Really cant decide....

[19Bullitt]

Hi, I'm new. Driven Ford for the last 26yrs, mostly Mustangs, which is what I have now.

I'm starting to need something that can seat 4 adults occasionally, has some more room to carry stuff and be great to take camping. Personally, I feel that a Ford Everest would be perfect for me but sadly they are not sold in the US. That leaves me with Ranger as I don't like the new Bronco at all, and the 2.0 in the Bronco sport just isn't what I'm after, if it had the 2.3T then maybe.

I'm hoping some of you also made the same move from Mustang to Ranger as I'm finding myself conflicted with a few things and can't afford two vehicles. So, I'll be giving up the Mustang for what I purchase.

Power
I love power. Right now, my Mustang is just over 500 crank, just mild mods and a tune on it, and I'd LOVE the 3.0 in the Raptor to tune and get some more power out of, likely just the Ford Performance tune would be enough, but the bigger problem to me is...

Handling
I love taking corners on twisty backroads more than anything else and feel like I'd make 0 use of the Raptors offroad capabilities and if anything, I'd likely rather make it a bit lower to enjoy twisties, fully defeating the main point of the Raptor.

That leaves me with the Lariat but I'd have to "settle" for the 2.7L, and loose some of the diff features and the Auto 4x4 option which would probably be nice to haves in deeper winter snow.

I'd love any feedback, or even other options of what vehicles may fit my needs/wants better. I'm not "locked into" Ford, it's just that they have the local dealer network I know best and have been able to trust when issues came up. I also really like the looks of the Ranger as a person that finds most trucks/SUV's really ugly.

Thanks.

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[03GeeTee]

I went from a supercharged mustang GT to a 3.5 ecoboost f150, and now a 2025 ranger with the 2.3

Maybe it's just me getting older, but the less power/ speed doesn't bother me in the slightest. I used to hit 100+ mph on a daily basis in my mustang and now I don't think I've floored the gas pedal a single time in the 1.5 months I've owned my Ranger.

It's so much nicer to be in a truck and able to hop a curb or drive through some water or other obstacle when necessary vs having to baby the mustang. Especially in bad weather.

 

[pkvir]

The handling with the Ranger Raptor is pretty good with the Watts Link Suspension, and it's surprisingly fast. Go drive one and you'll want one. I'm coming from a Dark Horse Mustang.

 

[donkey]

You’d be surprised how good the truck is in sport mode lol

 

[19Bullitt]

I went from a supercharged mustang GT to a 3.5 ecoboost f150, and now a 2025 ranger with the 2.3

Maybe it's just me getting older, but the less power/ speed doesn't bother me in the slightest. I used to hit 100+ mph on a daily basis in my mustang and now I don't think I've floored the gas pedal a single time in the 1.5 months I've owned my Ranger.

It's so much nicer to be in a truck and able to hop a curb or drive through some water or other obstacle when necessary vs having to baby the mustang. Especially in bad weather.

Bring up a good point, I kind of taught myself to find those things fun but maybe I can teach myself to find other things fun.

 

[19Bullitt]

The handling with the Ranger Raptor is pretty good with the Watts Link Suspension, and it's surprisingly fast. Go drive one and you'll want one. I'm coming from a Dark Horse Mustang.

Maybe I'm over thinking it, honestly most my truck experience is with occasionally having tomorrow my dads older F-250/350, but in my head, trucks/SUV's still can't handle well and roll easily.

Maybe I'm just wrong.

 

[daytoncarter]

The Raptor is quick for a truck, especially in sport mode, but don't let anyone lie to you—it is not a corner carver. I've driven them; the handling is safe and competent, but the body roll, understeer, and tall tires will kill the fun on twisty backroads compared to your Mustang.

Have you looked at an Explorer ST? It’s arguably closer to what you think the Everest is. The Everest is body-on-frame (just a Ranger SUV), so it would handle like a truck. The Explorer ST is unibody, RWD-biased AWD, has the same 3.0L twin-turbo (400hp) as the Raptor, seats 4 adults comfortably, and is tuned specifically for the street, so it won't wallow in corners.

Side note: If you absolutely need more off-road capability for camping, look for the 2026 Explorer Tremor (just arriving/ordering now). You can option it with the same 400hp ST engine. It sits higher on all-terrain tires, so it won't handle corners as well as the ST, but it's a beast off-road without being as compromised as a pickup truck.

