As some of you may know, I got hit with the Raptor bug and in a spontaneous impulse move (that I'm happy with!), I agreed to terms (3500 over MSRP) with a dealer 1700 miles away and was immediately on a plane to pick up my new ride (Magnetic SCREW, 802, tech, moonroof, tailgate applique, heated wheel, heated rear seats, bed extender, tailgate step and spray in liner).
This thread documents my thoughts of the whole ordeal, from order to driving it 1700 miles home...
So I have been in the hunt for a new Raptor for a while, but having some resources tied up preventing me from making an order last year. After selling that resource and freeing up funding, a few folks on here helped try and get an order, but nothing really materialized due to my late entry into the order market.
Well not to be discouraged, I scoured every Magnetic (and Black, second choice) in Photon's application and called and made offers over the course of 3 weeks. Initially, everyone laughed at my 3k offer, and I was ok with that...because really, I probably shouldn't have paid more than MSRP, but impulse got the best of me.
Well finally after three weeks of discouragement, I called All Star Ford in Baton Rouge Louisiana, and they quickly agreed to 3500 over and that was it. They helped arrange everything (even picked me up from the airport!) and the rest is history.
Initial impression:
So immediately after picking up the keys and starting the 1700 mile journey back, all I can say is the first 100 miles were overwhelming. I had never driven or been in a Raptor, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't really mash on her until after 1k miles, so my first impressions where only that she was comfortable, both the interior and drive. Going in and out of driveways is something you just have to feel to understand...it sounds like the most benign thing, but the way the suspension soaks up bumps and then lifts you up is just amazing...
Final impression:
This thing is a beast. It wasn't until after 1k miles, that I really pushed her. With the pedal to the metal, she just gets into the band and rides the individual gears until about 100, so seemless and smooth.
The comfort of the ride makes you forget how fast you are going. Many times I thought I was going 45 and I was going 70...the size and comfort really blend the speed in.
As someone pointed out, this is not a ricers daily racer...this is meant for offroad racing, not onroad. I found this out my flying up the 8 west climbing the mountain (up from Octillo/Superstition) and was going about 80 around a bend and the body roll combined with a gust of wind( it was really freaking windy), made me a little uneasy. At first the way the back end collapsed made me think I blew a tire (and I actually pulled off and checked). What I learned was although this is a fast and comfortable vehicle on road, it's soft suspension should not be taken for granted.
Mileage:
Here are my mileage calcs and info:
Baton Rouge to San Antonio Texas
Estimated Mileage on screen 16.3
Actual calculated 15.5
I really babied the first 500. Did try and cycle the gears and RPM levels, but no WOT
San Antonio to Fort Stockton Texas
Screen 14.4
Actual 13.4
Was harder on this section than the first, and this was a little hilly.
Fort Stockton to Tucson AZ
Screen 15.0
Actual 14.27
This was flat with some slow sections
Tucson to San Diego CA
Screen 14.2
Actual 13.2
Hilly with no holding back on WOT
As you can see, the actual value was always lower than the read out. I was briefly able to get 19 mpg averaged over 20 miles, but that was during a construction zone at 60 mph on a flat road....it immediately became one of those low numbers above, so don't think you are going to get good mileage with this motor, at least not yet.
Comments:
WTF is up with the red ******** the steering wheel...man, on a gray/black raptor, it's just wayyyyy out of place
Adaptive Cruise is awesome...I always thought it would be worthless, but towards the end of the 1700 mile journey, it was a must and will be used WHENEVER I get on the freeway. Just set your speed, and if some person is in front of you, you just pace them, until they move or you change lanes, and then it speeds up to your preset value.
Lane Departure saved my ass on a 24hr trip with only two hours of sleep! Initially, all it does is vibrate the wheel a little when you go too far left or right, but I quickly found the settings that shake the wheel a little more aggressively, and actively tries to keep you in your lane. Twice it saved me and told me to go to the rest stop to take a nap!
Issues:
It seems random, but shifting from manual to drive sometimes hides the gears....just hitting the gear button on the shifter gets it back, but I don't know why sometimes it comes on and others not.
One time on start up, after the vehicle was already warm, the trans temp took a while to register. Every time after I noticed it, it immediately came back after start up
One time, Sync did not connect with my phone or the GPS...shutting down the truck resolved the issue
The transmission is a little wacky if you don't mash on it...***** footing around (like acceleration) makes it jump into gears that it immediately jumps out of. Using the paddles or mashing the throttle results in smooth transistions, so I'm sure it's just the software trying to figure out what is going on. Also, it annoys me the tranny stays in 10th after you go from 80 to 50, even though accelerations from 50 in 10th is terrible, and it either boggs or immediately shifts down a gear. It would be pretty easy to just downshift if you met a lower speed threshold...
