Owspeed
Member
I picked up my 35 Leadfoot gray from Courtesy Ford in Portland last Friday Sept 24th. I was first in the list of allocations and was thrilled that it finally came in a bit earlier then expected. I worked with Sunny Patel who was a pleasure to work with. Said to be the first Gen 3 Raptor ordered in Portland and northern Oregon.
I was about to brake it in and get to know it on a 890 road trip sat and Sunday down the Oregon coast to Santa Cruz.
I will be honest, I was becoming apprehensive to spend this much money on a truck. I’ve spent lots of time in both versions of the GEN 2 which led me to get this raptor. I decided to hold out because I felt the upgrade to John three would be worth it and hold his value longer. In short I will say it’s far exceeded any expectations I had or expected especially based on my time in the GEN 2.
my impression of the GEN three in person was much better than a picture and has excellent presents. I was able to compare to an identical leadfoot grade GEN 2 with a buddy in Coos Bay to know the details. In my opinion the GEN 3 really does like like the next step forward and continues to grow on me. Makes the Gen 2 look, dated.
The interior looks excellent. The quality of the leather and most of the materials our nest up up from the previous Ford interior. Love the controls the screens and the interface. The access to the individual settings on the wheel are more intuitive and easy to learn. It did take me until day two to figure out how to change the ride modes. I was thinking it was a dowel purely for the engagement of the four-wheel-drive but love the tactile feel and the settings. Each one is unique and has a clear identity which changes the persona of the truck. I was driving a normal mode playing with the steering, suspension, and the exhaust. The next day I figured out it had sport mode. Completely changes the shifting algorithms blipping of the downshift aggression of the throttle mapping etc. Felt much more like my BMW M3 competition. Only threw it in Baja about a couple times but that is pure aggression. Will be fun to play with when I can get it on the dirt. No idea how they make that exhaust street legal.
Logging that many miles in such a short time I can’t get over how excellent the ride quality is. Cabin is quiet road feel and feedback is smooth and extremely luxury. A significant step above the GEN 2. I would even go as far to say it felt as good as my X5 or Porsche Macan S. The same will make an incredible road trip truck!
Getting comfortable with the way in the handling I was able to rally some of the best back roads and you could notice say increased level of control and improvement in handling with the suspension settings.
I won’t pretend that it sounds like the mock one with his V-8 but the sound of the exhaust is excellent. Reminds me more of a flat plane V8 or V 10. Really does have a trumpet or trombone element. That both my buddies who own raptors and a T-Rex drive it and they were thoroughly impressed. They also love the sound and felt it was vastly improved over theirs Gen2’s.
Was averaging between 15.5 and 17 miles per gallon depending how I would reset it and what part of the trip I was on. Was typically averaging about 75 to 80 miles an hour.
This is the first vehicle that has adaptive cruise control that I’ve used and I was thoroughly enjoying it especially through bay area Sunday traffic.
Again I was so impressed with the right quality. My truck came with 47 psi based on the TPMS I lowered it to 38 psi cold. Would float between 42 and 44 psi on the TPMS during the warmest parts of the day (85F) under fast road conditions. I liked the balance between handling and ride. I may try and drop it another two psi to 36psi cold.
Also to note I had three or 400 pounds of IKEA boxes in the bed which contributed to the excellent ride quality.
Last I will mention I’ve had some the time in the TRX and the new GEN three raptor easily out handles it. Yes the VA sounds amazing but also does sound like an overt motorboat.
Future. Thinking about 18” Method wheels and Toyo AT3 37’s. I have to say the current rate is so good I’m a little worried that it might impact the performance.
Let me know if you have any questions or as I think of more details I will add them.
William
