2024 Ford Ranger Raptor vs Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro: Which Mid-Size Off-Roader Wins The Battle?

With the new, redesigned 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor and Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro hitting the streets (and trails), a new battle has emerged.

For quite a few years, Toyota had the mid-size pickup market mostly to itself – save for the Nissan Frontier, anyway. Regardless, the Tacoma has long dominated the sales charts and enjoyed little competition, at least until the Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon debuted, while Ford brought the Ranger back in 2019. Now, the mid-size truck wars have really heated up with all of these models getting redesigns recently, while the debut of the 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor in the U.S. brings the high-performance off-roader to that country for the very first time.

This arrival also means that the recently-redesigned 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro has some serious competition for once, and in spite of its many updates, it isn’t quite as hardcore as the 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor on paper, at least. Regardless, we wanted to take a closer look at how these two trucks stack up, because depending on who one asks, Toyota may or may not be working on something that more directly competes with the Ranger Raptor.

Powertrain

As most are well aware by now, the 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor is powered by the twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6, which in this guise pumps out 405 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque, flowing to the wheels via the 10-speed automatic transmission. On the flip side, the Tacoma TRD Pro utilizes the fairly new 2.4-liter inline-four iForce Max hybrid setup, which generates 326 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque and is mated to an eight-speed gearbox. With the Ranger Raptor winning the horsepower battle but giving up a bit of torque to the Tacoma TRD Pro, it’ll be interesting to see how these perform in the real world, that’s for certain.

Towing and Payload

The Ford Ranger Raptor offers customers 1,411 pounds of maximum payload capacity and 5,510 pounds of max towing, while the Tacoma TRD Pro gets superior ratings of 1,709 pounds in terms of payload and 6,000 pounds of towing capacity – which is notable for those that plan on using their trucks like, well, trucks.

Suspension

There are some similarities in terms of suspension setup between these two trucks, chiefly the fact that both rely on a solid rear axle and a front setup with control arms and coil springs. However, the Ranger Raptor gets some special equipment in the form of the excellent Fox 2.5-inch live-valve adaptive dampers, with inverted remote-reservoir units in the rear, a Watts linkage, and four trailing links. Meanwhile, the Tacoma TRD Pro “gets by” with Fox 2.5-inch QS3 dampers with a mere three levels of manually adjustable compression damping, four trailing links, a Panhard rod, and Fox IFP hydraulic rear bump stops.

Off-Road Goodies

The 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor boats 33.0 degrees of approach, 26.4 degrees of departure, and 24.2 degrees of breakover angles, along with 10.7 inches of ground clearance, plus locking front and rear differentials, Trail Control, Trail Turn Assist, and Off-Road, Rock Crawl, and Baja off-road drive modes. Meanwhile, the Tacoma TRD Pro offers up approach and departure angles of 33.8 and 25.7 degrees, a breakover angle of 23.5 degrees, 11.0 inches of ground clearance, a Terrain Management System with Crawl Control, a rear locker, and front anti-roll-bar disconnect. Both trucks get 33-inch tires, with the Ranger utilizing 17-inch wheels and the Tacoma TRD Pro riding on 18s.

Pricing and Availability

In a world where the Bronco Raptor starts out at nearly $90k and an F-150 Raptor will set you back nearly as much, the 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor is a bit of a bargain with a starting price of $55,365, sans destination and delivery. Production of the new model is already underway, though it currently being impacted by the ongoing UAW strike.

Meanwhile, Toyota hasn’t yet announced pricing for the 2024 Tacoma – which is set to launch next spring – though the TRD Pro figures to be at least a little more expensive than the outgoing model, which starts out at $48,035. Depending on that – plus driving characteristics both on the road and off – we’ll soon know which of these off-road-focused mid-sizers definitively comes out on top. But for now at least, the TRD Pro – in spite of its many improvements – doesn’t quite have all of the cool tech and upgrades present on the more hardcore Ranger Raptor.

Photos: Ford, Toyota

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Brett Foote

Brett Foote has been covering the automotive industry for over five years and is a longtime contributor to Internet Brands’ Auto Group sites, including Chevrolet Forum, Rennlist, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts, among other popular sites.

He has been an automotive enthusiast since the day he came into this world and rode home from the hospital in a first-gen Mustang, and he's been wrenching on them nearly as long.

In addition to his expertise writing about cars, trucks, motorcycles, and every other type of automobile, Brett had spent several years running parts for local auto dealerships.

You can follow along with his builds and various automotive shenanigans on Instagram: @bfoote.