Ford Raptor
source: ShutterStock
Though it’s one of the latest to production in our list of the best off-road vehicles, the Ford Raptor has quickly become a fan favorite. It’s one of the most recognizable “special package” trucks developed by any of the Big Three, and it secures its winning formula by being built on the legendary F-150 truck foundation.
The Raptor was developed with the goal of meeting and exceeding one of four-wheeling’s greatest challenges: The Baja 1000. This insane endurance trek has tested the world’s most brutish 4×4 vehicles, chewing many of the finest up, only to spit them out with busted springs, snapped steering, broken axles, and leaking struts and shocks. Sure enough, in 2008 Ford developed the first SVT Raptor to actually race in the Baja 1000 – this was no simple “inspirational” truck. It was built to be the real thing, and it did so quite well. The Raptor brought home 8 championships out of 9 divisions Ford entered.
That success would build the sandy, buckled, golden trail upon which the Raptor would catapult to being one of the world’s greatest factory off-road trucks. Today, the newest Ford Raptor is something even the original truck would blush at (or cower). Making null to 60 in just 5.5 seconds and completing a quarter mile in just 14.2 seconds, the newest clawed monster boasts proper muscle car performance. That’s thanks to Ford’s latest-and-greatest twin-turbo 3.5L V6, which makes a face-melting 450 horses and 510 torques and comes mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission.
source: ShutterStock
Of course, all the proper 4×4 fixings come standard: BFGoodrich T/A KO2 tires, Fox 3.0 Racing Shox delivering 13” of front and 14” of rear travel, electronically locking rear Torsen diff with 4.10 gears, hill descent control, and a Terrain Management System with six selectable drive modes for every surface and weather condition.
For all this brutishness, you’d think the Raptor would look like a bare-boned trophy truck on the inside, but it doesn’t. In fact, it’s one of the most well-equipped trucks Ford (or any maker) has ever produced. The Raptor is a practice of the excess, so buyers will enjoy the dual-zone climate control, a Kicker sub with premium surround sound, voice-activated controls, automatic and ambient lighting, heated and cooled seats, a 360-degree camera, and an 8” LED screen – all standard.
For all that excess, the Raptor still has substance. Buyers will enjoy exclusive access to Ford’s very own Raptor Assault School, tucked away in the foothills of Utah where Ford instructors and racing pros each newly minted owners just how dangerously capable their new Raptor is. This alone is enough to put the Raptor on our list today.
