{"id":33759,"date":"2024-11-29T23:27:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-30T03:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=33759"},"modified":"2024-11-29T23:27:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-30T03:27:00","slug":"payne-dirt-fight-ford-ranger-raptor-vs-toyota-tacoma-trd-pro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/11\/payne-dirt-fight-ford-ranger-raptor-vs-toyota-tacoma-trd-pro","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Dirt fight, Ford Ranger Raptor vs. Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro"},"content":{"rendered":"

Holly \u2014<\/em>\u00a0The North American Truck of the Year contest this year featured an impressive variety of pickups that included the GMC Sierra EV, Rivian R1T and Ram 1500.<\/p>\n

But the marquee match-up is a fight between two midsize truck icons: the Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma.<\/p>\n

The titans have both completely redesigned their vehicles for this historic showdown with multiple trim and engine options. But the headliners for both trucks are their off-road beasts, the Ranger Raptor and Tacoma TRD Pro, which show off the truck warriors\u2019 full arsenal from performance tires to tech to interior comfort.<\/p>\n

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The 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor features a strong, boisterous, twin-turbo V-6.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n

I\u2019m a juror for the North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year awards, and I spent a day with these two dirt-kickers in their natural habitat: Holly Oaks Off-Road Vehicle Park. Get ready for Detroit vs. Tokyo. Kong vs. Godzilla. Raptor vs. Taco.<\/p>\n

Ford, of course, is the undisputed king of trucks, selling over 700,000 pickups a year in the full-size segment. But like its GM brethren, it\u2019s fallen behind Toyota in the midsize game, which the Japanese automaker has dominated for the last two decades. The 2024 Ranger is a serious effort to counter that.<\/p>\n

Tacoma is Toyota\u2019s franchise truck, and its hugely anticipated 2024 model is the pickup’s first makeover since 2015 as the brand tries to keep a herd of competitors \u2014 Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Nissan Frontier, Jeep Gladiator \u2014 at bay. The brand hit it out of the park with an aggressive design, superb interior and first-in-segment hybrid powertrain for an off-road trio of models: Frontier, TRD and TRD Pro.<\/p>\n

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The 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro features the first hybrid engine in a midsize pickup, a 2.4-liter turbo-4 married to an electric motor for an impressive 465 pound-feet of torque.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

After taking a hiatus from the mid-market from 2011-18 to concentrate on its franchise truck \u2014 the full-size, aluminum-bodied F-150 \u2014 Ford is back and on the attack to try to dethrone Toyota. Along with the GM twins \u2014 Colorado ZR2 and Canyon AT4 off-road bruisers \u2014 Ford has brought the first Ranger Raptor performance model to take on the mighty TRD Pro in the U.S. market.<\/p>\n

It is a treat.<\/p>\n

You know this is a special athlete long before you wade into Holly Oaks’ formidable trails. The Raptor felt like a sportscar on 33-inch all-terrain tires on my road trip up Telegraph Road. Taut steering, solid chassis, tuned Fox exterior reservoir performance shocks.<\/p>\n

Holly Oaks\u2019 200-acre sandbox was alive on a November Saturday with ATVs, motorbikes, side-by-sides, Jeeps and Broncos. I attached my orange off-road flag, spun the rotary electronic controller to BAJA mode and charged over narrow Darlene\u2019s Ridge, its high dirt walls just inches from the truck\u2019s flanks. No worries.<\/p>\n

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The 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor has twin, front-rear lockers, reservoir Fox shocks, and 4WD to take on tough terrain.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Raptor was as precise off-road as it was on-road. Gaining confidence, I roared into Lollipop on Holly’s Back 60, the Raptor cutting through the muck like Lions’ running back David Montgomery through defenders \u2014 the front end hitting its marks, the rear end sliding into place like it was on rails.\u00a0BWAAAAGGGGHH!<\/em>\u00a0roared the twin-turbo V-6 (shared with the Bronco Raptor), a nice soundtrack for this four-wheeled off-road rock star.<\/p>\n