Ford Built The Ranger Raptor To Put The Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro On Notice

If you follow anything to do with pickup trucks, you’ll know that one of the most respected names on the market is the Toyota Tacoma. It is near indestructible; it can tow well; it now boasts a very impressive hybrid powertrain; and in a lot of its variations, it is built to tackle the rough stuff with some grace. Nothing can be more relevant than when discussing the 2025 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro, Toyota’s latest creation in dirt-munching mastery.

But, it is not alone in its field, and there is an American off-road specialized truck that has been released this year, which is causing a huge problem for the Japanese stalwart. Produced by Ford, this off-roading menace is giving the TRD Pro all sorts of problems, and we are here to see this kind of competition between two of the best off-roading pickup trucks ever conceived.

To give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from Ford and Toyota, and other authoritative sources, including J.D. Power, and Fuel Economy.gov.

The New Ford Ranger Raptor Steps Into The Ring

With one engine option, one cab/bed configuration, a crew cab with a five-foot bed, and a starting price of $56,070, it is this year’s Ford Ranger Raptor that is acting as the off-roading pest to the TRD Pro. Built with a body-on-frame construction, a responsive and low-end grunting engine, bags of off-roading features, a built-tough demeanor, and desert-flattening capabilities, these are all part of Ford’s smug plan to ruin Toyota’s day on the dirt and sand.

Built To Thrash The Dirt And Sand

You may think of the Ranger as a sort of pseudo F-150 Raptor, but it is, in fact, its own very impressive entity. Yes, they share some of the same off-roading gear and both boast a body-on-frame construction, but the smaller, lighter Ranger Raptor brings a whole different kind of nimbler off-roading fun to the party. The 2025 F-150 Raptor weighs in at 5,863 pounds, while the 211-inch x 86.9-inch x 75.8-inch Ranger Raptor is comparably featherweight, with a curb weight of 5,325 pounds. That means more speed and easier desert sprints.

While both ride on fully-boxed steel frames, the Tacoma rides on the TNGA-F platform, and the Ranger rides on the T6 platform, the suspension setup on the Ranger is more extreme and arguably more suited to a more raucous off-road experience.

What makes the Ranger Raptor a formidable animal off-road is its almighty list of equipped features that give it all sorts of protection and capability. It comes equipped with full-time four-wheel drive, an electronically controlled two-speed transfer case, which adapts to get you over anything, locking rear and front differentials, extra-large wheel arch flares, which house standard-fit all-terrain tires on 17-inch aluminum wheels or optional 17-inch beadlock-capable ones, reinforced front and rear steel bumpers combined with heavy-duty front and engine bash plates, and a 360-degree camera, so you can see what is going on below and around you.

Power And Speed That The TRD Pro Struggles Against

That is not where it ends; you also get quite the catalog of selectable drive modes (Normal, Sport, Slippery, Rock, Crawl, Sand, Mud/Ruts, and Baja).

The Baja mode is the one you want when you’re pinning it over the desert; it adapts engine, suspension, turbo, and throttle responses so you can hit it as hard and fast as possible, while Ford Trail Control also helps by acting like an off-road cruise control and takes care of low-speed throttle and braking. All of that is before even mentioning the torquey and powerful V6 under the hood. The Ranger Raptor is undeniably rapid for its class, and there are multiple sports cars that have similar rest-to-60 times to it.

The Ford Performance-tuned 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 under the hood is responsive and very useful, and features a compact graphite-iron cylinder block, which brings ultra-strength and stiffness compared to iron blocks; it boasts a twin-scroll turbo paired with a race-bred anti-lag system (used when in Baja mode to keep the turbos spooled up after you take your foot off the gas), and it is mated to a performance-tuned 10-speed auto box.

The Tacoma TRD Pro Fights Back

This year’s Tacoma TRD Pro is no wuss off-road by any means. But, it does have a higher starting price of $64,315, its engine isn’t as powerful, and it arguably isn’t as off-road-able as this year’s Ranger Raptor. Where the Tacoma TRD Pro fights back against the Ranger, though, is in its everyday suitability mixed with off-road prowess. Namely, it is equipped with a frugal-for-the-class i-FORCE MAX turbo-four that can still wind out a meaty amount of torque.