 

[richman555]

Buy a 2.7 6 Cylinder Sport model and save a little money. With the money you have saved you could trick out the wheels and tires etc to be more on road worthy. See if one is available for a test drive and see if thats enough juice for you.

 

[Ranger43931]

Personally think the 4A and engine make RR worth it even if you don't plan to use the off-road stuff. Especially as a loaded lariat with upgraded engine isn't even much cheaper than a RR.

My garage is a Ranger Raptor, a 2009 mustang Bullitt, and a 2.0 bronco sport badlands. All complement each other well, the badlands broncosport is the perfect all around city / pacific-northwest in terms of parking, mileage, awd, fireroad capability, as long as adults are on the average size or smaller.

 

[Buellsox]

Daytoncarter makes a good point - the RR rips! It’s what I have…with the tune, Borla exhaust, intercooler, stage 1 charge pipes, & it breathes better so it rips even better then it did. I truly LOVE IT! Buuuuuttt on the road those 33” BFG’s and the off road tuned suspensions limits can be felt in a hurry especially as quick as this thing is. You should still definitely take a look / test drive in one though.
The good point being the suggestion on the Explorer ST. Think about it….its basically the consumer version of the state patrol & city cop Explorer that you see everywhere. And they beat the piss & rally the crap out of those Explorers. Pick a cops brain sometime if you want to know about its performance. They usually like talking about anything besides cop BS. Lots of tune, exhaust, & performance options for that platform as well. Plus they look pretty slick in all black or the white w/black rims. Just another option. Might even be lowering kits out there for those things-no idea.

 

[25BlackRaptor]

Drove the 2.7v6, drove the RR.. took home the RR instantly . I felt like the 2.7 would always leave me wanting more.

Did the same with my wives car... got the explorer ST...

Bottom line. Don't settle.

 

[embedded rock]

After 26 years of pickup trucks (mid-size, half-ton, and 3/4 ton), I bought a Wrangler JLUWX last year. Really like that vehicle, but I never planned to own it past the 3yr/36k mile warranty. It was fun. Went a lot of places off pavement. The rotting doors and failing cams and head gaskets make it a problem down the road. So, what now? Back to a boring pickup? Gee whiz. Fortunately, I was in the Colorado mountains and Moab desert area, this September, with an ol' Army buddy who brought his RR. That truck went places. Twice, no more than a few times, it took some micro managing spotting to get it through an obstacle, and it did. With 24k on my '24 JLUWX, I traded for a RR. No other pickup was considered.

 

[nhdataguy]

Owned a Exploder ST , very nice, I wouldn't say I would have taken it off roading though ...More of a mall crawler / dirt road wannabe. Now have a 2.7 lariat, would have stuck with XLT but seriously Actual; ignition key lock ? The locking diff is useless in almost all fords, They need a posi option, only used the locking diff in the driveway once on a f-150. The power between the RR and lariat is significant, but you have to be able to handle the fugly interior. Was only 10K between RR and loaded lariat ... I average 21 on the highway at left lane NNE 95N speeds for hours at a time weekly, get 13.5 towing the enclosed V-Nose sled trailer and lawn tractor on a 14' garden trailer ... Not too shabby ... very impressed with the ranger in the last storm but 4L is weird ... Very loud? Not like F-150 4L ...Drive Both, You cant go wrong with either ... The ST does at least 140 ... Ranger not so much , but is comfortable doing low triple digits all day ...

 

[danmoochie]

To me the best option would be the FX4 for the added off road, the 2.7 which is nearly as FAST as the 3.0 RR, and since you don't need the other desert racing features of the RR, it's the perfect blend, plus you get more towing and hauling capability. I have had both, a 24 RR and now a 25 FX4 with the 2.7 and to me it's the right truck.

 

[Flak]

RR is so far the most fun vehicle I've ever owned, including over the 15 Mustang I owned and other sports cars.

Perception of speed/road/capability/road feel/etc. are more important than raw numbers for day to day experience. The Raptor feels more like a sports car than a sports car does in 2025, especially when bombing down dirt roads. Actually having suspension travel and some feedback from the body vs "muh Nurburgring" setup cars that use I beams for shocks.

No doubt there are many faster, more capable, better numbers vehicles out there for any particular category and if you have no budget that goes to infinity. But most of them are sterile feeling these days. RR is still "active" in ways that I've long since seen disappear in other vehicles, but it's still very capable out of the box numbers wise.

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