Really cant decide....

[pkvir]

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.

Couldn't have said it better myself. The RR is truly a special vehicle that doesn't come along often.

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[Danny Dean]

My wife has been driving GT mustangs since 1987 traded her 2019 in on her 2024 RR . The only thing she misses is the sound of American muscle. She loves being able to have room for the grandkids. She says the only way she’s getting rid of her truck is if they come out with a coyote 5.0 version. I think you’ll be surprised how much you’d like it

 

[Jeffola]

I also love a twisty backroad too! My Garage Queen is a GT350, and I have to tell you, Sport mode, the shocks are stiff, for a pickup, its tight.

I'd love to use the "Raptor" features, but also, not likely. The need a Lobo with the 3.0, or use the 3.0 in the MS/RT they do in Europe. I'd drop my raptor in a second for a truck like that. But at 455hp (Ford Tune) its a flipping blast to drive

 

[DirtDerrick]

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.

I was very disappointed in the Dark Horse and needed to take night school classes to figure out all the features.

 

[Ultra45]

I bought Ranger Raptor because it ticked a number of boxes (Power, Looks, Features, It is a truck). I drove it for about 9 months and never really felt it was sufficient. It felt cheap inside comparatively. BUT... for what you get in a RR, the price is absolutely fair. If you like V8 power and sound, you will not find it with a Ranger Raptor. You find a high strung, high revving V6 with a nice sound (not a rowdy V8). Adding the Ford Performance tune will add a little more juice, but you will quickly forget what you added and be looking for more. The suspension is really nice out of the box, rides great, drive modes are fun and change the truck quite a bit. Hopefully by now you've had a chance to test drive a couple of them. For me, I missed the V8 power too much. I liked the RR but I found myself going back to my other cars more often than driving it.

 

[Lion77]

2016 GT PP with FP Stage 2 Power Pack and a few other things. Corsa cat back, RTR 19" flow formed wheels on Pilot Sport 4S 275 square setup (mix of road use and light track duty). Brembo brakes, 3.73 Torsen, BMR IRS bushings, diff bushings, front and rear adjustable bars and BMR street springs. Was going to eventually swap out the PP struts for GT350 base models struts for more damping as the PP struts could be a bit crashy.

Also had Steeda roll center correction links with the longer studs up front, so I had proper roll center at the 1.5" lower ride height, mild 1" rake. It was perfect until the stock clutch friction plate separated at the rivets around 30k....never drag raced it but drove it hard track style. Stiffer diff bushings and added power along with the clutch line issues for the manual GT's is probably what killed the factory clutch (too much shock loading).

I had the infamous "clutch pedal sticking to the floor" issue since I got it due to the stupid polymer clutch line expanding from heat during hot lapping, very frustrating. Dumb design, but FP offered a braided steel line for that reason which I upgraded to after replacing the stock clutch once it failed, leaving me stranded on a back road. I heel and toe as well, the clutch plates looked immaculate once the dealer had it apart, almost no wear or heating, 1/3 of the friction plate just broke off at the rivets!

Loved driving that car and easily topped out 4th gear on a regular basis on back roads, sounded absolutely amazing with the FP cal + Corsa.

Pros
1. Looks beautiful
2. Great linear power delivery and able to achieve lateral acceleration of +1G
3. Fun to drive fast and also the comments are good conversation starters at gas stations, events and family gatherings.

Cons
1. Truck-like gas mileage (17.3 mpg)
2. Absolutely useless in bad weather, even a big rainstorm was harry because wide tires like to hydroplane, even the top tier road tire like the Pilot Sport 4S. Forget snow!
3. Constantly worried about rock chips, potholes and other road hazards.
4. Soft tire compounds picked up road debris easily, had to plug a nearly brand-new tire 1 month after I had them installed, cost me $1300 a set of tires that only lasted 30k...
5. ONE TRACK DAY will burn up a brand new $1300 set of tires.....you need to also re-do the brakes, oil and diff fluids. So, a single-track day is realistically a $2400 venture and that's if you don't' break something (mean a actual road course, not auto x).
6. So low to the ground, I couldn't get into some parking garages due to zero approach and breakover....
7. Interior had very little space, back seats could only fit children's and average sized teens, maybe an average sized adult for short trips (15~30 min down the road at most). Trunk was OK for a car, but pretty limited overall.

Eventually traded that in for my wife's CX-9 as we needed a family car and got my Mazda 3 for daily driving, excellent chassis and not too far behind the mustang in handling dynamics, but nowhere near the power, great on gas (get high 30's to low 40's in summer cruising at 60).

Enter the RR as my fun vehicle / UTV. Checks all the boxes and I'll actually start with the cons.

Con's
1. Cost 2x what the mustang did.
2. Gas mileage sucks compared to a more pedestrian Ranger or light SUV, but is actually quite good for a 5,400 lb off-road truck (i've gotten up to 20.8 MPG on a 135 mile trip, mostly highway, cruising at 78 mph).

