Is the 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R a Good Pickup Truck? 5 Things We Like, 3 We Don’t

The launch of the Ford F-150 Raptor for 2010 marked more than the arrival of just another pickup truck. Ford created a whole new category, introducing a Baja-ready off-road racing truck ready to go right off the showroom floor. Buyers embraced the concept in a big way, rewarding Ford with brisk Raptor sales regardless of whether they lived anywhere near a desert.

Related: 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R Review: Ford’s Ram TRX Rebuttal

Not surprisingly, competition arrived (albeit belatedly) in the form of the Ram 1500 TRX. Like the original Raptor, the TRX came equipped with a honking V-8 under the hood, a supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi putting out 702 horsepower. That handily outmuscled the second-gen Raptor, which lost V-8 power for 2017 in favor of a 450-hp, twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6. Ford endeavored to even the playing field with the newly launched 2023 Raptor R, which forgoes the V-6 in favor of a 700-hp, supercharged 5.2-liter V-8. The result is a more rewarding aural experience for fans of eight cylinders along with increased performance to go head-to-head with the upstart TRX.

Cars.com’s Damon Bell recently spent some quality time with the Raptor R and was impressed with its power and capability — but not everything is good with the latest Raptor. Hit the link above to read Bell’s complete review; for a quicker look, read on to learn five things we like about the 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R and three things we don’t.

Things We Like

1. Plenty of Oats

Ford didn’t need to go far to find a suitable V-8 for Raptor R duty. The supercharged 5.2-liter engine from the Mustang Shelby GT500 was more than capable, with a few alterations for off-road duty. Matched with a 10-speed automatic transmission, power is abundant, with immediate throttle response. While we’ve yet to perform instrumented testing, the Raptor R had no difficulty getting up to speed, hustling over rough stuff or barreling across large sand dunes.

2. At Home Off Road

Ford chose to introduce us to the Raptor R at Michigan’s Silver Lake State Park, a 2,000-acre playground of sand dunes and open space. The Raptor R was right at home, with plenty of suspension travel and huge, 37-inch BFGoodrich all-terrain tires — the largest available on any regular production truck. Regardless of speed, the Raptor R soaks up bumps, ruts and anything else you care to throw at it with no problem.

3. V-8 Soundtrack

The return of a V-8 Raptor brings a loud and distinctive soundtrack that will be music to the ears of fans of Detroit muscle. A steering-wheel button lets drivers choose among four modes of aural experience, the loudest of which is suitable for off-road use only. Fortunately, there’s also a quiet mode for calmer cruising when the roar gets to be too much. As a bonus, the huge tires are surprisingly quiet on the highway considering their knobby, all-terrain tread pattern.

4. Comfortable Cabin

Buying a Raptor R is made simpler by Ford’s few option offerings, but that isn’t a bad thing. The nicely appointed interior is similar to our long-term F-150 Limited overall, with extras including Alcantara upholstery, real carbon-fiber trim, contrasting orange stitching and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with a bright-orange stripe at the top to help keep things on course in mud or sand. The TRX may be a bit more posh overall, but the Raptor R is no slouch.

5. Off-Road Tech

Along with a choice of four exhaust system modes and four more to fine-tune steering feel, the Raptor R offers a forward-facing camera in Baja mode that uses the infotainment screen to let you see what’s going on in front when all you can see out the windshield is sky.

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Things We Don’t Like

1. Wide Load

The Raptor R’s wide 96-inch stance can be challenging in normal driving and parking maneuvers, and construction zones can pose a real challenge when navigating narrowed lanes marked by traffic cones. A trip to the grocery store can make parking the Raptor R an experience, too, with little room to fit in some spaces and still have room to open the doors.

2. On-Road Manners

The same big tires, raised ride height and sheer size that make the Raptor R so impressive barreling through the desert can prove to be a hindrance in a more civilized environment. On pavement, the Raptor R tends to feel ungainly, wallowing and top-heavy. Nobody who’s going to buy a Raptor R probably cares much, but there are better choices for tooling around town.

3. Price of Admission

All of the Raptor R’s capability, technology and upscale accommodations don’t come cheap, adding more than $30,000 to the $78,000 base price of a regular Raptor. The total price of $109,145 for our test truck isn’t cheap and is akin to that of a loaded TRX — but the TRX starts at around $82,500, far less than the Raptor R’s starting price.

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