It was an awesome vehicle for a test drive --a 2010 Ford Raptor. Maybe you seen someone driving around the area is an oversized, Blaze-Orange, heavy-duty pickup. It looks more like it is ready to tackle a rescue mission in a remote mountainous area than be in a city-driving atmosphere. But Raptor handles both situations with equal ability.
The Raptor is another in the long line of specialty F-150 pickup trucks. This one, however, was designed by the Special Vehicle Team at Ford, whose last major influence was the 500 sedan. This F-150 has the designation SVT and was built especially for off-roading. A lot of vehicles are legendary for their off-roading capability, such as Land Rovers and Hummers, but pickup trucks are usually standard with a lot of after-market products added. That is what sets the Raptor apart from the crowd. This is a pickup built to look, feel, and perform off-road.
The Raptor shares the same platform and assembly line with the standard F-150 in Michigan, but the exterior is much more aggressively designed in the looks department. It has a chiseled appearance that instantly makes a driver think, "This is one mean Big Boy." It is seven inches wider than the base model and has a wider suspension and much larger tires. Size alone makes it distinctive from the standard F-150, but there is also a unique grille with big letters F-O-R-D carved right into the front center.
Most of the Raptors are being sold in a Molten Orange color with an orange and black interior. A couple of other color combinations are available, but this blazing orange is the most distinctive. The bad-boy image continues into the inside with an extra wide dashboard and center console. My test model had terrific two-tone leather seats that almost hugged you during the drive. They were comfortable and supportive. The seats featured perforated leather inserts that helped maintain the comfort level.
My test model was powered by the standard issue for all F-150's - the 5.4 liter Triton V-8 that produces 320 horsepower. There is also an optional 6.2-liter V-8, but the 5.4-liter provides all the power and capability to climb rocks or navigate riverbeds. The suspension is obviously an important component of a serious off-road vehicle and the Raptor has a lot added. There is a new upper A-arm a lower A-arm, new half-shaft joints that go along with the heavy-duty axle. This does not take away from a smooth ride on highway surfaces however.
My wife Judy and I had our first test drive of the new Raptor last October down in the Texas Hill Country. We took it through some fairly rugged areas near Bulverde and Boerne. We even took it down into the edge of the riverbed of the Guadalupe River. This was the all-day Texas Truck Rodeo testing conducted by the Texas Auto Writers group. The Raptor was so impressive that the auto writers voted it Number One for the event and it was named Truck of the Year.
