[NYCtoLA]

Well the raptor made it into the playoffs but the pennant went to the Dodge Ram Heavy duty. The Raptor won many praises for its suspension, the way it handles on-road, and of course off-road. The most disconcerting paragraph came at the end..."...nice to see a manufacturer take a chance with such a focused, purpose built vehicle, and the fact that it is a truck makes it that much more amazing. But with this wimpy engine, the might Raptor fails to clear the high hurdle required to achieve Truck of the year status. We doubtless prefer the Raptor XT but this was the Raptor's one shot at TOTY."

Now I understand Motor Trend had certain expectations for an SVT vehicle, and expected the Raptor to go like stink but I think it is unfair to base their TOTY decision on their pre conceived notions rather than on the the advancement in the segment. Other vehicles considered were the Toyota Tundra work truck and the Ford Transit Connect. Neither vehicle makes near the power of the other two trucks but are in consideration??? Granted I am a bit biased on the Raptor, but it seems as if the editors started out looking at innovation in the segment, and the ram Diesel is innovative, however did the ram breakout and deliver a truely unique product? I would have voted for the Transit connect but even that isn't new...just new to us.

 

[MD]

Well, whatya gonna do? :4-dontknow:

At the end of the day it's just a stupid car magazine's staff expressing their opinions with biases we don't know about.

What matters is the court of public opinion. And I'd say it's clear there are thousands of buyers, waiters, future buyers and tire kickers who are very impressed with the Raptor that Ford wrought.

It's a winner to us and that's really what matters (to us).

Of course Ford would have loved to have the Raptor win and we too would agree with that as well.

 

[jesse101]

Just look at the other trucks mentioned in the magazine...why would they compare the raptor to those vehicles? makes no sense...

thats motor trend for ya...

but yet you got petersens praising it like no other....then you got other offroad magazines saying its awesome...look at where motor trend tested the raptor as well.

 

[jesse101]

pay attention to their comments, they werent comparing the trucks for what they were built for..

"Surprisingly good out on the twisties; unfortunately, this might well be lost on those who will drive only in the 'burbs or mostly on highway trips to the dunes," writes senior editor Edward Loh. One negative in this area is the slow steering that makes precise positioning on the road difficult, but that actually helps you once off the pavement."

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/oftheyear...rend_truck_of_the_year_contenders/2010_ford_f_150_svt_raptor.html#ixzz0dLXv5iHV

they saw this as a downfall? seriously?? lol

"As-tested price of over $46,000 may scare off potential buyers."

but yet the dodge priced out at 50K plus...ok whatever LMAO 46K for what the truck comes with is phenomenal, considering its only but a few grand more than the new FX4...or a lariat. i was supprised to see the Raptor not peaking at 60K to be honest with you.
​

look at where they tested the vehicle...on a freakin Road course..seriously?

​

 

[jesse101]

this comment is ratard!! why do i care if it could fit in a mall parking lot? seriously???

"Highways and city streets are where you notice how big this truck really is; it takes up every inch of the lane you're in, and when you have to park, say, at a grocery store lot, it barely fits between the painted lines. This makes threading into narrow head-in parking spots an adventure."

look at reviews for the raptor from offroad magazines, they at least know what to look for for christ sakes LOL they compared this vehicle as if it was a ford lightning...did they not understand it was built for offroad use???

"At FREEWAY speed, you have to plan a pass well in advance because in the Raptor when you put your foot down nothing really happens"

​

 

[jesse101]

Im done reading it, I have no idea why the Raptor was even put in that category, next to a bone stock tundra and a HD dodge truck...and some whatever its called LOL:smiledown:

 

[MD]

Yeah, any test of a Raptor that involves one or more orange cones is crap.

Warning: Orange Cones involved in this "test"

 

[SOCOMech]

The fact that it's Motor Trend is enough to keep me from reading it. Had it won, I would've said good job and another win for our hero.........but the fact that it lost in a Motor Trend test, doesn't phase me the slightest.

 

[jesse101]

this is what i sent to the Motor Trend Magazine staff:

To Whom It May Concern,

I have been an avid reader of your magazine for I don’t know how many years. I remember your review on the new G37, and it won me over at hello! However, the most current Truck of the year shoot out was probably one of the worst reviews i have read from your department in years.

