Ford has a well-earned reputation as a reliable manufacturer with vehicles loved for their longevity. Particularly, Ford’s trucks are some of the highest performing and most capable workhorses on the planet for towing and payload. One of their most famous trucks is the full-sized Ford F-150. Year after year, the F-150 is one of the highest performing trucks in its class. For towing, hauling, and horsepower, you are going to be hard-pressed to find something as reliable as any model year Ford. Any used Ford F-150 has a set of core traits that any serious truck driver without a commercial license is bound to appreciate.
Going beyond the base performance drivers have come to expect from the F-150 is the Ford Raptor. Even though it is a trim option of the F-150, many would consider it a class unto itself with its specialized suspension and performance build. The king of the sand dunes and dominator of high-speed off-roading, the Raptor has always been a model designed to impress any driver looking for the most power and performance.
The Best of the Ford F-150
Ford is one of the most beloved manufacturers in America. It has earned a stellar reputation for dependability, longevity, and consistent engineering over its release back in 1975. The F-150 is the poster child for all of the values and traits that people love about the Ford brand, with the bonus of power and dependability. In its class, no other pickup truck has the same consistent capability and performance.
Even the name F-150 has become synonymous with sturdy work trucks everywhere, and when you’re the gold (or blue in this instance) standard, you need to keep up your reputation, and Ford does year after year with this truck. The F-150 is as consistent and reliable as the blue oval can get. No matter what model year, the F-150 does exactly what you want from your work truck. The F-150 is all work and all play. And, as the years have progressed, the F-150 has also become all about comfort and safety.
Used vs New
Ford is one of the most reliable automakers on the planet. This can sometimes act as a double-edged sword, however. They stick to what works and perfect it before jumping onto the next big thing competitors are crawling over each other to put out on the market. This approach means that Ford takes plenty of time to develop the perfect features before moving onto the next innovation, rather than throwing everything at drivers all at once. You can feel confident when buying a used Ford F-150 because you know that they take the time to make every truck up to their standard, even if that means waiting a year to introduce the next new technology.
For example, the 2010 F-150 sports a 4.6L engine with 248 horsepower and over 11,000 lbs of towing in a ride that’s less like a truck and more like an SUV. Comparably, the 2020 F-150 with a 5.0L engine produces 395 horsepower and can tow up to 11,500 lbs. A steady increase in power and capability to make any driver happy.
This is seen time and again with the F-150 and its dependable design. The engineers at Ford are constantly working to improve what people have come to love and expect from them while innovating where they can to cut weight and improve fuel efficiency while never sacrificing capability. The peak of the Ford innovation and power can be seen in their off-road powerhouse: the Ford Raptor.
F-150 Raptor
You have your F-150, which is powerful, dependable, and versatile in getting heavy tow loads and payloads where you need them. What if you had all of that power with the high-speed fun of a dune buggy and the off-road capability of a sport utility vehicle? Ford has your number with the Raptor F-150. Starting in 2010, Ford rolled out the street-legal build of the high performance, desert racing F-150 known as the Ford Raptor. Since then, the Raptor has regularly been anticipated year after year for its increasing options for incredible suspension packages and improved capability.
The Ford Raptor is the peak dedicated off-road and high performance pick up truck. Most famously utilized in desert races and extreme off-road derbies, it’s chief competition is the Ram TRX. The Ford Raptor is not a cheap truck. It is produced for a specialized high performance build. In fact, a new 2020 model will cost you a starting $53,455. Getting one used is an excellent way to save some money while still getting the power you want.
What Makes the Raptor so Special?
The Raptor does everything that the F-150 does but does it with way more attitude and ferocity. The standard F-150 is no slouch, but the Raptor takes all of that rugged construction and puts it on a high-performance suspension with a menacing sounding engine with a roar straight from the Jurassic that lets you know that it is an entirely different beast. The Raptor thrives on off-road, high-speed adventure. It comes with massive, all terrain tires that let you dominate the road and off-road no matter what conditions. The 2016 Ford Raptor sports massive 35-inch fat tires that will conquer any rock crawling or dune hopping you throw at it.
The suspension system is also different from the base model of the F-150. It performs far better on uneven terrain, provides stellar ride comfortability, and maximizes the fun driving experience this powerhouse provides. Additionally, the frame is made with aluminum and steel in order to lighten the weight and increase performance.
The Raptor is also packed with Ford’s trademarked high-output 3.5L V6 EcoBoost engine. The Raptor can reliably get around 450 horsepower, 510 lb-ft of torque, and has an acceleration of 0 to 60mph in as few as 5 seconds. The first generation models, such as the previously mentioned 2016, did come with a 5.4L V8 engine that produced up to 310 horsepower as the standard option.
Even though handling a truck like this can be something of an experience akin to wrestling an actual raptor, the suspension and tires mean whatever you can’t navigate around, you can easily go over. The Raptor is on a whole other level compared to standard pickup trucks; even the base F-150 looks tame by contrast. The Ford Raptor finds the perfect balance between mind-blowing capability and an unrivaled driving experience that is just fun, plain and simple.
Opt for a Ford F-150
When you are shopping for a used truck and are considering the Ford F-150, you are bound to strike gold. Ford’s solid engineering ensures that its trucks have a long lifespan. So, even though you are saving a ton of money not buying new, your new truck will not have depreciated significantly, and you will be able to rely on it for years to come. Additionally, with trims like the Raptor typically costing quite a pretty penny, it may not be feasible to always buy the new model.
The slow and steady progress of Ford manufacturing serves you excellently here. You may not have the newest flares or the new Raptor badging or the LED lights on front and back, but the core of the F-150 and Raptor driving experience has not dramatically changed from year to year. No matter what model year you choose to go with, you are guaranteed to get a fun, dependable, and confident driving experience even with a preowned truck.
