Ford Gen3 Raptor and it's future- R's in greater #'s?

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pbtjrlmrt

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Just curious, have you driven a TRX, to make the claim that the Gen 2 is the best truck on the road? For a "road" truck that is going to be really hard to back up the claim. For off-road use has there been enough real world testing to know which is better? Seems a bit of a moot point anyway since the Raptor R is the true competitor to the TRX.

I actually have driven a TRX...on the road not off road. What I know is that the Raptor is literally Baja proven. Driven off the assembly line...ran baja then driven home. When the TRX develops those kinds of creds then talk. As far as the Gen3 at least on paper every statistic except hp is better. more clearance, stock 37s, simply better at everything except drag strip performance. Not a subjective opinion...simply fact...I'm not even bringing up the whole reliability issues that Dodge constantly deals with in general. You bought a truck that goes fast in a straight line...I'm happy for you if it's what you wanted but to suggest it is somehow more of a capable baja truck than the raptor is just nonsense...and that might be a bit subjective but Raptor is proven TRX is anything but.
 

pbtjrlmrt

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To be fair, I get into more drag races at red lights with my Raptor then I would ever come close to testing its limits off road, which I have yet to even take off road (mainly due to lack of time and location) so that’s why I want as much HP as reliably possible.
I love my stage 2 tuned roughly 550hp, but 700+ HP would be welcomed with open arms.
For sure...take the raptor and add as much HP as it can carry. I am not opposed to HP it's just that the Raptor is so much more than HP where the TRX is mostly just about HP. TRX is unproven and the only thing the TRX guys have is HP. Obly years from now will we know the actual truth of course today we already know on paper the gen3 Raptor beats TRX on every metric except HP and that's just fact....if Raptor-R comes into being Fiat won't even have that going for them.
 

Dtsgli

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Just curious, have you driven a TRX, to make the claim that the Gen 2 is the best truck on the road? For a "road" truck that is going to be really hard to back up the claim. For off-road use has there been enough real world testing to know which is better? Seems a bit of a moot point anyway since the Raptor R is the true competitor to the TRX.
I owned a Gen 1 for a few years, drove a Gen 2 for a while, and recently spent a couple weeks in the TRX. For on road the TRX is definitely my pick. Hate saying it, especially here. It was nice. Nice interior, quieter than the Gen 2 (due to the augmented noise Ford puts into the cabin) and instant torque. Suspension in Baja mode was as soft as in the Raptor, but the body roll was not as pronounced vs the Gen 2.

I caved and ordered a TRX. Don’t think I’ll be able to afford the Raptor R, but really don’t want to wait for a good deal on a Gen 3 or the Raptor R. Ordered a TRX $5k off MSRP. Was a decent deal.

We’ll see what happens down the road when the market cools.
 

DyLivn

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I actually have driven a TRX...on the road not off road. What I know is that the Raptor is literally Baja proven. Driven off the assembly line...ran baja then driven home. When the TRX develops those kinds of creds then talk. As far as the Gen3 at least on paper every statistic except hp is better. more clearance, stock 37s, simply better at everything except drag strip performance. Not a subjective opinion...simply fact...I'm not even bringing up the whole reliability issues that Dodge constantly deals with in general. You bought a truck that goes fast in a straight line...I'm happy for you if it's what you wanted but to suggest it is somehow more of a capable baja truck than the raptor is just nonsense...and that might be a bit subjective but Raptor is proven TRX is anything but.

So defensive, odd. I do not own a TRX. I am actually holding off placing any order until I can see an Gen 3 in person. There is a lot I like about it, so I want to want to give it a fair shake. But to say it is a fact the Gen 3 is better off road and on road is strange to me. It is not fact until the TRX has been put through the same testing. I honestly don’t care either way because I will never use either off road. On road is what I care most about. Yes the power is a huge selling point for me on the TRX but it will not be the only factor in my decision. The RAM reliability thing is getting old. People hang on to that like the old timers that swear of turbos. Times change…turbos are reliable and RAM is totally flipped the script. I have had plenty of issues with my 2018 F150 with only 30k miles…**** that has left me stranded on the side of the road. IWE’s, cam phasers, hell I have been locked out of my own damn truck because of the freezing door locks. Ford is not innocent in this game.
 