I am not too sure how you guys pick the line-up, but how is the Ford Raptor in the same class as the Ford Transit, or the Dodge Ram Heavy duty? I somewhat understand the Tundra..But a Ford Transit? Makes absolutely no sense at all. Also I noticed you guys tested each truck on asphalt? The Raptor is an off-road vehicle; the dodge truck is a tow hauler and would fall apart if it was matched on the same terrain the Raptor was built for. I won’t even mention the other vehicles cause I can’t see them even being compared, its almost absurd. The Raptor should be matched against a Jeep, or the Hummer H3T, Toyota FJ... I’m sorry guys, but to test a Raptor on the highway or with Cones on pavement is mind boggling, may work for that Tundra or Transit, but for the Dodge or Raptor...they weren’t built for Mall crawlers, so to even mention how it may be tough for soccer moms to find a parking space at a mall or supermarket, is once again...absurd. Please take into account what the vehicle was manufactured for, not what you want it for, or what you think fits your persona. :doh:

 

[rprice]

Yeah, any test of a Raptor that involves one or more orange cones is crap.

Warning: Orange Cones involved in this "test"

Love the cone, MMDan - had to laugh.

 

[Ara]

Well i read the article too..
the comparisons are Ridiculous!!
BUT.. what they say about the Raptor , for the most part, does paint a true picture of the car! ( taste aside... as to what looks good and what look will last long or get old fast... that is totally subjective!)
They do say is it one hell of an off-road machine! TRUE
They do say it has one hell of an attitude!! TRUE
They do say it performs great on road and twisties!! TRUE
They do say it has awesome seats! TRUE
They do say interior is nice! TRUE ( minus the orange interior trim option.. which I agree.. but hey get the black interior.. one does not need to order the orange trim)
They do say it is Big and wide! TRUE... but I love it!!!
BUT They forget to say how great the turning radius is! and They forget to say how great the breaks are! it is big but handles like a smaller car! with ease and confidence!!!
They forget to say how quiet the car is... the damn thing rides like a high end sedan on road and fwy!!!
They forget to say how many heads it turns when u drive around.... and how many comments like "man that is one sick ride.." etc one hears all the time!

On the negative side
they do say the 5.4 is not enough! i totally agree with this!! 5.4 is not a dog.. but come on guys/gals we all know the raptor wants more HP... it wants to fly but the 5.4 doesn't quit pull it off!
i think their comment about the motor is totally correct!
( i will either upgrade to a 6.2 .. or supercharge my 5.4... still waiting to see whats up with the 6.2 and SC packages that will be out)

another negative thing they forget to mention is the trany and the shifting issues.. and lack of manual shift setup!! be it paddle, tiptronic, better tune... etc....(the present setup is kind of lazy and sluggish for aggressive driving).....

At the end they say is is one hell of a truck and unique... but the 5.4 keeps them from calling it the truck of the year....!
Well to me no other truck can even come close to the Raptor.. and it sure deserves the truck of the year award..
But give credit where credit is due... their comment on the 5.4 is correct!

 

[jesse101]

Their comment to the 5.4 is somewhat correct, BUT to say its lacking power and the Ford Transit isnt, or the Tundra isnt...im like wtf? compare that to the other vehicles and it performs well...and why are they comparing power on a paved road? "need to time your pass on the highway with the raptor"

i never had to..got about 1600 miles on mine and 800 of that is done offroading. I am 100% confident that none of those other vehicles would have even lasted this long for what i have done to this truck..even the dodge, that thing would have broke for sure LOL

I got one dent on my truck and that is it...small dent on the tailgate.

 

[jesse101]

I will agree for them to say it isnt truck of the year because it has a 5.4L V8, is Ratard lol:smiledown:

 

[MD]

Here's how this cynic sees these automotive awards and this one in particular...

• There are three domestic companies making pickups
• Dodge's truck is "all-new"
• Ford's Raptor is a version of the F-150
• They already considered this version of the F-150 previously

They gave it to one of the companies for an all-new truck not some awesome, amazing, never-been-made-before version of the F-150 that they already considered.

