We’ve written about the relationship between Texans and our trucks before on this site and why this is such a big state for the truck and SUV market. The open country, the need to haul a trailer, and simply the internal needs for wanting to go big or go home all figure into the equation. When it comes to Ford’s new super-truck, the F-150 SVT Raptor, there has already been plenty said and written about it as it’s been out for a few years now. Border agents along the Texas border were even some of the first to put in an order for some. So as you read this, and if you live in Texas, the answer to your inevitable question is yes. Yes, if you have the means to buy one, buy it!

Size: Because it’s all about Size…

2011 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor reviewed by txGarage

When the Raptor was introduced, it came in SuperCab configuration only. This means 2 doors with a small extended area in the rear. For the 2011 model year, Ford broke out with a SuperCrew variant stretching the Raptor and including another set of full doors. This move has been met with some scrutiny as this is a performance truck and adding size and weight doesn’t help with it’s performance. How much size and weight? Well the Raptor is already bigger than the average F-150 and even wider than a Hummer H1, but adding the second set of doors to the Raptor meant stretching it by a foot. The fuel tank capacity was increased by 10 gallons adding up to a total of a 36 gallon tank. Adding all this extra size to the already massive truck tipped the scales up by 300 pounds.

Engine: Because power solves all problems…

The extra size and weight in the 2011 Raptor we tested went basically unnoticed. This was helped by the new 6.2 liter V8 pushing 411 horsepower and 434 ft-lbs of torque; which is now standard on all Raptors. This mass is matched up with a 6-speed automatic transmission that provides full manual control via buttons on the shifter itself. Shifting this big truck in manual mode isn’t that easy with the small buttons on the shifter, but when you get used to it, you notice that the transmission wont shift up automatically on you and will allow downshifting at any speed. All this put together makes for a pretty quick truck, which is a weird sensation in such a big vehicle. Even with the big engine the Raptor can only tow up to 8,000 lbs as it’s let down by it’s off-roading suspension.

Inside: Because it’s Texas and you want to be comfortable while off-roading…

Obviously, the upside to the extra size and weight is it’s added room and roominess. The additional room at every seat in this truck cannot easily be described as I’ve never seen this much leg-room in a backseat! No matter where you ride in this truck, you get lots of room and comfortable, leather covered seats. One thing that bugs me with a lot of big off-roading trucks or SUVs that we test is the switches and buttons. When manufacturers create a big vehicle, they seem to have a need to make the dash full of over-sized buttons and knobs. In the Raptor, you get the basic F-150 dash layout, and it looks great. You get a few extras including an auxiliary switchboard in front of the shifter. The idea of this switchboard is to make aftermarket customization easier with prewired switches attached to the power distribution box for electrical accessories, say big off-roading lights for example. Also equipped within the speedo is a 4.2” LCD screen that provides the driver with lots of useful information. Just don’t leave this screen on fuel economy as it’ll make you want to drive off a bridge. Our Raptor was also equipped with another LCD screen in the middle of the dash with Ford’s SYNC system and and navigation.

Ride: Because it’s not always about off-roading…

Ford knew when building the Raptor that this would be an everyday driving truck as well as overly capable off-road truck. Squishy, off-roading suspension makes highway cruising smooth and easy. Moving between lanes and overtaking is easy as well thanks to the rigid chassis and powerful engine. To make the stretched chassis behave the way it’s supposed to behave, Ford tightened the steering ratio and stiffened the spring rates.

Off-Road: Because I wanna jump this thing in my backyard…

We’ve all seen the shots of the first generation Raptor jumping hills and making spectacular landings. There has been some controversy about the capability of the frame for off-roading and jumping, but last we’ve heard, nothing has came of it. What we do know is that this thing glides off-road with ease. There is nothing quite like mashing your foot to the floor pushing that 434 ft-lbs of torque to the rear wheels, creating rooster-tails of dirt and dust, and shooting across a country field. The temptation is so intoxicating that you don’t even want to wait to get to an open field. You have to constantly fight your subconsciousness to not drive right off the side of the road, or drop a few tires off into the ditch. You know this truck can handle it with ease.

Price: Because a bigger truck deserves a bigger price-tag…

This isn’t the most expensive F-150 in Ford’s stable, but it’s close. A base price of $45,290 is a lot for an off-roading toy, but this is really an everyday truck that’s incredibly capable off-road. The base price of the truck is just the first expense, the next big expense never stops. Filling the Raptor up with fuel, premium only, can become a mind boggling experience. We’ve tested high performance sports-cars here on txGarage that got bad gas mileage, but the Raptor takes the crown. Let’s just say that we struggled to stay around 12 mpg even with normal driving.

