It’s like having your own personal ‘Trophy Truck’!
By Marc Lachapelle
The original F-150 SVT Raptor, an off-road savvy version of Ford’s best-selling full-size pickup, was a smash hit when it launched in 2011. The second iteration of the beast was unveiled at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show. Built on the F-150’s landmark, aluminum-intensive platform, it is up to 227 kg (500 lb) lighter than its predecessor, has more muscle and runs on seriously upgraded suspension, transmission and four-wheel drive hardware. The new Raptor is available as a four-door SuperCrew (foreground) that starts at $69,899 or a two-door SuperCab that rides on a 12-inch (30 cm) shorter wheelbase, at $67,899.
My first chance to drive the new Raptor came during the North American Car of the Year Awards (NACTOY) drive event, last October. I drove Ford’s new ‘supertruck’ through the superb maze of paved and unpaved roads and backroads that weave around Hell Creek Ranch, in Pinckney, Michigan. Persistent rain made things more interesting. With its pumped-up aluminium bodywork, huge blacked-out grille and giant tires, the Raptor SuperCrew took it all in perfect stride, and then some. At all times, it feels like a tamer and more polished iteration of a desert-gobbling ‘Trophy Truck’.
Under the hood of the new Raptor is a second-generation, twin-turbocharged, 3.5-litre EcoBoost V-6. This new engine belts out 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque, substantial gains over the 411 hp and 434 lb-ft of the first Raptor’s 6.2-liter V-8, with the promise of a 23% gain in fuel economy thanks to combined direct-and-port injection, auto stop-start and other such wizardry. The full-throttle growl is not the same but the grunt is definitely there, ably channeled to the wheels by an all-new, smooth and quick-shifting 10-speed transmission.
Remarkably low and squat in front view, the 2017 Raptor is a full 15 cm (6 in) wider than its tamer F-150 siblings. Wide enough to warrant the use of the three centre-mounted yellow lights that are mandatory on wide vehicles. The Raptor’s exclusive, muscled-up fenders wrap over wider wheels and tires that are stretched apart by a few additional inches, for better high-speed stability over any paved or loose surface. The resemblance with ‘Trophy Trucks’, the fastest desert racing pickups, is no coincidence.
The Raptor shares the F-150’s instrument panel layout, with the generous use of smooth black leather and orange stitching that emphasizes the predominance of sport and function over mere luxury. The seats are wide, comfy and well-sculpted. The steering wheel has a meaty, well-shaped rim and a plethora of buttons that prove mostly useful and efficient. Behind the rim, tall and thin aluminium paddles let the driver flip through the new transmission’s 10 ratios, in manual mode.
In typical full-size pickup fashion, the Raptor’s cabin is exceptionally spacious and practical, with this vast, treasure chest-like centre console and the requisite, Big Gulp-friendly cupholders. Grey-and-charcoal trim is subdued and purposeful, bordering on dull. Look for the optional colour accent packages. The instrument panel’s centre stack, with its 8-inch touch screen, is exclusive to the Raptor in the F-150 family. It has various gauges, a trip computer, fuel economy data and setup menus for the towing and off-road applications.
The new Raptor gets a more refined version of its predecessor’s Terrain Management System that lets you simply spin a knob to pick one of six driving modes with predefined settings for throttle response, steering feel, transmission shift points and four-wheel drive type and range. The electronic system lets you choose between Rock mode, to climb boulder faces at a snail’s pace and Baja mode for flat-out runs in the desert, or a giant sand pit. Street mode sharpens response for twisty asphalt bits while Weather mode softens it for the slippery stuff. The Mud-and-sand and Normal modes, finally, are self-explanatory.
The reborn Raptor also gets a smart new transfer case that can split torque freely between the front and rear wheels or within fixed parameters. It offers a clutch-driven, on-demand all-wheel drive mode that sends torque to the rear wheels to let you bring out the tail on a dirt road in Michigan or drive around town smoothly on dry or snowy pavement. But you also have fully-locking, mechanical four-wheel drive with high and low ranges. And for serious off-road driving, the Torsen-type, limited-slip front differential will help greatly in climbing the truly steep and slippery.