Initial pick up
Final Readout
After Trip
This thread documents my thoughts of the whole ordeal, from order to driving it 1700 miles home...
So I have been in the hunt for a new Raptor for a while, but having some resources tied up preventing me from making an order last year. After selling that resource and freeing up funding, a few folks on here helped try and get an order, but nothing really materialized due to my late entry into the order market.
Well not to be discouraged, I scoured every Magnetic (and Black, second choice) in Photon's application and called and made offers over the course of 3 weeks. Initially, everyone laughed at my 3k offer, and I was ok with that...because really, I probably shouldn't have paid more than MSRP, but impulse got the best of me.
Well finally after three weeks of discouragement, I called All Star Ford in Baton Rouge Louisiana, and they quickly agreed to 3500 over and that was it. They helped arrange everything (even picked me up from the airport!) and the rest is history.
Initial impression:
So immediately after picking up the keys and starting the 1700 mile journey back, all I can say is the first 100 miles were overwhelming. I had never driven or been in a Raptor, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't really mash on her until after 1k miles, so my first impressions where only that she was comfortable, both the interior and drive. Going in and out of driveways is something you just have to feel to understand...it sounds like the most benign thing, but the way the suspension soaks up bumps and then lifts you up is just amazing...
Final impression:
This thing is a beast. It wasn't until after 1k miles, that I really pushed her. With the pedal to the metal, she just gets into the band and rides the individual gears until about 100, so seemless and smooth.
The comfort of the ride makes you forget how fast you are going. Many times I thought I was going 45 and I was going 70...the size and comfort really blend the speed in.
As someone pointed out, this is not a ricers daily racer...this is meant for offroad racing, not onroad. I found this out my flying up the 8 west climbing the mountain (up from Octillo/Superstition) and was going about 80 around a bend and the body roll combined with a gust of wind( it was really freaking windy), made me a little uneasy. At first the way the back end collapsed made me think I blew a tire (and I actually pulled off and checked). What I learned was although this is a fast and comfortable vehicle on road, it's soft suspension should not be taken for granted.
Mileage:
Here are my mileage calcs and info:
Baton Rouge to San Antonio Texas
Estimated Mileage on screen 16.3
Actual calculated 15.5
I really babied the first 500. Did try and cycle the gears and RPM levels, but no WOT
San Antonio to Fort Stockton Texas
Screen 14.4
Actual 13.4
Was harder on this section than the first, and this was a little hilly.
Fort Stockton to Tucson AZ
Screen 15.0
Actual 14.27
This was flat with some slow sections
Tucson to San Diego CA
Screen 14.2
Actual 13.2
Hilly with no holding back on WOT
As you can see, the actual value was always lower than the read out. I was briefly able to get 19 mpg averaged over 20 miles, but that was during a construction zone at 60 mph on a flat road....it immediately became one of those low numbers above, so don't think you are going to get good mileage with this motor, at least not yet.
Comments:
WTF is up with the red ******** the steering wheel...man, on a gray/black raptor, it's just wayyyyy out of place
Adaptive Cruise is awesome...I always thought it would be worthless, but towards the end of the 1700 mile journey, it was a must and will be used WHENEVER I get on the freeway. Just set your speed, and if some person is in front of you, you just pace them, until they move or you change lanes, and then it speeds up to your preset value.
Lane Departure saved my ass on a 24hr trip with only two hours of sleep! Initially, all it does is vibrate the wheel a little when you go too far left or right, but I quickly found the settings that shake the wheel a little more aggressively, and actively tries to keep you in your lane. Twice it saved me and told me to go to the rest stop to take a nap!
Issues:
It seems random, but shifting from manual to drive sometimes hides the gears....just hitting the gear button on the shifter gets it back, but I don't know why sometimes it comes on and others not.
One time on start up, after the vehicle was already warm, the trans temp took a while to register. Every time after I noticed it, it immediately came back after start up
One time, Sync did not connect with my phone or the GPS...shutting down the truck resolved the issue
The transmission is a little wacky if you don't mash on it...***** footing around (like acceleration) makes it jump into gears that it immediately jumps out of. Using the paddles or mashing the throttle results in smooth transistions, so I'm sure it's just the software trying to figure out what is going on. Also, it annoys me the tranny stays in 10th after you go from 80 to 50, even though accelerations from 50 in 10th is terrible, and it either boggs or immediately shifts down a gear. It would be pretty easy to just downshift if you met a lower speed threshold...
Initial pick up
Final Readout
After Trip
