FBI Rancher

Vehicle
FBI Rancher
An FBI Rancher in GTA Vice City..
An FBI Rancher in GTA Vice City..
(Rear quarter view)
An FBI Rancher in GTA Vice City..
Appearance(s) [[Appearance::GTA Vice City
GTA San Andreas
GTA Vice City Stories (cheat device only)
GTA Chinatown Wars]]
Vehicle type Law enforcement SUV
Body style 4-door SUV
Capacity 4 (driver and three passengers, normally for FBIs)
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The FBI Rancher is a FBI vehicle featured in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, as a consequence of reaching a five-star wanted level. It is known as the FIB Rancher in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. The FBI Rancher exists in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, but is not found under normal circumstances.

Design

The FBI Rancher is a longer four-door SUV based on the two-door Rancher SUV, additionally sporting only a black body color and a non-visible strobe light on the dashboard. The FBI Rancher is rear-wheel drive, giving it some good traction and strength, however, being longer in length than the Rancher seems to give it a, somewhat, "slower effect" and it has the tendency to flip on uneven terrain, so it is not suitable for off-road driving, but despite this, the GTA San Andreas version has off-road tires. It resembles a 1981-1991 Chevrolet Suburban, the four door relative of the Chevrolet K5 Blazer, it however has a camper shell, a feature only seen on Blazers of the era.

Only the GTA Vice City rendition of the vehicle can be resprayed at a spray shop, while other renditions are deemed "too hot" to be repainted. In addition, the GTA Chinatown Wars rendition, like most police cars, grants the player five Shotgun rounds.

The FBI only used the FBI Washington in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories instead of using both the FBI Rancher and FBI Washington, just like in GTA Vice City. The FBI Rancher is never used in the game and can only be spawned using cheat devices.

The GTA Chinatown Wars rendition is actually based on the game's depiction of the Cavalcade, but features "flat" front-mounted bullbars, as well as the standard black body color, a siren and trunk lid-mounted strobe lights (blue and red), and an on-board police computer.

Performance

Despite its size and weight, the FBI Rancher, with its throaty V8 engine, is one of the fastest SUV-based law enforcement vehicles, being capable of high speeds that rival police cars in their respectable game. Its steering and braking is also competent, with lesser tendency to spin out due to a properly adjusted rear wheel drive. The vehicle's weight is also helpful in vigilante missions, as the job of stopping most smaller cars is made easier. Being equipped with a siren, the FBI Rancher can also be used, with the exception of GTA Chinatown Wars, to clear the road ahead from traffic.

Trivia

  • In GTA San Andreas, the player can change the black paint of the FBI Rancher by using a mod garage hack or a trainer capable of changing car colors. In GTA Vice City though, the black paint is a permanent texture of the vehicle (much like the Sabre Turbo's red and white stripe scheme), and is actually "taxi yellow" in-game (this can be seen when the player crashes the car).

Locations

GTA Vice City and GTA San Andreas
  • The FBI Rancher is not normally available parked in a specific area. As a result, the vehicle can only be stolen by the player when the player achieves a five-star wanted level. The difficulty of acquiring the vehicle is compounded by the fact that the player must deal with MP5 gunfire from FBI agents.
  • In GTA San Andreas, the player is also unable to respray the vehicle in order to eliminate their wanted level; one strategy is to hold themselves up at Wang Cars in San Fierro, where multiple civilian cars are available. Once the player gains an FBI Rancher, the player must then switch to a civilian car and respray it (there's a nearby Pay 'n' Spray), thus eliminating police attention and being able to acquire an FBI Rancher.
    • Another method is to steal a Rhino from Area 69 and drive it into the hanger at Verdant Meadows. FBI Ranchers will frequently follow the player into the hanger. The player can then make a quick dash to the save point and eliminate the wanted level.
GTA Chinatown Wars