I've had my 2018 SCREW for almost 2 months and I love it. My one question is about quickness (or apparent lack thereof). Can someone, with a frame of reference for quick vehicles, give me a subjective impression of the Raptor's acceleration?
The reason I'm asking is that all the reviews made is sound like there's a big "wow" factor when you mash the throttle. I think the truck builds speed pretty quickly for its size, but there's no real feeling of thrust like you get even in some cheaper sports cars. I don't know if I just had higher expectations or if my motor is under powered. Passengers have also commented that it doesn't seem all that impressive on straight-line pavement.
Really a subjective question. The basic answer is yes, for a truck it is quick, even for a few year old "sports car" it is reasonably quick. Can it compare to 350+ HP in a 2500 lbs lighter modern vehicle? No.
What is a sports car? I own over a dozen sports cars, and my 2018 SCREW is quicker than almost all of them. I can hear it now from people, "NO WAY"! The question is, what sports car are you comparing it too?
My 1967 XKE is definitely a sports car, and yet it is over 1.5 seconds SLOWER 0-60 than my Raptor. My stock 1962 Triumph TR-4 is on the order of 9+ seconds 0-60. However my 5.0 / T-5 1962 TR-4 is a bit quicker, but then it is 320+ HP in a 1900 lb car.
Obviously, it is unfair to compare a 2018 anything to a 1960 anything, but there is no doubt that the cars I quote are "sports cars", and not necessarily "cheap".
If you look a bit newer, say a 1995 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (this is the ZR-1, not the base 'Vette), you find the same 0-60 time as the Gen 2 Raptor. Was the Ferrari Testarossa a sports car? A resounding yes, it was, and in many was still is, the definition of a sports car. And it had basically the same 0-60 time as the Gen 2 Raptor.
Is the 2018 Mazda MX5 (Miata) a sports car? It is, in many peoples opinion, the quintessential basic "sports car". And the Raptor is over half a second faster 0-60 than the 2018 MX5. Trying to explain the Miata performance to people who have never driven one, it is easiest to say they are "quick", but not fast. And it sometimes feels fast even when it is not. The nice thing about them is you can drive them at 8/10 all the time and not be in much danger of going to jail.
If you look at the last 30 or so years you see a steady increase in performance at ALL levels. Even econoboxes today have decent performance compared to many older vehicles.
So we, today, are jaded. The average vehicle today has so much more power than even muscle cars of the past, all while getting twice, or more, the gas mileage. My wifes minivan out-accelerates many past sports and muscle cars.
Even so, I think the Raptor still qualifies as "quick".
But then, it is a truck, not a sports car. And off road it excels, try that with a sports car.
T!