Pro's
1. Eats potholes and road debris for lunch.
2. I can drive through ditches to get into my driveway and do so on a regular basis in the summer when grass doesn't get too turfed up...
3. Climbs up 30 degree rocky dirt hills like a champ
4. Jumps well at 84 mph...
5. Hauls my daughter's boy friend's car that broke down up 20-degree grades with 4 passengers + 700 lbs of cargo with surprising ease and on the highway at 75 MPH I still got 16.8 MPG towing it!
6. Fills the performance car itch with 455 HP (Pro Cal tuned under warranty, stock otherwise)
7. May not hit anywhere near 1G in a corner, but it's predictable and does pretty well for an off-road truck on off-road oriented tires, handling is very tight for a truck, including steering, the 4-link + Watts coil over rear end feels almost like a big IRS
8. Deep snow is something I actually WANT TO GO DRIVING IN NOW!
9. Water fording / mud pits I couldn't walk through are also fun (aside from all the work hosing it off after).
10. Hauls family and all their crap with so much ease, I can just throw it all in the bed and the cab is roomier than our CX-9 we just traded in for a CX-50 (no longer need the 9 as the do-it-all family car for trips / camping, now use the RR).
11. It does ALL the boring truck stuff like a truck.
12. I don't care if it gets a few dings, dents and minor scratches so long as it's not hugely noticeable, where I cringed at every little rock chip in the Mustang.
13. The 10R60 is far more reliable than the Chinese made manual Getrag in the GT (German company, also used by Toyota, but made in China). The 10R60 has its limits with big power, but I don't expect failure at 30k with just a FP Pro Cal either, I think with just a Pro Cal I can get 150k before a re-build as I'm not drag racing it.
14. I like my little hungry looking dino buddies in the front dash.

# Raptors Eat Ducks.

Also, if you really wanted to, you could buy a RR, swap out the tires / wheels for road setup, lower it and make it into a sport truck. You get AWD (4 Auto) and a hot rod engine no other mid-sized truck currently has, plus the watts rear end is ideal for performance, off-road and on-road in live axel setups. It has a LOT of potential for a really cool road focused sport truck too!

Tropher (youtuber that does auto reviews, including for Ford), stated he could take on-ramps at higher speeds with his RR than with his Explorer ST just after swapping to road-oriented tires. For road uses, the K03's really aren't good at corners due to the large blocky and widely spaced shoulder blocks (great for off-road), that's the biggest cornering impediment even with stock suspension.

Throw in some 3-position front and rear bars etc...lots of possibilities for a sport road truck.

 

[Lion77]

One more thing, sorry for the stupid long post, but there's a lot to say about it. I just like driving the RR, period. I don't even need to be hooning it, it just has a fun to drive personality, like my Mazda's. So even more mundane things, it's a joy and a rare thing for a pickup truck!

 

[purdyd]

Honestly I think my 2.3l Ranger is a lot of fun to drive and has a pretty good kick.

I think the 2.7l 2 wheel drive would be the sportiest street truck stock

the problem I see with the raptor is the weight.

i wonder what the raptor would weigh with lighter wheels and without out all of the panels underneath?

I see plenty of street raptors in my neighborhood so I wouldn’t worry too much about whether opyou would use all off road features.

 

[Lion77]

I think more of the weight comes from the suspension. Instead of a tube axle and leaf springs, you have a 4-link + Watts on a heavily reinforced axle that I'll bet weight nearly 2x as much as the standard ranger tube axle. I would also expect the coil spring + remote reservoir rear shocks also considerably outweigh leaf springs + struts.

You might be able to shed 150 lbs if you got rid of the skid plates + used street tires and lightweight wheels, but reworking the whole suspension? Not worth the cost at that point, so it's going to be a heavy truck no matter what by it's nature.

At the end of the day though, a FP Pro Cal + Intercooler with just street tires and lightweight wheels gets you into the low 13's, that's plenty fast for a truck and there aren't many factory trucks that fast unless you go EV like the Ford Lightning which is a street focused muscle truck (just not gas powered obviously).

2025 Ford F-150 Lightning Flash Is Going Fast

A lightly modded RR would be close in quarter mile, but not quite as fast as the Lightning. But it would out-handle the heavy F-150 EV. I know it's not really an apple to apples, EV vs. TT Gas V6, Full Size vs. Midsize, but they are somewhat close in price as the Lightning has a 65~67k MSRP, so close to the RR's competitors like the Taco Trail Hunter or ZR2 Bison.

If an EV road truck makes some sense, might be an option for non-daily use, but I think EV's have to many limitations for long trips, especially towing. So, if it's a weekend toy, I'd give it a serious look. If you want something more suitable for long trips and more frequent use, I still think a modded RR street muscle truck is a decent consideration.

Other option might be a XLT / Lariat 2.7L with a Pro Cal. That's still 350 hp, lighter truck overall and more street focused suspension, plus you can still tow 7,500 lbs. The 2.7L is no slouch.

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