taxes, depreciation, insurance costs, and the additional fuel the Raptor slurps.
Yeah, the Raptor looks better, is more comprehensively equipped, and sure will get more admiring leers. But when it comes time to buy something, be honest with one’s own self.
And that goes for anyone considering a new Porsche 911. The GT3 RS is a total track beast, but as a commuter, of course, it sucks. It rides stiff, those big sticky tires wear out quickly and cost a fortune to replace, and those grip-lock racing seats aren’t so necessary when stuck in traffic. A base 911 meanwhile is still a brilliant car, very easy to live with and the standard wheels and tires might survive a first encounter with a curb.
Oftentimes, the best vehicle is the cheaper one that works well enough.
Oh yeah, the Facebook ploy worked. My friend Greg Woo came out with his old Land Cruiser and a tow strap he bought at Harbor Freight. The Raptor slid right off its skid plates. I still owe Greg for that strap.
John Pearley Huffman has been writing about cars since 1990 and is getting okay at it. Besides Road & Track, his work has appeared in Car and Driver, the New York Times and more than 100 automotive publications and websites. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara, he still lives near that campus with his wife and two children. He owns a pair of Toyota Tundras and two dogs. He used to have a Nova and a Camaro.
