WASHINGTON — Want a go-anywhere truck? The 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor is it, if you can find one.
Every year there is a one super popular ride that’s hard to find and if you do, good luck paying the sticker price for it. For 2017, the new F-150 Raptor is the hot ticket and after a week of driving this off-road racer, I see why.
The F-150 is one of the most popular vehicles on the road but the Raptor is a special version of the truck. Looking at the outside, you quickly notice this isn’t a normal F-150 pickup. From its flared wheel arches and large tires on tough-looking, 17-inch wheels, it looks different from other models of the F-150. There is increased ground clearance and silver off-road shocks for people to see when they stop and stare. There’s no chrome trim on this beast; all the trim pieces are blacked out to give a more serious off-road attitude that screams, “Take me off road and let’s get airborne.” There are skid plates and a special front bumper just for the Raptor, plus aluminum running boards that look nice, not to mention dual exhaust with large exhaust pipes out the back.
You can have the Raptor in supercab like my test ride with two regular doors and the “suicide doors” that only open when the front doors are open. Also available is the crew cab with normal rear doors and a larger cab. You can only have a short bed with the Raptor; one of the downsides I realized after I filled it up pretty quickly. The Raptor does have optional tailgate step and the spray-in bed liner.
Just because it looks like it’s a hardcore off-road machine that’s ready to tackle any obstacle, that means the ride suffers, right? Well no, it’s probably the best riding truck I’ve driven; those special shocks do a great job of offering a smooth ride on all surfaces. This is still a pickup so it’s rather wide and takes up most of the lane but it’s easier to maneuver with the shorter bed and cab so it’s not so scary in the city. Those trick shocks also allow some dive when you really step on the brakes.
The Raptor is now packing power from a new 3.5L ecoboost engine with 450hp. This V6 packs a punch and it sounds more like an old Buick Grand National than a pickup truck with the noise of those turbos singing along. There is also a new 10-speed automatic that always seems to be in the right gear when needed. It also has paddle shifters but there are many gears to go through. This Raptor and other Ford pickups lost weight a few years ago which helps with the overall feel of the truck. Fuel economy for my week was 15.5mpg, a bit under the mixed rating of 16mpg but I spent a good deal of time going slow and dealing with traffic.
The interior of my loaded $61,685 Raptor is a nice place to spend time with some ultra-comfortable leather seats that are heated and cooled up front. The controls are large and easy to use and the new SYNC 3 system is a much more user-friendly system for the radio and NAV controls. The tester had the $9,345 802A package that gives you a helpful 360 degree camera and Pro Trailer Back Up Assist that steers the truck trailer with a small wheel in the direction you want to go while it does the rest. The leg room in the second row isn’t as good as those up front. Still, there’s plenty of headroom and the cabin is wide. Luckily, you can get the Raptor in a true four-door cab and have plenty of space. The cabin is pretty quiet on the road with a bit of tire noise with the aggressive tire tread at higher speeds but nothing annoying. The interior is an improvement over the first Raptor of seven years ago and seems more fitting for a truck with a starting price around $49,000 that can easily pass $70,000 fully loaded.
The 2017 Ford Raptor has the look of one of those off-road race trucks which I admit is pretty cool. But this is a refined machine with a comfortable ride that can take whatever happens when the pavement runs out. Now with a new engine, transmission and improved interior, the 2017 Raptor is back and it’s one hot ticket.
