Drove A Raptor Yesterday

becker87 · April 14, 2011

It was my neighbor's Raptor, ext. cab, 6.2L, fully loaded. It was a short drive through town so didn't get much seat time but got a pretty good feel for the truck. First thing i noticed, besides just how wide it really is, is the seats. The seats are from a sports car, they really hug you. Although they could of been a tad bit wider as i am a big guy and my frame is wider then the average guy. The interior was very nice, also fully loaded on this model(leather, nav, sunroof, etc) I liked the gauge cluster and having the shifter in the center was also pretty cool(although i could not live with it day to day)

The 6.2 sounds pretty mean for a stock truck,(more then mine did stock) and seemed very responsive as well, although i didn't get on it much. The throttle response felt more like my truck after the tune.(good thing)

The suspension was awesome, felt much better then my truck(can't really compare the two though) Wish i could have done some high speed testing, but around the few corners i took, i took them fast and i could feel the suspension at work.

I don't think i could live with this truck for a daily driver, for my needs. The payload and towing capicty arn't enough for my needs and since i hunt, i often put the gone where the center console would be. With that being said though i would love to have one as a toy, this truck would be a blast on the dunes.

Short review, but like i said i didn't get much seat time.

MikeNH · April 14, 2011

I love the Raptor. If I could spend $40k+ on a truck I'd be on a Ford forum now. I'd need to move to Michigan though so I could be closer to Silver Lake. 2 days of driving is crappy.

becker87 · April 14, 2011

Yes if i had the extra money i would have bought a Ford Raptor and a GM HD truck, but i only could get one so i settled on the middle ground, a GM half ton with the 6.2, but choosing the 6.2 was a good decision

mossbum · April 14, 2011

one of my best friends has a new raptor crew cab. he uses it for his construction company as well as his toy hauler. its a mean rig.

Superperv23 · April 14, 2011

I did always want to take one of those for a drive, I think probably anyone who likes trucks does.

P71_CrownVic · April 14, 2011

The Raptor is a huge compromise. For that kind of outrageous money Ford charges for it...it should look like a proper $40K truck...but the headlights don't fill the fender flares, the tail lights don't fill the fender flares, and many other examples. Plus, it has a lower tow rating than a V8 GMT-360. How sad is that?

The Dodge version is a much more thought out and capable package.

rdnkcpa · April 14, 2011

The Raptor is a huge compromise. For that kind of outrageous money Ford charges for it...it should look like a proper $40K truck...but the headlights don't fill the fender flares, the tail lights don't fill the fender flares, and many other examples. Plus, it has a lower tow rating than a V8 GMT-360. How sad is that?

The Dodge version is a much more thought out and capable package.

Maybe so, but the Dodge will fall apart long before the Ford. There is a raptor parked in the lot in front of my building, it looks good to me. We all like different things.

P71_CrownVic · April 14, 2011

The Raptor is a huge compromise. For that kind of outrageous money Ford charges for it...it should look like a proper $40K truck...but the headlights don't fill the fender flares, the tail lights don't fill the fender flares, and many other examples. Plus, it has a lower tow rating than a V8 GMT-360. How sad is that?

The Dodge version is a much more thought out and capable package.

Maybe so, but the Dodge will fall apart long before the Ford. There is a raptor parked in the lot in front of my building, it looks good to me. We all like different things.

There is no proof that the Dodge will fall apart. Ever since 2009, the Ram has been a fantastic truck...the best on the road.

rdnkcpa · April 14, 2011

The Raptor is a huge compromise. For that kind of outrageous money Ford charges for it...it should look like a proper $40K truck...but the headlights don't fill the fender flares, the tail lights don't fill the fender flares, and many other examples. Plus, it has a lower tow rating than a V8 GMT-360. How sad is that?

The Dodge version is a much more thought out and capable package.

Maybe so, but the Dodge will fall apart long before the Ford. There is a raptor parked in the lot in front of my building, it looks good to me. We all like different things.

There is no proof that the Dodge will fall apart. Ever since 2009, the Ram has been a fantastic truck...the best on the road.

Based upon Chryslers reputation over my driving lifetime, 26 years, I would expect the Dodge/Ram to be a heap. Your opinion is they are good trucks, my opinion is they are heaps. And with that experience I would rather plunk my hard earned money down on a GM or Ford product.