Do I think there's politics and revenue considerations involved in these kinds of decisions?

Does a dog fart?

 

[Ara]

Their comment to the 5.4 is somewhat correct, BUT to say its lacking power and the Ford Transit isnt, or the Tundra isnt...im like wtf? compare that to the other vehicles and it performs well...and why are they comparing power on a paved road? "need to time your pass on the highway with the raptor"

i never had to..got about 1600 miles on mine and 800 of that is done offroading. I am 100% confident that none of those other vehicles would have even lasted this long for what i have done to this truck..even the dodge, that thing would have broke for sure LOL

I got one dent on my truck and that is it...small dent on the tailgate.

Hey Jess..
I have not driven the Transit or the Tundra!

But i have driven the toyota Sequoia which has the same engine as the Tundra and they both way about the same as the Raptor!

I have to admit that toyota Force 5.7 32valve engine is a screamer!!

(5.7L DOHC 32V i-FORCE V8 with dual independent Variable Valve Timing with intelligence 381 hp @ 5600 rpm; Torque: 401 lb.-ft. @ 3600 rpm; Aluminum block with aluminum heads, Acoustically Controlled Induction System (ACIS) -- dual stage intake manifold, Compression ratio: 10.2:1, )

that thing is fast and revs like a dream.... on the Sequoia that i drove.. man it nailed me to the seat everytime i floored it. at any speed!!
there is no comparison with the Raptor's 5.4...

I wish..... i trully wish My Raptor 5.4 accelerated and reved like the toyota Force 5.7.. it would have been awesome..
maybe the 6.2 or/and SC will get it to that level... I am keeping my fingers crossed.. as the Raptor trully deserves better performing engine!!

 

[jesse101]

I drove the new tundra just last week, me and a friend are shopping around for a new truck, and he wanted to take a peak at the new tundra, as he is a toyota fan boy...and i was not impressed by the power. It to me was comparable to the Raptor 5.4, like i said, its not gonna go ape shit on a highway like a lightning, as this was not designed to do 13 second quarter mile runs, but to perform offroad, which i have been doing for a while now, its more addicting than anything else i have driven so far lol

What you just described is what i was referring to, you are comparing all the vehicles as to what you experienced on a paved road, none of which was tested on offroad terrain.

the Raptor was geared for the dirt, not passing other vehicles on the highway...so on the top end, it will be lacking, but when you need to punch it from a dead start, it has more than enough umph.

I guess when i ended up in 5 to 6 feet of snow, i got there with an under powered engine? i was flying through a snow drift, in fact i was gunning the truck through terrain that other trucks that had more HP could NOT do...i truely believe its the way the truck is geared and so on.

will the 6.4 have more power? yes, will a bigger/more power be great or more fun? hell yea it would...im not saying it wont be.

but to say the 5.4 is a slug or doesnt do the job is false...cause if it couldnt, then most wouldnt be able to do the things they do with their raptors while others are still waiting on the 6.2L.

I will admit im looking for a possible SC, but the chances of finding one that would actually WORK with all the switches and modes and so on...is slim to none. So im not saying we dont need more power, but its always nice to have more.

i garuntee you if they were offering the 6.2L initially, but yet they were coming out with a 6.2L SC version, people will be waiting on that instead. Its funny how people instantly think the 5.4 is worthless but yet it was just fine in previous models LOL to include the lightning, which had a super charger.

 

[Ducati]

I think its funny we live in a world were ppl think 300+ hp in a truck is insufficient. Motor trend really missed the mark here, big surprise. Its going to take a few years for the automotive industry to really appreciate what the Raptor is. Ford invented a new truck market for the consumer, theres never been a production truck like the Raptor and there wont be any others to truly compare it to for a while, if ever. It doesnt matter if your a Ford guy, a Dodge or Toyota guy the Raptor evokes a emotional response in everyone. You feel it when you see one, you feel it when you drive it. Its a sort of pride.

