I think all pickup trucks should aspire to be like the Ford F-150 Raptor. It is quintessential in everything pickup trucks. Now, the all-new Ford F-150 Raptor was named “Pickup Truck of the Year” in the 2017 Popular Mechanics Automotive Excellence awards.
The judges dubbed the F-150 Raptor as the “vehicle that transcends the competition” across all classes of trucks. I dubbed it as the pickup truck which looks absolutely badass.
“We have only nine categories covering the entire car market, so by design, winning isn’t easy,” said Ezra Dyer, Popular Mechanics automotive editor. “The Raptor is to a standard F-150 what Bruce Banner is to the Incredible Hulk. You can do 60 mph across terrain that would have most trucks smashing their oil pans at 30.”
The purpose-built, off-road F-150 Raptor builds on the success of its predecessor with added performance gains and new technology. The all-new Raptor stands alone among high-performance off-road trucks, featuring a high-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine generating 450 hp and 690Nm of torque, plus a segment-first 10-speed automatic transmission and six-mode Terrain Management System. Its high-strength, military-grade, aluminum-alloy body saves 227kg over the previous model.
Sadly the F-150 Raptor isn’t available here in Malaysia where the Ford Ranger enjoys the popularity. But wouldn’t it be cool we it were?
Popular Mechanics Pickup Truck of the Year award is the latest in a series of accolades for the all-new F-150 Raptor, which was also named FOUR WHEELER’s Pickup Truck of the Year, Best Pickup of 2017 by Cars.com, the Autotrader Must Test Drive winner and The Fast Lane Truck Gold Hitch off-road award winner.
