It’s all but impossible to divorce pickup trucks from our national identity. The American people grabbed hold of them with both hands a long time ago and for better or worse, we aren’t letting go. We tend to think we build the best trucks, too—and a case can certainly be made there. But the Ford Ranger Raptor is only kind of American and it wins The Drive‘s Best Truck of 2024 award by a landslide.
The gravel-slinging Ranger Raptor has always been Australia’s thing. It was sold elsewhere in markets like Thailand, but historically, it was forbidden fruit in North America. The Blue Oval changed that in 2024 by bringing the desert rally truck stateside, where practically every midsize pickup got a new generation with an even better performance version. You know it’s a big year when even the Toyota Tacoma is new.
The respective Ford Performance crews in Australia and the U.S. tag-teamed this project to make an absolutely killer truck. And I’ve got plenty more to wax poetic about, such as “Fox Live Valve shocks” and “What the heck is a Watts link?” First, though, let’s run through the rigs that were in the running:
Runner-Up: Toyota Tacoma Hybrid
“The midsizer is no longer a chore to drive on the highway, and the TRD Sport is about the best model Taco for long-distance. The 48-hp electric motor built into the eight-speed transmission really brings the truck alive while netting decent fuel economy at 24 mpg combined.
“The hybrid configuration has greater torque but, more importantly, it shifted down the power band’s sweet spot. Max torque comes on at 1,700 rpm, which is way below the old V6’s max coming on at 4,600 rpm. That makes the power of the engine more usable and readily available on the trail. Indeed, the TRD Pro scoffs at steep hills and remote paths full of obstacles.
“… the 2024 Tacoma is a culmination of 27 years of Toyota’s hybrid development, which pairs the massive popularity of the Tacoma and the remarkable success of the Prius. In that sense, I mentioned at the beginning that this new model is a new peak for Tacoma. It would be more fitting to say this is more like peak Toyota Tacoma—but with an emphasis on make, not model.
“That’s because this is a Tacoma born of Toyota’s stubbornness to change. I can’t stress enough that adding a hybrid engine to the truck is as notable as it was inevitable. Who knows when we’ll see an EV Tacoma, if ever; for now, the best Toyota will do is a hybrid. Luckily for Tacoma fans who are skeptical, Toyota knows how to make a great hybrid. And that uniquely Toyota set, or category, finally includes the Tacoma.” —José Rodríguez Jr, former Staff Writer
Runner-Up: Ford F-150 Tremor
“There’s a see-saw of the F150’s talents going up and down depending on what truck buyers want: working capability or performance. See, the Tremor essentially strikes a better balance between an off-road truck, and, well, a truck, which is a vehicle made to work—towing things and hauling gear. You don’t buy a Raptor to tow a trailer; you buy it to haul ass across the desert at triple-digit speeds.
“The Tremor, on the other hand, is capable of taking on trails as well as taking on the tasks truck owners require from their pickups. You are better off not trying to do Raptor things in a Tremor because while the suspension has been optimized and the frame strengthened in key areas, it’s still nowhere near as sophisticated as that of the Raptor. Again, this is more about controlled navigation than the unfettered conquest of any terrain at speed.
“But when you use the Tremor’s off-road assists, mountains become molehills that may be descended easily using Trail Control and One-Pedal Drive to whoa up the truck nicely. Whatever trail you’re on that once seemed daunting suddenly feels a lot more manageable. It’s almost like you can watch the truck drive itself over obstacles on the big screen with all the pickup’s onboard cameras.” —José Rodríguez Jr, former Staff Writer
Runner-Up: Honda Ridgeline TrailSport
“I like the TrailSport trim for many reasons; primarily because it adds a touch of personality to the Ridgeline without making it look or feel like a brodozer, but also because the wheel-and-tire package makes the ride more enjoyable. Cruising around town, the 245/60R18 all-terrains offer enough meat to keep things cushy. But unlike the Passport TrailSport I recently drove, you don’t get any of that floatiness or vagueness at the wheel—likely due to the Ridgeline’s wider and longer wheelbase.
