Hey North America, were you waiting for the Ford Ranger Raptor? Like most good things the Blue Oval hands out freely to the rest of the world as if they were more deserving than the customers who made them what they are today here in the States, Ford has once again said no- at least for now. Instead, we will get Raptor-Lite or rather the Ranger Tremor.
Just announced for the 2021 model year, the Tremor Off-Road Package cashes in at $4,290 and will only be available on the crew-cab mid-grade XLT top-end Lariat trim grades. So if you wanted a stripper XL or a super-cab with the good hardware, once again the Blue Oval says no.
So what exactly is the Ranger Tremor Off-Road Package? It’s a beefed up, buffed up truck that rises to the shoulders of the Tacoma TRD-Pro and close to the Colorado ZR-2 in terms of its extra equipment and hardware.
The suspension gets a mild lift and unique wheels with 32-inch tires are added. The track gets nominally wider and the front suspension gets revised knuckles. The big balls for the bubbas will be the shiny FOX 2.0 monotube dampers with external reservoirs on the rears.
You also get revised springs front and rear and softer settings for the anti-roll bars for better articulation and significantly increased wheel travel off-road, now 6.5-inches at front, 8.1-inches at the rear. The working angles too are more advantageous too with a 30.9-degree approach, a 25.5-degree departure, and a 24.2-degree breakover.
Handy adds include a rear locking differential and an electronic terrain management system with four distinct drive modes and what Ford calls Trail Control – all with revised mapping for better off-road performance. Here the Tremor is on par with the TRD-Pro in terms of traction management, but the ZR-2 offers a mechanical locker up front as well.
Visuals include a pronounced chin-plate and skid plates, recovery hooks at the rear in addition to the two up front, and wider wheel lip moldings to frame out the larger tires. There’s a unique grille and badges all around. The stripe graphics are optional in case you think they are a bit much. Instead of smooth rock-rails like the ZR-2, you get rockers with hoop steps that look cool but are asking to get torn up on the terrain.
Unlike the ZR-2 however, the suspension and off-road mods haven’t cut into the Ranger Tremor’s payload and towing capacity which remains 1,430-pounds payload and up to 7,500-pounds towing. Powering the Tremor is the same 270 horsepower 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine and 10-speed automatic with auto-start-stop that is found in all Rangers. This isn’t a Raptor after all.
Like the Raptor though, the interior gets some juice with an accessory switch bank to add your lights, winches and other doo-dads. Sport seats with Miko suede inserts and Tremor logo embroidery are added in addition to black trim accents.
While it’s not a full-blown Raptor, it’s a nice well rounded package that offers some additional manhood and brawn for those Ford men who shrivel when a Taco TRD-Pro or Colorado ZR-2 pass them on the trail. For the price it represents an attractive option even though buyers don’t get a lot of choice in their trim and cab offerings.
