Ford F-150 Raptor R Reviews Round Up: Better Than the TRX???

Raptor R reviews are finally here! Can Ford beat the mighty Dodge TRX? Let’s see what people say about Ford Racing’s monstrous creation!

The Ford Raptor nameplate always brings to mind a certain savagery. A truck explicitly built for conquering untamed wilderness, it represents the absolute zenith of overbuilt, high-performance off-roading pickups with a warranty sticker. Back when the first generation hit dealerships, one of the characteristic high points lay in that glorious V8. It was simple, brutal, torquey, and sounded utterly fantastic. And unfortunately, totally absent since 2014. Well, thankfully, gearheads the world over can rejoice once again.

The V8’s back. And good grief, is it better than ever, according to reviewers.

With a supercharged GT500 engine sitting in the 2023 Raptor R’s bay, the new truck’s basically the pickup equivalent of a hungry snow leopard. And since the review embargo’s now lifted, we can finally glimpse what it’s actually like to drive. Or, let’s be honest, thrash around in the desert as nature intended. Let’s check out some of the highlights.

Raptor R Reviews: Traditional Media Reacts

Alright, first and foremost, let’s cover the essentials. As we all know, every gearhead goes through that ritual where they browse the automotive section of the magazine rack and thumb through Car and Driver, Motortrend, or Road & Track. Well, some habits are hard to kick, and we couldn’t help ourselves. Let’s take a look and see what some of these reviews say about the Raptor R.

Beginning with Road & Track, we already have a sign of what’s to come with glowing praise directed towards that monstrous 700-horsepower V8. In fact, the only real downside they noted was the price point in comparison to a fully-optioned RAM TRX. Which wasn’t even that much of a downside, in the end.

According to R&T, “The Raptor R’s MSRP sits at $109,145… I got the TRX to about $92,000 before everything seemed equivalent on paper… But in the realm of Ubertrucks like these, the decision will be made on emotion, rather than budget (my logic being that if you can afford a $90,000 truck you can probably spring for the $110,000 truck).” In other words, the Raptor R’s a truck you buy with little concern over cost. It’s a GT500-engined desert raid pickup with a warranty sticker. Enough said. In terms of praise, well. Here’s what R&T had to say about that V8’s engine note.

“It’s honest-to-goodness sound in an era ruled by synthetic witchcraft, the V-8 roar made as loud as you’d like with a valve in the system opens and closes with a button press. Sound was clearly a huge priority for Ford Performance here, and they nailed it emphatically. The R uses a modified and reworked intake, with the “trombone” from the V-6 Raptor’s exhaust removed in favor of resonators and a more straight-through design (the trombone was a bulbous section of tubing that allowed the V-6’s underwhelming exhaust note to resonate). The result is pony car nirvana pounding on your eardrums. In a truck! Remember: This. Is. A. Pickup. Truck!”

The glowing praise kept coming with their take on the Raptor R’s interior.

“It’s still an F-150 interior though. Function comes first. The lack of overcomplication that often comes with so many high-performance vehicles that need to justify the oversize price tag with interior carbon. Nothing feels or looks cheap in the F-150, with the aesthetic aimed at functionality. That means actual physical buttons and knobs used to access nearly all of the truck’s most-used functions. I dig that.”

Car and Driver seems to agree. For their go behind the wheel, the overwhelming performance stunned the lucky driver.

“Where the Raptor R distinguishes itself is when you flatten the accelerator, and the twin four-inch exhaust cannons fire a fusillade of V-8 fury, and your shoulders are buried into the Raptor R embroidery on the upper seatback while the 10-speed automatic shuffles gears quicker than a blackjack shoe rearranges the cards at the Golden Nugget. The front end climbs toward the sky, and the steering wiggles a little bit in your hands as the Raptor searches for traction. Even on sand, it feels violently quick. What it feels like, really, is an F-150 Lightning Extended Range with way more noise and drama. In fact, when we asked the Ford engineers whether the Lightning or the Raptor R would be quicker to 60 mph, they furrowed their brows and conceded it would be a good race.”

Mind you, this all took place in the desert. But what about on-road driving? Well, here’s what Gear Patrol says about its ride quality.

“[The Raptor R on-road handles] surprisingly well. Custom-built monster trucks can be onerous to drive. But Ford does an excellent job making riding on 37s feel smooth, seamless and remarkably F-150-like. It was perfect for the on-road driving we did, which was two 45-minute stints, mostly cruising from Muskegon to Silver Lake and back on U.S. 31 with a 75-mph speed limit. And it felt stable even in heavy rain and fairly substantial winds coming off the lake.”

High praise, indeed. But what about some of our favorite YouTubers?

YouTuber Raptor R Reviews — An Experience

For that, we turn to a number of reviews and first-looks at this utterly ridiculous machine. Unsurprisingly, most contain unedited segments of that sublime engine note.

Okay, so first of all, let’s get that engine not out of the way. If you’re here for that V8 and that V8 only, don’t worry. We got you covered. Here we have Pickup Truck Plus SUV Talk with a simple, no-nonsense video on the exhaust note. Frankly, the Raptor R speaks for itself here, let’s be real. Imagine you’re a non-car nut pulling up to a traffic light and you hear that sound coming from an otherwise relatively normal-looking F-series.

Now, down to business. First up, we have The Fast Lane Truck with an in-depth look comparing the Raptor R to the TRX. One guess as to which they like better.

Next on our list of reviews, we have Edmunds Cars taking the Raptor R for a spin both on and off-road. And as he so eloquently puts it, “You can feel the soul of a muscle car when you get into the throttle.”

Next up, we have savagegeese’s follow-up video detailing some more technical specs and whipping it around the Michigan dunes. This one features a large segment on the story of the Raptor R. So you can really get some good context as to the development backstory of this ridiculous truck.

For a lesser-known YouTuber, we got NEO AUTO with a very telling title. RIP TRX, indeed. This one immediately caught our attention because the opening shots are pure thrashing and donuts. Gotta have your priorities right.

Next up, another in-depth review for you. Brought to you by Alex On Autos, he’s also not afraid to throw this truck around and really show its muscle. Of course, coupled with a fair amount of praise for the truck’s ergonomics, practicality, and usability as a truck.

And finally, we got CarBuzz with a quick but very to-the-point finisher. In their words, “It’s all in the name of fun.” And we couldn’t sum it up better ourselves. To be honest, we can’t get enough of this outstandingly ludicrous truck and can’t wait to see more content as it’s posted!

Photos: Ford

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M.C. Cuccio

I've been an automotive aficionado since I had baby teeth. My path was set when I first leaned on my grandfather's classic Porsche as I learned how to walk. One of my first memories was my mother sitting me behind the wheel of her Pontiac and talking me through the instrumentation and controls. Even though I was a mere three or four years old, I was instantly sold, and filled notebooks with technical drawings, sketches, and collections of manuals of all sorts of cars. I've actively tracked developments in automotive and motorsport technology for well over 20 years, and pride myself on being intimately familiar with the functions and history of a wide range of vehicles.

My primary goal as a writer and enthusiast is to equally learn and share what I've learned in a constructive and interesting way. I maintain connections with people from around the world and can read technical manuals in Italian, Japanese, and Spanish, granting me access to a wide array of resources. My primary focuses are deep-dives into historical topics, motorsport discussion, and learning about the complex mechanical elements of such vehicles. As such, my research is never perfect; as anyone into cars will attest, the more you learn about cars, the more you realize how little you actually know. Therefore, I always welcome fresh knowledge and corrections to help me better my work in the future.