I still stand by my statement that if you have the means, this is the truck you want. There is really nothing out there that competes with the Raptor. Although Chevrolet and Dodge have both flirted with the idea of Raptor competition, neither have pulled the trigger, yet. The Raptor has caught on for sure. Ford’s last SVT truck offering was the Lighting and Ford has already stated that the Raptor’s annual sales rate nearly double that of the Lighting when it was launched.

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Being in Texas, how could we not include one of the most hard-core production trucks on the market? The F-150 Raptor jumped on the scene with big promises and big expectations. In 2008, it delivered on all those promises when it finished 3rd in class in one of the most grueling off road races there is, the Baja 1000. The SVT team wanted nothing more than to finish the race in this production truck; finishing 3rd was unexpected for everyone.

The Raptor is unique in many ways from the stock F-150. Not just including suspension work, but the truck is wider by 7 inches and the 5.5 foot box is unique to the Raptor as well. Powering this performance truck is either the 5.4 liter Triton V8 or the 6.2 liter V8 with 411 horsepower and 434 lbs-ft of torque. With 5300 confirmed orders, first year Raptor sales exceeded those of the 1999 Lightning F-150.

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid

Today at the International Auto Show in Detroit they announced the North America Car and Truck of the year. Ford had a clean sweep with the Ford Fusion Hybrid winning car of the year and the Ford Transit Van winning truck of the year. We wont get into the Van winning Truck of the year, mostly because here in Texas we had the F150 win Texas Truck of the Year which is more suitable for us.
On the other had the Ford Fusion Hybrid, although we didn’t drive the Fusion Hybrid we did drive the Milan Hybrid – built on the same platform. We really liked the Milan Hybrid and Ford’s Hybrid system despite it being a Hybrid.

Check it out the 2010 Milan Hybrid here.

Check out the 2010 Ford Fusion here.

2010 Ford Transit Van

2010 Ford F-150 Truck of Texas

The Texas Auto Writers Association gathered together last weekend for their annual truck event known as the Texas Truck Rodeo. This year it was held in San Antonio where the trucks and SUV’s would be put through the test at the Knibbe Ranch.
Every year, the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) names the Truck of Texas after this event and for the past six years that truck has been the Ford F-150. This year was no different with the new Ford F-150 taking the big prize yet again. For 2010, the F-150 didn’t just get a new look, it got an all around new package. The interior is a nice place to be whether you are roaring down a highway or driving through an open field. The powertrain has been tweaked giving the new F-150 a boost in fuel economy by as much as 12% over the prior year model. The title for Truck of the Year seems to be well deserved for Ford’s hard work on the F-150 year after year.

Ford also earned the number one spot for Luxury Truck of the year with the 2010 Ford F-150 King Ranch. With its upscale and quiet cabin with plush leather seats, it isn’t hard to see why. This truck combines everything you would want in an upscale luxury car – including heated and cooled seats, navigation, cruise control, leather wrapped everything, and wood grain trim – with everything you would want out of a truck – including 310 horsepower, 4×4 capabilities, 8,200 pounds of towing capacity, and easy maneuverability. So if you are looking for a great truck around the 46k plus range, the King Ranch is for you.

Ford also took home awards for the 2010 Ford Flex EcoBoost (Full-Size Crossover Utility Vehicle of the Year), the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Supercab (Full-Size Pickup Truck of the Year), the 2010 Ford Expedition King Ranch (Full-Size Sport Utility Vehicle), and the 2010 Lincoln MKX (Mid-Size Crossover Utility). They also claimed the Truck Line of Texas award and claimed the award for Outstanding Feature with its Ford Work Solutions.

So was there anything left to give out after Ford grabbed up its eight awards? Well yes, GM racked up two awards with one vehicle. The 2010 Cadillac SRX 2.8 Liter Turbo beat out the competition for Luxury Crossover Utility Vehicle of the year and took an overall victory with Crossover Utility Vehicle of the year. The 2010 SRX 2.8L Turbo is a great 2.8L V6 turbocharged to 300 horsepower with a 6-speed transmission. The powertrain hooks up to an All-Wheel Drive system and 4-channel electronic stability control system with rollover mitigation. It also has luxuries like front and rear ultrasonic parking assist, power liftgate with memory height, adaptive remote start, 10 speaker Bose 5.1 Cabin Surround Sound system, navigation, rearview camera, and a laundry list of more. This CUV with its Cadillac sleek looks and premium luxury most definitely deserved these awards.