Oggie

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So defensive, odd. I do not own a TRX. I am actually holding off placing any order until I can see an Gen 3 in person. There is a lot I like about it, so I want to want to give it a fair shake. But to say it is a fact the Gen 3 is better off road and on road is strange to me. It is not fact until the TRX has been put through the same testing. I honestly don’t care either way because I will never use either off road. On road is what I care most about. Yes the power is a huge selling point for me on the TRX but it will not be the only factor in my decision. The RAM reliability thing is getting old. People hang on to that like the old timers that swear of turbos. Times change…turbos are reliable and RAM is totally flipped the script. I have had plenty of issues with my 2018 F150 with only 30k miles…**** that has left me stranded on the side of the road. IWE’s, cam phasers, hell I have been locked out of my own damn truck because of the freezing door locks. Ford is not innocent in this game.
Agreed. None of us has seen a gen3 off road yet. Because we’re all relying solely on the gen2 and gen1 experience, and using that to infer that the gen3 will be comparable if not better than it’s predecessors, you’re right that it’s not fair to say the gen3 is better off road than the trx. Until we can do a proper side by side off road comparison, though, all we can do is compare legacy Raptor against current TRX. And, anecdotally, the current trx isn’t doing all that well.
 
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360North

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While I would like to see Ford up the ante on the V6 Raptor (motor-wise), or offer a Raptor R at a lower cost…they don’t have the mandate or need to do it, despite the TRX being an alternative now. Why? Allow me to throw out some insights here.

1) The TRX (hellcat version) is limited production in a different sense. Stellantis has already announced that by 2024 (if not sooner), the Hellcat motor will be discontinued…as in, won’t be placed in a production vehicle (produced for parts use only, such as repairs). Therefore, the TRX as you know it today, will cease to exist nor be available to order…if it continues as an offering, it will be a different configuration w/ a different drivetrain (possibly electrified). So competition as it may be currently, it will be gone in 3yrs or less. Basically, get it while you can, before it’s gone. Ford knows this!

2) Gas prices…they will continue to increase & most prospective buyers will opt to buy a truck that gets better gas mileage & lowers cost of ownership…so they can still enjoy it, despite the higher gas costs…which favors the V6 Raptor.

3) If the V8 Raptor doesn’t come into existence until 2023/2024, it won’t compete with the TRX…or if it does, the competition will be so short lived it won’t have any significant impact on sales of either the Raptor R or the TRX…and in the end, the Raptor R will still continue on (until Ford kills it off) while the TRX is already dead & buried. Meanwhile, the V6 Raptor will outlive both of them & continue to sell without competition…unless RAM introduces a TRX Lite model.

That said…Ford has no reason to up the availability of the # of Raptor R’s produced, nor do they need to up the horsepower on the V6 Raptor in the near future…the business case for it doesn’t exist, as they will sell them regardless.

The only thing they have any need to do, is to keep them updated & freshened up in a timely manner…maybe some new colors for exterior & interior, but that’s about it.

There’s “useful” power & torque, and there’s ”bragging rights” power & torque…the latter only matters if there’s a business case for it…the forecast for the future dictates that currently there is not.

I would even go so far, as to say that…if gas prices climb that high…the V8 Raptors & TRX’s may not hold their value down the road. Only time will tell.

Reality tends to favor logic, rather than opinion…otherwise, we would all be billionaires…right!?

It is what it is…Just my .02 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 

K223

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Stellantis has already announced they have an ev truck coming 2024. Supposedly going to be the no holds bar and most powerful ev truck to come out etc etc etc. So this may coincide with what’s said above. Will Stellantis **** off there Hellcat line so fast or is it talk. They do realize once there bread and butter lineup starts getting beat out by EV’s they will need to be ready. Dodge, Ram makes money on HP and straight line speed more than anything.
 

melvimbe

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Stellantis has already announced they have an ev truck coming 2024. Supposedly going to be the no holds bar and most powerful ev truck to come out etc etc etc. So this may coincide with what’s said above. Will Stellantis **** off there Hellcat line so fast or is it talk. They do realize once there bread and butter lineup starts getting beat out by EV’s they will need to be ready. Dodge, Ram makes money on HP and straight line speed more than anything.

I don't put a lot of stock in a car company stating that the model they currently have trouble keeping in stock and sell above MSRP will be gone in a few years. Stallantis has several reasons for making this forecast. One, it makes the environmental types happy, for now at least. Two, the 'promise' of scarcity increases interest, particularly in a more high end vehicle where many customers want it because of the high cost and scarcity. And third, I think Stallantis does actually have a plan and hope to lower their overall fleet MPG and still be profitable, and you can't get there without a goal. Whether they can actually do it is a different matter.
 
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