Our friends on the other side of the Pacific have been bemoaning the unavailability of the Ford Ranger Raptor in their continent. Ford has played hardball, refusing to bring in the hot version of its light-duty truck. But years of pleading may have annoyed the Dearborn-based automaker enough for it to finally come up with a Ranger that is just as capable.

Called the Ranger Tremor, this is a vastly different animal compared to the Ranger Raptor. Rather than being sold as a stand-alone model, the Tremor is essentially an upgrade package for the regular Ranger. However, that doesn’t make less capable than its reptile-named brother thanks to the following modifications.

• 8-inch suspension lift
• Redesigned front knuckles
• 17-inch magnetic-painted wheels shod in 32-inch Continental General Grabber A/T all-terrain tires
• Fox 2.0 monotube dampers with rear piggyback reservoirs and hydraulic rebound stops
• Tuned front coilovers and rear leaf springs with increased wheel travel
• Stiffer anti-roll bar
• Frame-mounted steel front bash plate
• Underbody skid plates
• Rear locking differential
• New terrain management system
• Tweaked traction control system
• Additional two recovery hooks at the back
• Wider wheel lip moldings
• New hoop steps

These upgrades allow the Ranger Tremor to have impressive off-road credentials. The approach angle of 30.9°, departure angle of 25.5°, and break-over angle of 24.2° are marginally higher than those of a standard SuperCrew 4×4 model. Front and rear suspension travel also go up to 6.5 and 8.1 inches, respectively. And unlike the Raptor which has slightly lower cargo and pulling capabilities than the Wildtrak, the Tremor package doesn’t affect the USDM Ranger’s 649kg maximum payload and 3,402kg towing capacity.

The Tremor sports visual tweaks which give it a more aggressive face than the regular Ranger. The radiator grille has Magnetic-painted surrounds with black bars that run across the middle, as well as red nostril corner accents. In addition, special “Tremor” badges on the sides of the truck bed and optional hood and body graphics ensure that onlookers know what it is. Seats have Miko suede inserts with “Tremor” stitching and black accents.

The Ranger Tremor is powered by a 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine, which is good for 270hp and 410Nm. This is mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission that is hooked up to an electronic locking differential for better traction on slippery surfaces.

The Tremor package is available for XLT and Lariat variants with the SuperCrew body and 4×4 drivetrain, and costs $4,290 (P208,000). Not too bad considering the performance benefits you get with these factory upgrades.