One of the coolest trucks to come from the factory over the past two decades or so has to be the Ford F-150 Raptor. Built with high-speed desert running and rock crawling in mind, using long-travel suspension and serious all-terrain tires, it was among the first of its kind to push this idea of a factory-ready, pre-runner-themed pickup.
The Raptor was an immense success for Ford, of course, leading the brand to spawn more Raptor-badged trims for vehicles like the Ranger and the Bronco. Other brands took notice, too, building factory off-road pickups to capitalize on the market’s craze for sporty utility vehicles. See Chevy’s revived ZR2 trims for the Colorado and the Silverado, and Ram’s ferocious, supercharged V8-powered TRX.
Because of the original Raptor’s trick suspension and unmatched aura, I always simply assumed they’d remain too expensive to ever be worth considering. But as it turns out, they’re way cheaper than I expected. And it’s giving me bad ideas.
A New Segment Is Launched
When the first-generation F-150 Raptor debuted, it was a revelation. Packing 35-inch BFGoodrich all-terrains with reinforced sidewalls, unique off-road-ready suspension from Fox Racing, heat vents cut into the hood, and amber market lights in the grille, it was unlike any factory F-150 before it, and unlike any truck sold by the big three American manufacturers. The Raptor could go places and do things that the normal F-150 couldn’t, and virtually everyone who drove it seemed to love it. From Car and Driver’s original review:
On city streets, the suspension feels a little gummy, the Raptor leaning in turns and kowtowing its way up to a stoplight. In a truck meant for fast trail running, that’s a virtue. Special elongated aluminum lower-front control arms cast with the “SVT” logo are part of the Raptor’s package. The resulting 11.2 inches of front suspension travel (12.1 in the rear), damped by the big-piston Fox Racing Shox shock absorbers (the rears have remote reservoirs), allows the Raptor to practically float at 45 mph over deep water cuts, dried wheel ruts, rocky tufts, floundering cyborgs, and other desert nuisances that would pulverize other stock pickup trucks trying to keep up.
The only downside to that original, first-year Raptor was its engine, at least according to journalists at the time. The only available powertrain was a 5.4-liter naturally aspirated V8 making 310 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque, which MotorTrend described as not enough “to match the suspension’s capability.”
Ford fixed that problem the very next model year, making the 6.2-liter V8 from the Super Duty available as a $3,000 option, spiced up with its own unique cams and tune. Car and Driver liked this one even more:
The optional 6.2-liter V-8, new for 2010, was in the plan all along, Ford tells us, and a quick turn behind the wheel seems to verify that. The character of this engine matches the truck perfectly. With 411 hp and 434 lb-ft of torque, it imbues the Raptor’s powertrain with the same unflinching capability as the long-travel suspension does the chassis.
The rest is history. The Raptor quickly became a huge hit among the overlanding and off-roading scene, becoming the default choice for truck bros who want to fly over uneven desert terrain at highway speeds. After a successful first generation, Ford brought the Raptor back in 2017 with the new-model F-150, replacing the V8 with an even more powerful, more torquey twin-turbo EcoBoost V6. Then, in an effort to one-up the 702-hp Ram TRX, it released the 700-hp, supercharged V8-powered Raptor R.
I Feel Like This Is A Lot Of Truck For The Money
While a new Raptor R will run you over $115,000 out the door, used, high-mile originals can be found for six figures less. Some comments on my post about the F-150 recall from this morning inspired me to check Facebook to see what kind of F-150 I could buy for $15,000 or less, and I was amazed to see a swath of first-gen Raptors pop up on the screen.
These are not low-mileage garage queens, of course. A Raptor that costs less than the price of the cheapest new car on sale is going to have some miles, and it’s not going to be perfect (DrivingLine specifically mentions rust and the vacuum-operated locking hubs for the front axle as common issues). But still, a whole running, driving, F-150 Raptor, with the right tires and that Fox suspension, is a lot more attainable than I expected.
Let me give you a few examples. Here’s one listed on Facebook Marketplace in Illinois with 175,000 miles on the clock for $17,500, sporting the 6.2-liter engine and brand-new K02 all-terrain tires. Here’s another in Michigan with slightly more miles and a bit more rust, selling for just $15,000. This white model with the 5.4-liter V8 is up for grabs at a dealership in New Jersey for $13,900. If you care even less about mileage and don’t mind rust, this red one out of New Jersey can be yours for just over $10,000.
Again, these are not pristine examples. If you want something cleaner, you’ll probably have to spend over 20 grand, which, by the way, is still incredibly cheap for a truck with this much off-road equipment on board. And if you think these first-gen Raptors are just too old, don’t worry, the newer turbocharged versions are getting down there in price, too. They’re not as cheap as the first-gen trucks, obviously, but they’re still way cheaper than any new F-150. Here’s one listed for just $26,000 in Ohio, and another, in a lovely shade of blue, for $29,000, also in Ohio.
Would it be a terrible idea for me to buy a giant, high-mileage F-150 that gets 13 mpg as gas prices skyrocket, with nowhere to park it where I live in New York City? Yeah, probably. Do I have a couple of tabs open for deals nearby? Also yes.
Top graphic image: Ford
The post First-Gen Ford F-150 Raptors Are Way Cheaper Than I Imagined And It’s Giving Me Bad Ideas appeared first on The Autopian.