The 2010 Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTEC also brought home two awards winning the Sports Utility Vehicle of Texas and Full-Size Luxury Sport Utility Vehicle of the Year. This premium 7 passenger SUV is all Mercedes, the pinnacle of luxury. Coming in at a price just under $60,000 the only complaint I’ve heard about this luxury SUV is that its Navigation system and radio don’t split screen. The BlueTEC has a 3.0 liter V6 producing 210 horsepower with a 7-speed automatic transmission affording you 17 mpg city and 23 mpg highway.

Lexus won out for the Mid-Size Luxury Sport Utility Vehicle with its 2010 Lexus R450h. The “h” of course is for the hybrid drivetrain that now produces 295 hp (27% better than last year). Everything has been re-looked at on the RX, including the sheetmetal used. The sheetmetal used on the 2010 RX is slipperier than before with a 0.32 coefficient of drag. They also updated the interior including an “iDrive” like information center called “Remote Touch”. This is something Lexus has needed to really compete in the luxury market.

The 2010 Subaru Outback claimed the Compact Crossover Utility Vehicle title. The Outback has grown over the years but always remains true to its nature, a 4×4 off-road machine. Probably the first to be able to claim the rights of being a Crossover Utility Vehicle the Outback has always been a great ride. The 2010 is larger, more fuel efficient, and higher up than its predecessors. You have the choice between a 2.5 liter 4 cylinder boxer engine with a 6 speed manual transmission pushing 170 hp or a 3.6 liter 6 cylinder boxer engine with a 5 speed automatic transmission pushing 256 hp. Both come with Subaru’s great all-wheel drive system as standard.

Now we have Chrysler getting into the mix with an award for the 2010 Jeep Patriot Limited 4×4. The Jeep won in the Compact Sport Utility Vehicle class. Although no one knows the future of the Jeep brand or what the Patriot might look like with some Fiat infusion, we can say that the 2010 is worth a look. The 2.4 liter inline 4 makes 172 hp and gets 23mpg city and 28 mpg highway; not bad at all. We also get to see the two trucks picking up awards for Chrysler. The 2010 Dodge Dakota Crew Cab TRX4 took home the Mid-Size Pickup Truck award and the 2010 Dodge Ram 3500 took the Heavy Duty Pickup Truck award.

Last but not least, the 2010 Toyota 4Runner Trail Edition picked up an award for Mid-Size Sports Utility Vehicle of the Year. We first saw the 2010 4Runner at the debut at the State Fair of Texas media day. I knew from that day this was going to be a great new SUV, especially for the younger audience. Features like “party mode” allowing the 4Runner’s sound system to be concentrated toward the rear of the vehicle for tailgating parties is just one of the many details Toyota has looked at while making the new 4Runner. The reason the Trail Edition made it to the top of the list for Texas is for the cleaver off-roading capabilities of the 4Runner.

For more information on the Texas Truck Rodeo check out the TAWA site:

Yes! this was in Texas

The hardest hit market in the auto industry during this ongoing recession was the Truck market. Texas, being the largest Truck market in the world, was obviously hit the hardest by the dwindling sales. There is light at the end of the tunnel as Automotive News reports that dealers in Texas are reporting more fleet and retail traffic. In August the F-150 saw its first increase over prior year sales since 2006.

Autoblog goes as far as tying the entire economic recovery to truck sales in Texas, and they have a good point. Let’s all hope that this trend continues and our friends in the car market here in Texas begin to show some success again.

Ford SVT F-150 Raptor

We haven’t yet had the privilege of taking a Raptor out in the Texas countryside but from everything we have seen and read about the Raptor we are excited to get the chance. This is one great truck the SVT program has come up with, so good in fact that the Border Patrol has been toying with the purchasing the Raptor F-150. And why not? This is what this truck is made for, high speed off road endurance driving.

The US Department of Homeland Security reportedly wants at least ten Raptors for their Customs and Border Protection divisions. No word on where these would be stationed, but you would have to assume that California and Texas would get a few. So if you see one of these patrolling through Brownville to El Paso snap a pic and give us a shout!

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