Raptor R vs TRX Drag Race

[Cocles]

I’m trying to say that if the Gen 3 Raptor had the 5.2 S/C V8 (no super exclusive R needed), the amount of Ford guys with Gen 2 Raptors (myself included) wouldn’t be buying a TRX.

SavageGeese had this to say on Reddit as an additional comment to his review

https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/w1vjze/_/ignef7b

Sounds like Ford Performance agreed with you, but corporate had other plans.

The R seems to be a hastily put together afterthought in response to RAM.

Tony Greco stated in several interviews that the Gen 3 chassis was designed with a V8 in mind from day 1. You can't claim something objectively preplanned was an "afterthought."

I get what you're saying though. From a purist standpoint it'd be nicer if the V8 version was just the "Raptor" while the V6 version was something like the "Raptor Lite" if they had to have it. Of course Ford would have sold a lot fewer V6 versions with that name, but hey.

Quote Quote

 

[GordoJay]

GordoJay, you haven't been on here as long as some of us. The Gen 1 Raptor was special and nobody cared about 0 - 60mph. The truck was good from the factory but amazing with suspension mods! I never once felt disappointed because of the lack of straight line speed.

The Gen 2 was just BS with the TTV6 ecopoop! It drove like shit (turbo lag) and sounded like a POS! Ford screwed over all the loyal Raptor owners and doubled down on the V6 for the Gen 3. That's where they lost a ton a sales to Ram.

The TRX is a special truck and it's what Ford should have built for 2021, ONLY offering a V8! Enjoy your V6, too bad you weren't around at the beginning of the Gen 1 days, if you were, you'd understand. No Gen 1 owner would ever say they had too much power for the suspension, even with the Roush package.

If you say so. I’ll take my gen 2 over a gen 1 or an R any day of the week. And when I upgrade to gen 3, I’ll be looking for the TTV6. But then I couldn’t care less about the sound and range is my top priority as I go way out when I go and cans of gas are a real drag. So IMO Ford hit it out of the park with gen 2. Sure a few old fogeys got some red áss over it, but it’s no skin off mine.

 

[Rated R]

I drove a Gen I once and wasn't impressed. It sounded good but that was it. It was slow, the interior felt old and plasticky way back in '16 when I ordered my Gen II.

 

[melvimbe]

You could make an argument that Ford should have had had the R ready and released sooner, maybe at the same time the Gen 3 was released. They lost some sales to the TRX because of it, but there's a few factors that shouldn't be ignored.

When the Gen 2 came out, the TTV6 was still a fairly new engine. Ford needed to show confidence in the engine if it was going to be their preferred engine going forward. And they needed it for CAFE standards. What sort of message would have sent if they didn't put it in their halo truck? Yea, I get that people still wanted a V8, but if the halo truck is supposed to help sell the rest of your lineup, then the Gen 2 needed to be a V6TT. And it's hard to look at the results and really say it was a bad decision from a business perspective.

On the question of whether the R was too late, it's not like Ford could keep up with the demand for the Raptor as it is now. People would have gone to the TRX regardless just because of availability. And how many G3 Raptor owners are now trading in to get the R, maybe giving Ford twice the profit? It's not really fair to do an accurately look at recent years sales because of how the pandemic messed up everything, for sure. But you also can't really claim that Ford messed up with a hypothetical what would have been.

Would the R be selling for cheaper if they were making more and there was no V6TT? I thought the V8SC came for one factory and that was already the bottleneck.

 

[Frogger22]

Lol love all the posts about the V6 being what people wanted it’s about the government forcing them to reduce emissions guys…This isn’t that hard to understand.

 

[yoopercharged]

SavageGeese had this to say on Reddit as an additional comment to his review

https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/w1vjze/_/ignef7b

Sounds like Ford Performance agreed with you, but corporate had other plans.



Tony Greco stated in several interviews that the Gen 3 chassis was designed with a V8 in mind from day 1. You can't claim something objectively preplanned was an "afterthought."

I get what you're saying though. From a purist standpoint it'd be nicer if the V8 version was just the "Raptor" while the V6 version was something like the "Raptor Lite" if they had to have it. Of course Ford would have sold a lot fewer V6 versions with that name, but hey.

Quote Quote

I spoke with a Ford Performance engineer who claimed they were testing a Raptor mule with a Voodoo motor as early as 2017 in preparation for the Gen 3. There's no doubt they planned on a V8 since day 1.

 

[DFS]

Lol love all the posts about the V6 being what people wanted it’s about the government forcing them to reduce emissions guys…This isn’t that hard to understand.

Both can be true. The majority of Raptor customers don't want a $110,000 truck, and almost everyone I know with a Gen 2 enjoys it as a DD and road trip truck where the fuel economy and range make a lot of sense. Same for me when hunting or working in remote locations, having 600+ miles per tank is amazing for a truck with the capabilities. Not everyone wants to drag race from stop light to stop light. Big super charged V8 is awesome, but going the way of the dodo because of government regulations AND because of market demand.

 

[New recaros]

Well, we keep electing these bozos. Won’t be long and there will be nowhere to drive these toys, we won’t need trucks, all our homes will be in massive complex’s, riding trains and buses to work, they are working hard to make this a Bernie Sanders socialist society. Freedom is being lost everyday!!

 

[likeaboss]

I look at it like this. They're both amazing trucks. The Raptor R is superior for offloading but for what most people will use the truck for both are more than capable and you really can't go wrong with either truck.

 

[melvimbe]

Well, we keep electing these bozos. Won’t be long and there will be nowhere to drive these toys, we won’t need trucks, all our homes will be in massive complex’s, riding trains and buses to work, they are working hard to make this a Bernie Sanders socialist society. Freedom is being lost everyday!!

It mostly the CA market that is driving CAFE standards for the rest of us, although I have little doubt Federal government wouldn't follow similar path if CA didn't do it first. But I really can't see a society where everyone fits into the nice box government wants us in. People don't really understand that it's all the people living outside the box that allows the box to even exist at all. By that I mean that you need all that infrastructure to create and deliver goods to the cities exists outside the box, and that the people who live outside the box drive the economy and make it feasible to have nice things (like phones and cheap food) even possible.

Lol love all the posts about the V6 being what people wanted it’s about the government forcing them to reduce emissions guys…This isn’t that hard to understand.

We will never know for sure, since there is no automotive world where government isn't driving development. There is no doubt that people do want more efficient and cost effective vehicles, and there are people who want loud noises and raw power....as well as people in the middle. Unlike gender it is a spectrum.