Crisp icons and graphics keep you fully informed of the current state and settings of all major electronic and mechanical modes and systems in the new Raptor. Including an angle sensor for the front wheels, displayed in degrees, that will complement images from the front grille-mounted camera at speeds up to 24 km/h (15 mph) in the tightest sections.
Under its aluminium skin, the new Raptor rides on the strongest, fully-boxed frame in the entire F-150 family. It’s made with more high-strength steel than its predecessor to better resist twisting and flexing over extreme terrain, but also to provide strong attachment points for its advanced suspension. The end result is better handling and ride, no matter how badly broken the road, or trail surface. At all times, the Raptor remains impressively stable and composed.
The Raptor rides on BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2s tires in size LT315/70 that are 35 inches tall, in off-road speak. More than a dozen variations of this tire were tested during development, on all imaginable terrains. These huge chunks of rubber are mounted here on optional 17-inch forged aluminium wheels with tire bead locks that prevent them from slipping on the rim in high-torque, low traction conditions. They provide abundant grip and ride comfort with surprisingly good steering feel, given their formidable width and deep tread. The four disc brakes make good use of this traction with good initial bite, easy modulation and plentiful power.
We met no hump large enough on Michigan dirt roads to launch the Raptor skywards and test its suspension fully in this manner, but it felt perfectly up to any task at all times. Front suspension is a Raptor-exclusive design with double wishbones, coil-over shock absorbers and cast aluminum lower control arms. Rear suspension duty is handled by a classic solid axle with leaf springs, carefully tuned to harness the forces that go through the 4.10 rear differential.
The new Raptor comes standard, front and rear, with new Fox Racing shock absorbers. Their body has grown from 2.5 inches on the first Raptor to 3 inches in diameter, for better and more consistent performance. Total suspension travel has grown to 13 inches (330 mm) in front and a full 14 inches (355 mm) at the rear, up from 11.2 inches (284 mm) and 12 inches (305 mm) on the first-generation truck. Patented ‘internal bypass’ valve technology ensures precise damping over the shocks’ entire stroke. Body control effectively is superb at any pace in this three-ton 450-horsepower pickup.
With minimal modifications (heavy duty versions of the Fox Racing shocks and springs, roll cage, five-point harness, light bars, fuel cell, GPS race navigation with digital instruments and data logger), the new Raptor had already become the first ‘stock’ truck to finish a race in the ‘Best in the Desert’ factory stock class for full-sized trucks (class 1200). It was indeed one of only 19 race machines in this group to finish out of the 68 who took the start in yet another off-road classic; the Mint 400 that ran in the Nevada desert last March.
Ford Performance pushed it a notch further by entering a 2017 Raptor that was virtually identical to the production truck that rolls out of the Dearborn, Michigan factory in the granddaddy of desert races: the legendary Baja 1000. Apart from mandatory racing and safety-specific equipment, this Raptor ran and finished the gruelling, 1,600 km (1,000-mile) event with the stock engine, transmission, suspension, wheels and BFGoodrich K02 tires. And then, driver Greg Foutz drove it home from the finish in Mexico for an extra 644 kilometres.
The new Raptor is an all-weather, all-terrain performance machine and a huge driving fun generator. But it remains a tough, capable and practical pickup with plenty of room for a quartet of full-size adults and a fifth one, in a pinch. It has its very own, 5.5-foot bed with a ‘foldable’ extender and plenty of hooks for cargo and equipment. A bed liner is optional, in spray-in or plastic drop-in form. Towing capacity is a very decent 3,630 kg (8,000 lb) and you get the full requisite hardware, including a trailer brake controller and Ford’s amazing ‘Pro trailer backup assist’ complete with a trailer hookup light.
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