The 2019 Ford F-150 Raptor will look familiar to the Raptor faithful, continuing the same 2017-ish exterior look it's had for almost two years now but delivering one significant upgrade and two relatively minor performance improvements.
The big news is Ford has upgraded the Raptor's all-important shock absorbers with brand-new, electronically controlled Fox Racing Shox technology. Called Live Valve technology, the new system continuously monitors several key parameters on the truck to provide real-time softening and stiffening to the huge bypass shocks. The new shock setup is specifically designed to predict what shock setting is needed next, fornts or rears, and delivers it on the run; that means stiffer shocks when landing a jump and softer inputs when rolling at higher speeds over choppy terrain.
The new shocks are also tied into the Raptor's upgraded Terrain Management System that allows it to better understand the terrain it's trying to conquer, based on which of the truck's six settings are selected: Sport, Mud/Sand, Rock Crawl, Weather, Baja and Normal.
Also of note is the new Trail Control system, that acts something like a cruise control for very low speeds, which monitors and delivers power and braking when navigating uneven terrain, reportedly improving any and all low-speed performance. The system allows the driver to concentrate on steering the vehicle as it climbs over or around the nasty obstacles and the system can be used in all drive modes (2WD, AWD, 4WD High, 4WD Low). Trail Control is similar to Toyota's Crawl Control (available on most TRD Pro and Land Cruiser models) that, with the help of several dial settings, controls throttle and braking only in 4-Low, so the driver only needs to steer.
The final change for the 2019 Raptor are light-weight Recaro performance seats that are designed to provide aggressive support and bolstering during high- and low-speed driving. The available seat design features blue Alcantara inserts and accent stitching inspired by the Ford GT supercar.
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