What They’re Saying | 2024 F-150, Raptor R

May 24, 2024
5 MIN READ

Ford recently invited more than 50 automotive media, ambassadors, and Friends of Ford out to greater Palm Springs, California for the first drive experience of the new Ford F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid, F-150 Tremor and F-150 Raptor R. The drive experience included a rocky four-wheel drive trail with diverse terrains for the F-150 Tremor and a hands-free highway drive courtesy of BlueCruise technology in the F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid.

Also, media members got a taste of the same sand, whoops and challenging off-road terrain where Ford engineers test our Broncos and Raptors – with a special jump section added – during their test drive of the new F-150 Raptor R.

Attendees also had the opportunity to experience a couple of the most talked about new F-150 features. They utilized F-150’s Pro Power Onboard feature to operate an air compressor and learned how the new Pro Access Tailgate enhances the customer experience and improves access to the truck’s bed area and improves its utilization. They also had an opportunity to see how Pro Power Onboard makes life easier by offering power on the go.

Here’s a taste of what they had to say:


F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid, F-150 Tremor

Raves

“Ford has refined off-roading to a point that no automaker ever has before. Things that many people in the off-road world took as ‘just part of the game’ are what Ford spent time fixing, and now some of their vehicles are easier to off-road than anything else on the market.” – The Autopian

“The beauty of the light duty Swiss Army Knife is that it offers infinite combinations (though Ford insists it is simplifying the choices to streamline manufacturing). As I drove from the desert of Johnson Valley to the posh Indian Wells valley in California, I saw F-150s on farms, dirt and ‘burbs. XLT, Lariat, Platinum. There’s a tool for everyone.” – The Detroit News

“Thanks to a combination of creative engineering and advanced technology, the updated F-150 offers a series of features to make towing, hauling and bed access — core functions for every pickup — easier and more convenient.” – Detroit Free Press

“After spending the morning in the Raptor out in Johnson Valley, California, we were prepared to be underwhelmed by the Tremor - simply because that's a big act to follow. However, the reality is that the Raptor and the Tremor are two entirely different animals. The Raptor could have covered the long trail with some rock obstacles and a fun climb area, but it would have been overkill, and the extra width - although not as much as you expect - would make a difference in tight areas, particularly with traffic coming the other way. The F-150 Tremor, on the other hand, felt perfectly suited.” – CarBuzz

On the whole, if I were to buy an F-150 with my own money, it would be the Tremor because it makes a lot more sense for what I’d specifically use the truck for. As ever with new half-ton trucks, though, you may just want to think twice about the bells and whistles if you’re aiming to stick to a budget.” –  The Fast Lane Truck

“The entire F-150 range earns a few thoughtful upgrades, largely in the tech department, and the result is a truck that's a little bit smarter but still every bit as ready for action as before.” – Car and Driver

“… the Tremor essentially strikes a better balance between an off-road truck, and, well, a truck, which is a vehicle made to work—towing things and hauling gear.” – The Drive

“The updated BlueCruise 1.2 is particularly impressive; I was able to drive about 100 miles on Interstate 10 from the Palm Springs area to Los Angeles entirely hands-free. The lane centering is much improved over earlier versions of BlueCruise …”– Edmunds

“One of the 2024 F-150’s coolest new features is the Pro Access Tailgate, which comes as part of a Bed Utility package on the Tremor. ... It’s a genuinely clever and useful feature, making it way easier to load things in the bed or access the multitude of power outlets.” – Jalopnik

Rants

“Before I headed off-road with the other journalists, I couldn’t help but notice a 5.0-liter V8-powered truck’s gaping holes in the new steel modular bumper. ... On 5.0 models, the hole just goes to…basically nowhere.” – The Autopian

“All of this capability, however, doesn’t come cheap, and the F-150 is now essentially a luxury-priced vehicle. The base, rear-wheel-drive work truck opens the bidding at nearly $40k and the best-selling, XLT trim — when equipped with popular four-wheel-drive and towing options — pushes $58k, the same price as a BMW 5-series. Oof.” – The Detroit News

“We are a bit leery of that as it seems like it would be easy to push the door with your hips or elbows when pulling something out, especially with the 37-degree opening, and smacking the door into the hitch. Tailgates hitting tow hitches is hardly a new thing, but we're not convinced this is the answer. However, it is a super-useful piece of engineering beyond that.” – CarBuzz

“As I climbed out of the California desert into the vast open space of northern Arizona and southeastern Utah, that 400 naturally-aspirated horsepower didn’t really feel like enough to really shift the truck along.” – The Fast Lane Truck

“The F-150's transmission is much smoother than the previous-generation setup, but the truck cannot seem to shake the feeling that the engine and battery aren't in unison. It almost feels as if the battery and engine are working separately toward the same goal, but aren't able to get on the same page and work together.” – Newsweek


F-150 Raptor R

Raves

“Climbing massive sand dunes, drifting across the floor of a dry lake and absorbing the punishment of a washboard plateau, Ford's ultimate desert racer reached new heights of performance and comfort as the 2024 F-150 Raptor R pickup showed its stuff in a recent day's test in the Mojave Desert.” – The Detroit Free Press

“We have a few minutes before we head back to base—wanna go one more time?" My GoPro was dead, and no one was filming. I’d been off-roading for about six and a half hours already. I definitely had a solid impression of what the refreshed F-150 Raptor R was all about, and I didn’t need to drive more. “Oh my God, absolutely.” – Motor1

“The Raptor R is a mad machine, an engineering marvel dancing over desert terrain at high speeds, the frenetic wheel travel pumping like the pistons of a 720-hp V-8, yet the cabin remains oddly still. No real head bobbing or back cracking—a human shouldn’t be so comfortable going in so many directions at once.” – Motor Authority

“With an output of 720 horsepower, the Raptor R is the most powerful vehicle in Ford’s F-150 lineup. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, as Ford has adapted the vehicle to make it extremely offroad-capable and adept at tearing through sandy environments in particular.” – The Manual

“Never mind rock crawling and autocrossing, bombing a Raptor R around the desert proved to be more fun than lapping any number of high-dollar sports cars around legit race tracks. The track experience is highly rewarding and certainly fun in its way, but then there’s that whole nerve-wracking thing again. Palms (and other bits) end up quite sweaty. Out here in the Raptor R? It may be 100 degrees outside, but no perspiration here. It’s so much damn fun, not to mention a whole lot cheaper than a track day.” – Autoblog