Hybrid Muscle That Levels The Field

The Tacoma TRD Pro is also a mid-size pickup truck, but it is slightly bigger than the Ranger Raptor (214.2 inches x 79.9 inches x 75.8 inches), though it is lighter (5,100 pounds, which probably has something to do with the inline-four instead of a V6).

Despite its extra inches, it can still shift while being relatively frugal on gas. It isn’t as fast as the Ranger to 60 MPH, but its engine can wind up more pound-feet of torque, it has a very slightly higher top speed, it can tow more, and it can muster a combined MPG rating of 23 MPG compared to the Ranger Raptor’s 17 MPG combined.

Off-Road Gear Built For Real Adventure

Ford has thrown the whole book at the Ranger Raptor, and it really is an impressive off-roading beast. But that doesn’t mean that the Tacoma TRD Pro is not good for it, either. It also comes equipped with a huge number of features that make it a formidable foe on the trails and across the sand, which include:

• Electronically controlled locking rear differential.
• Stabilizer Disconnect Mechanism (SDM).
• 33-inch Goodyear all-terrain tires.
• Aluminum front skid plate.
• Rock slider protection.
• Multi-Terrain Select (Dirt, Sand, Mud, Rock, Snow, and Auto).
• Crawl Control.

The Tacoma TRD Pro also comes equipped with a higher payload capacity, which can be useful if you are a fan of overlanding, but we think the real test comes from what can be done off-road and how both the Tacoma TRD Pro and Ranger Raptor are set up to take on the rough stuff.

The Off-Road Showdown: Ranger Raptor Vs. Tacoma TRD Pro

Yes, both models do have very comprehensive lists of off-road features that make them both some of the best factory-built off-roading vehicles this year, but where the differences between the two become especially apparent is in the suspension and chassis that are utilized.

Suspension Wars: Who Soaks Up The Rough Stuff?

This year’s Tacoma TRD Pro features FOX QS3 internal bypass shocks that boast rear remote reservoirs and adjustable compression, paired with TRD-tuned suspension, a 2.5-inch front lift, and a 1.5-inch rear lift. So there is no reason why you can’t floor it over the rough stuff or crawl up a steep, rocky bank, but the Ranger Raptor, we think, has got it in the bag.

While both ride on fully-boxed steel frames, the Tacoma rides on the TNGA-F platform, and the Ranger rides on the T6 platform, the suspension setup on the Ranger is more extreme and arguably more suited to a more raucous off-road experience. It comes equipped with a forged aluminum double A-arm front suspension paired with a Watts-link rear setup with trailing arms, which gives you some ultra-control over rugged terrain, while 2.5-inch FOX Live Valve shocks, which adjust in real-time to the terrain you are driving over, give you a smooth and composed ride.

Ground Clearance, Grip, And Guts

The 2025 Ranger Raptor boasts 10.7 inches of ground clearance, which is bolstered by long-travel suspension, while the front and rear lock diffs and two-speed transfer case do their job in providing some über traction over the loose stuff. That, combined with the optional beadlock-capable wheels, means that, within reason, it doesn’t really matter what kind of surface you are on; you’ll get over it.

The Tacoma does have a higher ground clearance (11.5 inches) and better approach, departure, and breakover angles, very good wheel articulation, and 18-inch wheels that are wrapped in Goodyear all-terrain tires, so, in essence, it is very well suited for slow, careful crawling over rocky terrain.

Why The Ranger Rules: More Power And An All-Round Off-Road Performance Setup

This is where the “but” is, though. We think the Raptor rules the roost. The Tacoma TRD Pro is by no shadow of a doubt an awesome off-road pickup truck, and the frugal hybrid mill, higher towing capacity, SDM, and slightly higher top speed are all things to love about it, but it just doesn’t seem as off-road-performance-oriented compared to the Ranger Raptor. Or, maybe it is just not as extreme off-road and is more careful.

Yes, the TRD Pro is very good for everyday use mixed with cutting it up over the rough stuff and through the sand, but the Ranger Raptor boasts a longer suspension travel, the engine is more handy to speed, it has more off-road speed poise, it is cheaper, rest-to-60 times are sedan-like, the live suspension is very useful over constantly changing terrain, and, at the end of the day, if you are blasting over a desert at 70 to 80 MPH; does it matter that the TRD Pro can eke out a couple more miles per hour at the top end?