//V
Member
I live in Montana and frequently have to drive 200-400 miles per day for work, carrying a lot of gear. My recreational endeavors take me places accessed almost entirely by forest service roads and other generally poorly maintained dirt roads. Between September and May I also frequently encounter deep snow on backcountry roads and snowy/icy conditions over highway mountain passes.
My current ride is an Audi A4. This car is amazing and for the most part has been able to take me to some very remote places where I get funny looks from guys with big trucks. But I've definitely had plenty of moments where I wished I had a wider track and more clearance. I've had to abort a few trips because a car just doesn't cut it out there. Also, I just need more space to haul gear for work and recreation. And finally, the Audi is not very pleasant to ride in for hours at a time. It's pretty brutal actually. Fun to drive, but not very fun to sit in for a long period of time.
So I kind of fell in love with the Raptor, seeing what it is capable of and having driven one and experienced first hand just how comfy the cabin is. Basically the Raptor is the truck I want, but I'm worried that it might be more than I need.
My primary concern is fuel economy. I know this is a contentious and polarizing issue about this truck, but please hear me out.
I drive maybe about 25,000 miles per year, almost entirely highway and interstate and then dirt roads and some off trail when I use it for recreation. This truck will see basically zero in town driving unless I need to haul something.
If I bought an Ecoboost, I would want to level it out and run bigger tires, so this would cut into the fuel economy a bit. Plus I tend to cruise at around 75mph so I'm not sure how much the fuel economy would be affected by increased speeds compared with EPA testing speeds. The thinking is that if an Ecoboost with these modifications, and cruising at highway speeds would still get significantly better mileage than a Raptor on the highway, then the difference in fuel economy would give me pretty decent savings over the course of a year.
The cost of an Ecoboost FX4 is almost as much as a Raptor, optioned how I want it. Then with mods to give it better off road capability, the initial cost is actually more than a Raptor.
I just have such little experience with trucks or off-road modifications to have any sense of how fuel economy is affected by various factors. And I've read through seemingly endless threads about fuel economy and I still cannot get a sense for what type of MPGs to expect from a SuperCrew Raptor cruising at highway speeds.
Sorry for being so long winded. Any input appreciated. Just wondering if anybody else was considering the Ecoboost trucks that may have been in a similar situation.
My current ride is an Audi A4. This car is amazing and for the most part has been able to take me to some very remote places where I get funny looks from guys with big trucks. But I've definitely had plenty of moments where I wished I had a wider track and more clearance. I've had to abort a few trips because a car just doesn't cut it out there. Also, I just need more space to haul gear for work and recreation. And finally, the Audi is not very pleasant to ride in for hours at a time. It's pretty brutal actually. Fun to drive, but not very fun to sit in for a long period of time.
So I kind of fell in love with the Raptor, seeing what it is capable of and having driven one and experienced first hand just how comfy the cabin is. Basically the Raptor is the truck I want, but I'm worried that it might be more than I need.
My primary concern is fuel economy. I know this is a contentious and polarizing issue about this truck, but please hear me out.
I drive maybe about 25,000 miles per year, almost entirely highway and interstate and then dirt roads and some off trail when I use it for recreation. This truck will see basically zero in town driving unless I need to haul something.
If I bought an Ecoboost, I would want to level it out and run bigger tires, so this would cut into the fuel economy a bit. Plus I tend to cruise at around 75mph so I'm not sure how much the fuel economy would be affected by increased speeds compared with EPA testing speeds. The thinking is that if an Ecoboost with these modifications, and cruising at highway speeds would still get significantly better mileage than a Raptor on the highway, then the difference in fuel economy would give me pretty decent savings over the course of a year.
The cost of an Ecoboost FX4 is almost as much as a Raptor, optioned how I want it. Then with mods to give it better off road capability, the initial cost is actually more than a Raptor.
I just have such little experience with trucks or off-road modifications to have any sense of how fuel economy is affected by various factors. And I've read through seemingly endless threads about fuel economy and I still cannot get a sense for what type of MPGs to expect from a SuperCrew Raptor cruising at highway speeds.
Sorry for being so long winded. Any input appreciated. Just wondering if anybody else was considering the Ecoboost trucks that may have been in a similar situation.