The proof will be in a year or two when we look at trade in/resale/wholesale values on the Fiat, I mean Dodge or Ram. Until then this argument is pointless.

P71_CrownVic · April 14, 2011

Based upon Chryslers reputation over my driving lifetime, 26 years, I would expect the Dodge/Ram to be a heap. Your opinion is they are good trucks, my opinion is they are heaps. And with that experience I would rather plunk my hard earned money down on a GM or Ford product.

The proof will be in a year or two when we look at trade in/resale/wholesale values on the Fiat, I mean Dodge or Ram. Until then this argument is pointless.

I think the current Rams are 2+ years old as they were introduced for the 2009 model year.

MikeNH · April 14, 2011

The Raptor is a huge compromise. For that kind of outrageous money Ford charges for it...it should look like a proper $40K truck...but the headlights don't fill the fender flares, the tail lights don't fill the fender flares, and many other examples. Plus, it has a lower tow rating than a V8 GMT-360. How sad is that?

The Dodge version is a much more thought out and capable package.

You mean that dealer installed kit that costs $19,000? Configure a Ram with options like the Raptor has and then add nearly $20,000 (and that is before labor costs mind you)? The Ram will be more expensive, even if you bolted the kit on yourself to a base trim truck. It tows and hauls less because it's off-road oriented. There has to be a compromise somewhere for a truck like that. Same as the Sy./Ty trucks being extremely fast but at the same time they couldn't tow or haul as much as the trucks they were based on. And I know looks are subjective, but I like how the lights are tucked into the bodywork.

There is no proof that the Dodge will fall apart. Ever since 2009, the Ram has been a fantastic truck...the best on the road.

There's no proof the Ram is the best on the road either.

becker87 · April 15, 2011

The Raptor is a purpose built race truck, thats why it can't haul or tow much, pretty good compromise if i have to say so. As for the build quilty, looked pretty good to me.

As for which brand is better, lets keep that for another thread, this one is about the Raptor.

Stevens03 · April 15, 2011

I'm not a fan of the Raptors looks... sort of. I've got mixed feelings about it over all. But lets face it, there's nothing on the market that can compete with it. Very cool concept truck that came to production unlike the other manufacturers that make those cool vehicles but never produce them

I like it on the simple fact that it's cool.

becker87 · April 15, 2011

I'm not a fan of the Raptors looks... sort of. I've got mixed feelings about it over all. But lets face it, there's nothing on the market that can compete with it. Very cool concept truck that came to production unlike the other manufacturers that make those cool vehicles but never produce them

I like it on the simple fact that it's cool.

Very true, not the most practicle truck, and only a few percent will actually use the truck how it was meant to, but deffiantly cool.

Superperv23 · April 15, 2011

The Raptor is a huge compromise. For that kind of outrageous money Ford charges for it...it should look like a proper $40K truck...but the headlights don't fill the fender flares, the tail lights don't fill the fender flares, and many other examples. Plus, it has a lower tow rating than a V8 GMT-360. How sad is that?

The Dodge version is a much more thought out and capable package.

The raptor isn't a compromise, normal half ton trucks are compromises that are designed to do a bit of everything. The raptor isnt designed to tow stuff and it shouldn't take much to realize that long travel off road suspension is not setup for towing and the people who buy one are either going to play with it a bit high speed off road or just want the look. The headlights not "filling" the fenders is part of the design to show people that you have a wide off road truck, I personally think it helps give the truck for was trying to create.

The dodge version is hardly more thought out or logical and no one will know about the capability unless the kit is actually released and some nut buys one or chrysler provides some for media tests for side by side comparison. If it out performs the raptor off road would it be that much of a shock given the suspension kit alone costs $13,000? As far as being thought out I disagree, ford sorts everything out for you and you can drive it off the lot, chrysler expects you to pay almost $20,000 in parts, without wheel and tires, then have it all installed and do forget you have to have the fiberglass 1/4s painted, which also means cutting the bed, so easily $25,000 by the time you are done, not to forget you have to buy a ram ontop of that. To me it makes no sense at all for the target market of these trucks.