About that power thing... I thought the same thing at first. I stepped out of a "punchy" BMW 4.8 IS that had massively wide tires and brakes that made you appreciate seatbelts. I get in to the Raptor and go for a test drive and it feels almost mushy as far as acceleration. Yea, if you get on it a little more it'll get on up there, but it didn't fit my expectations. I saw videos of it, I know what it "should" do, this didn't make sense.
So I remembered the best piece of advice I ever saw on here, "Drive it like you stole it". Punch the sucker, and you may have a different opinion. It still surprises me more than 6 months later. I've never seen a vehicle that large that could accelerate that quickly. Every freeway on ramp is just fun. 0 mph to 80 mph in a hurry? No problem. 50 to 90, no problem. It never really seems to get to a dead area, it's just always ready for more.
It's not going to handle like a BMW (though it handles surprisingly well for its size and tires), but if you can make peace with having to "put it where you want it" on a turn, and remember to drive it like you stole it then it's a heck of a fun vehicle to drive as it will do absolutely anything you ask of....just don't be afraid to put it there.
Test drive another. Floor it from 0-80 mph, or whatever the legal limit is of course!
See if your impression changes.
One thing I should mention. I never hit the limit on cornering the X5 4.8 IS. I was always afraid that by the time I hit that kind of situation the break would be sudden and the next stop would be a tree. It handled great, but I never knew where the line was because I never felt it getting really really close (not a little slide bit feeling it breaking loose or the computer hitting its limits). You'll feel it on the Raptor. For me, that is a good thing. It is a very linear, progressive break that you can back out of at any time. So you can drive it like you stole it, get a little slide and keep it where you want or back out safely....or predict what happens if you push it further. There aren't any sudden unknowns. Make peace with the slide on a sporty turn, it's part of putting it where you want it and the truck doesn't mind one bit. It'll do a whole lot more than one would think. ...it's just a different mindset for how you "should" drive than with BMW. When I overcame that, the truck never failed to impress.
Good luck, and let me know what you think of 0-80 on the floor.
P.S.: Couldn't agree more about the interior. Skipped a perfect spec match because of that. ...glad I did.
