Our 2017 Raptor Review: Revolution, Not Evolution
We Drive the New Raptor and Discover That It’s Nothing Like the Old Raptor. And That’s a Good Thing.
Ah, evolution. We as humans have long enjoyed advancements in technology, science and convenience. We’ve come to expect that everything will become incrementally better over time. But every once in a while, something comes along and raises the bar exponentially. The new Raptor is such a thing. Our very own reporter Marcus Amick was lucky enough to get behind the wheel of one, and his 2017 Raptor review demonstrates exactly that.
Not only was Marcus lucky enough to drive the new Raptor, he was also able to get some wheel time behind a 2012 Raptor as well. Despite the first generation’s already impressive off road capability, Ford has raised that bar to a whole new level. As Marcus says, the difference between the two is “night and day.”
Much of the beefier feeling of the new Raptor comes from the switch to an aluminum body, surprisingly. “Ford started with a much stiffer frame for the high-strength, military-grade aluminum body, Marcus notes. “That makes the new Raptor the strongest of any truck in Ford’s current F-150 line-up. And you can sense it in how more rock-solid the truck feels on and off road, especially compared to the first-gen.”
That, combined with the new FOX Racing Shox and increased suspension travel, add up to an amazingly stable high speed off road platform. The combination of power and gentlemanly off road manners is an almost surreal experience. But Marcus sums it up quite nicely.
“The thing that impresses you most when driving the Raptor is how controlled and balanced the pickup is, especially when plowing around and across mounds of dirt and sand,” Marcus notes. “I guess if I had to sum up the experience, you could liken it to wheeling something like a new Mustang GT350 — one that’s been totally transformed into a pickup to be a lot more ballsy off-road than on.”
And while the Ecoboost detractors continue to hate on the Raptor’s loss of cylinders, there’s no arguing the results. As we discovered last week, the new Raptor simply blows away the old one. It’s 1.7 seconds faster from 0-60, and 1.6 seconds faster in the 1/4 mile.
No matter how you slice it, the new Raptor simply blows away the old one. It’s a real testament to Ford’s commitment to building the baddest off road truck on the planet. It’s safe to say that they have achieved that goal — and more.
