For whatever reason, Ford has decided not to sell the flagship Ranger Raptor in the United States and instead, the most off-road-focused variant of the pickup that’s offered stateside is the Tremor. Is this model good enough to satisfy the off-road demands of customers or have local customers missed out by not being offered the Raptor?

Key mechanical upgrades made by Ford include a lifted suspension system, redesigned front knuckles, and 17-inch wheels wrapped in 32-inch Continental all-terrain tires. All up, the Ranger Tremor has a respectable 9.7-inches of ground clearance and makes use of Fox 2.0 monotube dampers with remote rear reservoirs and hydraulic bump stops.

Read Also: New 2021 Ford Ranger Tremor Is The Closest U.S. Will Get To A Ranger Raptor

On paper, this all sounds very good and while Doug DeMuro recently had the opportunity to test the Ranger Tremor, he didn’t test it off-road, meaning he can’t say whether or not it is worlds above lesser variants.

When driving the truck on the street, however, DeMuro says that he is a big fan of the truck’s powertrain, which consists of a 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder with 270 hp and 310 lb-ft. This engine is coupled to a 10-speed automatic transmission and a standard 4×4 system with a rear locking differential. The veteran reviewer goes on to state that the Ranger is his favorite small pickup truck currently sold in the U.S.

Those in the market for the Ranger Tremor can order the pickup in Oxford White, Race Red, Iconic Silver, Velocity Blue, Cactus Gray, Rapid Red Metallic Tinted Clearcoat, Carbonized Gray, Shadow Black, or Cyber Orange Tri-coat. The Tremor is available as an off-road package for the Ranger XLT and Ranger Lariat models, adding $4,290 to the price.