“At its core, though, it’s a Pilot. Not the newest Pilot but the previous gen. The Ridgeline offers the quiet and comfortable driving experience you’d expect from one of America’s best-selling SUVs. Visibility is fantastic and ride height is high enough to feel slightly more elevated than the average compact crossover but not as high as something like a Ford F-150 or Chevy Silverado. Steering feel is also adequate. It doesn’t get any praise for being super responsive, but it’s no slouch while driving in the city or on the highway.
“Whether you need to haul kids, pets, adventure gear, or maybe even a boat, jetskis, or a camper, chances are, the Ridgeline is all the truck you need.” —Jerry Perez, Deputy Editor
Runner-Up: Ram 1500 RHO
“The 2025 Ram 1500 RHO is ostensibly the TRX replacement as it steps in as the brand’s new top-tier sport truck. While some might grumble about missing the supercharged Hellcat V8 and all its power, the RHO holds its own with a 3.0-liter high-output twin-turbo inline-six. Its 540 hp and 521 lb-ft of torque are plenty to do all the sport-truck things with ease and believe me, we did them all during the Rebelle Rally. Never once did we think, ‘Dang, I wish this had more power.’
“From the suspension to the shocks, it’s the stuff you don’t see that matters most. On the road, the RHO felt stable and smooth, and oddly, it drives like a much smaller truck. I had the opportunity to drive the 2025 Toyota Tacoma just before I attended the RHO media drive, and the midsize truck felt much bigger and clumsier than the RHO.
“Sure, the Hemi is dead, but the RHO is only 0.1 seconds slower in a zero-to-60-mph run than the 2024 TRX. And with the Level 1 Equipment Group, you add pretty much everything you could want in a high-end truck—except maybe the kitchen sink.
“So, in case you missed it, the early verdict is incredibly favorable. In fact, I walked away from the RHO after Rebelle and the media drive thinking it’s probably the best truck I’ve ever driven.” —Jill Ciminillo, Contributor
Winner: Ford Ranger Raptor
It almost feels risky saying this, but the high-po Ranger is arguably the best Raptor. It might not wear standard 37s like the Bronco Raptor or F-150 Raptor R, and its sheer performance stats won’t make your eyes open the widest, but it’s unmatched on balance.
I love the way my friend Andrew put it here in his review:
“It’s not just a decorative package, a mild suspension upgrade, or even any one singular feature. Ford Raptors are a combination of key features developed together to work together, creating a well-rounded machine that is truly optimized for all aspects of driving on rough and loose terrain at speed.
“The Ranger Raptor in particular is my favorite of the family because of its size and maneuverability. While I have to admit that the F-150 Raptor R is objectively impressive, I didn’t love driving it because 720 hp had me running out of room to play in no time, even at an expansive off-road park with no speed limit.
“But the Ranger Raptor was able to show me a great time on just a tight little course. And I could tell that I still had a lot of headroom to get faster with practice. That right there is the mark of an excellent performance machine: Easy to enjoy, challenging to master.”
He went on to wax poetic about the truck’s stability, which is aided by the aforementioned Watts link out back that’s specific to the Ranger Raptor and helps keep the rear axle centered through high-speed bumps. Ford Performance knew it needed one of those, in part because it tested the pickup constantly in the desert. The Ranger Raptor cuts its teeth at the Finke Desert Race in Australia, a flat-out sprint through some extremely bumpy sand near the Uluru rock formation.
“We just used my personal truck when we were prerunning,” said Ranger Raptor Program Supervisor Justin Capicchiano. “We looked at the times, and we would have beaten some race cars even then.”
It just does everything it was built to do so well. And really, that’s the mark of a great pickup. These trucks are no longer just workhorses, or just daily drivers. They’re everything to everyone who wants one. And that’s why the Ford Ranger Raptor is The Drive‘s Best Truck of 2024.
[Ed. note: The Ford Ranger Raptor also takes home the honor of being our People’s Choice winner. In a series of polls on The Drive‘s Instagram, it was the most popular truck of this bunch. Congratulations, Ford. —CT]