2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. Click image to enlarge

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Review and photos by Jil McIntosh

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2010 F-150 SVT Raptor

Borrego Springs, California – Mention SVT, Ford’s Special Vehicle Team performance division, and most people think of speed. But this time around, there’s more to it than that, as the team rolls out its latest creation, the 2010 F-150 SVT Raptor pickup truck.

Yes, they’ve done trucks before, the last being the 2004 Lightning. This time around, though, it isn’t just about going fast, but going boldly where no truck has gone before – at least, not one straight out of the box. You can take this truck well into the 190 km/h range, and if you’ve got the nerve, it’s possible to do it over roads where other trucks could merely crawl. Bred in the Baja, the Raptor is intended to be a high-speed off-road racer right off the showroom floor, and when it comes to specialty trucks, this might be Ford’s best effort yet.

2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. Click image to enlarge

It’s got trail cred that you’d normally expect to get only out of a home-built racer – so much so that a pre-production model placed third in its class in the Baja 1000 race, where it competed against hand-built race trucks. But what differentiates it from those gnarly brethren is that, once it’s back on the tarmac, this version is even smoother than the conventional F-150 upon which it’s based.

The company’s got about 550 of them scheduled for sale in Canada, all sold strictly through dealers that handle SVT vehicles. At a base price of $48,299 – which includes a standard “Luxury Package” of dual-zone automatic climate control, 10-way heated leather seats with memory, auto-dimming exterior mirror, power-adjustable pedals, and six-CD stereo that’s an option on U.S. trucks – it isn’t cheap. On the other hand, its unique components mean that you can’t build one out of aftermarket parts on a conventional F-150, no matter how much you’re willing to spend. And with its on-road manners, unlike most purpose-built vehicles, you won’t have to buy a separate commuter car to get to work when the weekend’s fun is over; this almost ridiculously comfortable truck goes effortlessly from bandana to black-tie.

2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. Click image to enlarge

The company starts with an F-150 Super Cab and short box – the only configuration available, as the short wheelbase helps keep it agile on trails – with a 5.4-litre V8 engine, producing 320 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and with four-wheel drive. This coming winter, an all-new 6.2-litre V8 will be added as an option, delivering an estimated 400 horses.

The differences start with the exterior styling, with fenders that round off the conventional F-150’s sharp corners, and a unique grille stamped with a huge rendition of the brand’s name. The body is widened almost 178 mm (7 inches), necessary to clear the suspension and 35-inch Raptor-specific BF Goodrich tires (there’s also a full-size spare, wrapped around a 17-inch alloy wheel identical to the other four; those tackling the most serious terrain can buy an accessory mount that holds two of them). The truck is wide enough to require clearance lights, but instead of tacking them on, Ford has moulded LED lights into the four corners, with three more across the grille, which really looks sharp when the running lights are on. There are tow hooks front and rear, cast aluminum running boards, Raptor-specific bumpers and skid plate, hood vents and SVT-badged side vents as well.

2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. Click image to enlarge

Inside you’ll find SVT gauges, special instrument panel trim, available two-tone leather seats (which look simply awesome when matched to the “Molten Orange” paint, one of four exterior colours), and a Raptor-specific wheel with centre contrasting colour strip, which is very handy for determining “straight ahead” when the trail gets difficult. There are buttons for sport and off-road modes, allowing you to either optimize traction control or to turn off the electronic stability control, and dial back the anti-lock brakes for better stopping distances on loose surfaces. There’s an integrated trailer brake control, borrowed from the stock F-150, and a series of four auxiliary switches, each pre-wired, fused and with an easily-accessible harness, for adding such extras as a winch or lights.

But none of that matters without the suspension, for that’s where the heart and soul of this model lies. It features a new axle, beefy SVT-badged cast aluminum lower A-arm, new upper A-arm, and special half-shaft joints. The company joined forces with Fox Engineering, manufacturers of racing shocks, to produce what Ford says is the first use of an internal-triple-bypass shock absorber on a production vehicle.

2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. Click image to enlarge

The special shocks, which feature an additional fluid chamber on the rear units, stiffen up to four times as much at the end of the piston’s stroke. This progressive action prevents the truck from bottoming out on the rough stuff, while producing a remarkably pliable ride on smooth surfaces. You can’t buy these shocks at aftermarket shops; they’re only available attached to a Raptor, and can be rebuilt if it’s ever necessary. The suspension has usable travel of up to 284 mm (11.2 inches) in the front, and 307 mm (12.1 inches) in the rear – numbers far more likely to be found on a rock crawler than on a showroom-floor vehicle.

The Raptor also comes with Ford’s first use of hill descent control, which the company demonstrated by sending me down a very steep hill sans brakes (“You’ll initially fall forward into that bowl down there,” the spotter said as he gave me directions, “about the same time that your sphincter closes right up”), and which recalls the speed at which you last took your foot off the throttle, remaining “armed” up to 64 km/h. An electronic locking differential, or E-locker, is also standard, and will remain engaged in any speed, as far as you want to press the long pedal. Ford says most competitors’ units disengage at around 32 km/h. The Raptor will also tow 2,721 kg (6,000 lbs) and includes trailer sway control and tow haul mode.

All of this works together to produce a truck that’s tough below, and tender above. I started out on the race trail on washboard, hitting up to 120 km/h, with no suspension banging, no rattles, and no wheel hop. Over “yumps” or crests that lifted me right off the seat, the Raptor came back down as smoothly as if I’d taken it over a speed bump at the mall. Nothing on the course could unsettle it, even when I had to drift left or right in a hurry. The Anza-Borrego Desert is a state park, and while you must stick to the trails, thousands of people tear across it at breakneck speed or climb over its hills in all manner of trucks, ATVs and bikes each season. But pounding a half-dozen stakes into the trail to mark the turns – and promptly pulling them out and taking them home afterwards – would have required Ford to pay for and wait for a two-week environmental assessment. And so we depended on small signs, tied to the bushes, that came up pretty quickly once we got going.

2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. Click image to enlarge

Ford says that along with extensive desert testing, it has also pushed the Raptor through considerable stints of mud and snow in northern Michigan, which are conditions it’s far more likely to encounter north of the 49th parallel.

What’s really impressive, though, is what the Raptor did once I was back on the paved roads. That same suspension that keeps it from bottoming out also maintains a steady and smooth course, and keeps even the worst road imperfections south of the floorboards. The seats are comfortable, fit-and-finish is excellent, and the truck is incredibly silent – Ford even worked with BF Goodrich to ensure that for all their aggressive tread, the tires don’t hum or howl. Steering is accurate and responsive, and for all its heft – a curb weight of 2,659 kg (5,863 lbs) – it doesn’t feel bulky. Ford hasn’t released the Canadian fuel economy figures yet, but the regular F-150 4×4 with 5.4-litre V8 gets 15.7 L/100 km (18 mpg) in the city, and 11.3 L/100 km (25 mpg) on the highway.

Getting the tag this close to 50-large can be a gamble in these tougher times, but I don’t doubt that Ford is going to sell every one allotted and then have to turn people away. I also expect that more than a few won’t care about what it can do; they’ll just be buying it for its looks and its attitude, and I can’t blame them for that. Ford took aim with this one, and then knocked it clear out of the park.

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