The guys at Motor Trend got it right. The Raptor's not the truck of the year, its the truck of the decade ! Hats off to you Ford.:beerchug:

 

[jesse101]

I think its funny we live in a world were ppl think 300+ hp in a truck is insufficient. Motor trend really missed the mark here, big surprise. Its going to take a few years for the automotive industry to really appreciate what the Raptor is. Ford invented a new truck market for the consumer, theres never been a production truck like the Raptor and there wont be any others to truly compare it to for a while, if ever. It doesnt matter if your a Ford guy, a Dodge or Toyota guy the Raptor evokes a emotional response in everyone. You feel it when you see one, you feel it when you drive it. Its a sort of pride.

The guys at Motor Trend got it right. The Raptor's not the truck of the year, its the truck of the decade ! Hats off to you Ford.:beerchug:

+1 well said :smileup:

 

[Ara]

I drove the new tundra just last week, me and a friend are shopping around for a new truck, and he wanted to take a peak at the new tundra, as he is a toyota fan boy...and i was not impressed by the power. It to me was comparable to the Raptor 5.4, like i said, its not gonna go ape shit on a highway like a lightning, as this was not designed to do 13 second quarter mile runs, but to perform offroad, which i have been doing for a while now, its more addicting than anything else i have driven so far lol

What you just described is what i was referring to, you are comparing all the vehicles as to what you experienced on a paved road, none of which was tested on offroad terrain.

the Raptor was geared for the dirt, not passing other vehicles on the highway...so on the top end, it will be lacking, but when you need to punch it from a dead start, it has more than enough umph.

I guess when i ended up in 5 to 6 feet of snow, i got there with an under powered engine? i was flying through a snow drift, in fact i was gunning the truck through terrain that other trucks that had more HP could NOT do...i truely believe its the way the truck is geared and so on.

will the 6.4 have more power? yes, will a bigger/more power be great or more fun? hell yea it would...im not saying it wont be.

but to say the 5.4 is a slug or doesnt do the job is false...cause if it couldnt, then most wouldnt be able to do the things they do with their raptors while others are still waiting on the 6.2L.

I will admit im looking for a possible SC, but the chances of finding one that would actually WORK with all the switches and modes and so on...is slim to none. So im not saying we dont need more power, but its always nice to have more.

i garuntee you if they were offering the 6.2L initially, but yet they were coming out with a 6.2L SC version, people will be waiting on that instead. Its funny how people instantly think the 5.4 is worthless but yet it was just fine in previous models LOL to include the lightning, which had a super charger.

Hey Jess.. please go back and read what i wrote a few posts above!
u will see that we are not really in disagrement about what the Raptor is all about!!

I love my truck... and no i dont want a 6.2 just becouse it is there... i just want to see my raptor have more HP!
and i never called the 5.4 a slug.. actually i said "it is not a dog... but the raptor wants more!"
i am with u all the way about the Raptor.. the best car i have ever owned.. and i have owned quit a few... best by a wide margin!
But it needs more HP.. that i toally believe in! and no i am not looking for a hotrod... More HP and better tranny setup/ and manual shifitng setup!
Why compromise on such a GREAT truck!!

 

[jesse101]

Hey Jess.. please go back and read what i wrote a few posts above!
u will see that we are not really in disagrement about what the Raptor is all about!!

I love my truck... and no i dont want a 6.2 just becouse it is there... i just want to see my raptor have more HP!
and i never called the 5.4 a slug.. actually i said "it is not a dog... but the raptor wants more!"
i am with u all the way about the Raptor.. the best car i have ever owned.. and i have owned quit a few... best by a wide margin!
But it needs more HP.. that i toally believe in! and no i am not looking for a hotrod... More HP and better tranny setup/ and manual shifitng setup!
Why compromise on such a GREAT truck!!

i would agree with the manual shifting, and a better tranny, i think thats more important than the more HP..

but i did say the same, i am too looking for more power, as who wouldnt want it? im sure when people get the 6.2, they will be looking for more power as well.

i mean really, this is the first ever from any manufacturer, and i think they did an excellent job. Im 100% sure in future Raptor models, they will take into consideration all of the current owners suggestions and remarks.

I just dont want anybody to get steered away cause of all this mentioning of the 5.4 being under powered, cause its not! there are more people posting its under powered when they dont even own one as of yet, or better yet has even driven one or know what the truck is capable of doing. the hype is so blown out of proportion, magazines are saying its under powered before they even get it or even know how to disengage all the safe settings.