| By Davey G. Johnson Ford F-150 SVT Raptor SuperCrew: First Drive
Given Ford's much-ballyhooed product renaissance, it seems somehow fitting they invited us to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to put the new SVT Raptor SuperCrew through its paces at a disused Bomarc missile site — using a repurposed artifact from an era when we led the world to showcase one of the prouder products of an industry desperate to prove its relevance to a jaded populace. Not far from Lake Superior, the former Raco airbase's Hoth-but-for-the-trees winter climate makes for an excellent spot to wring out vehicles in extreme cold. And to these Golden State bones, temperatures between 6 and 20 degrees are extremely cold. Disclaimer: Ford sprung for the flight to and from Sault Ste. Marie, MI, a room at the Soo Locks Lodge, a dinner at the hyper-kitschy The Antler's [sic] restaurant, some really fine mac and cheese at the test facility and enough gas to get me to Pine Stump Junction and back. I also helped myself to two free hats and a couple of thumb drives. It also bears mentioning that I was part of Ford's 2009 Fiesta Movement promotion. Like the Bomarc, the desert-bred Raptor's a collision of Western why-not ingenuity and Midwestern engineering know-how. It doesn't, however, share the unbridled batshittiness of the missile. Rather, the truck's got more in common with its namesake, the hypermodern F-22 fighter. Engineered within an inch of its life, loaded with computers and supremely competent, SVT's latest surprises more with the breadth of its capability and livability rather than any one ramjet-and-nuke party trick. "...the ultimate vehicle for outdoorsy middle-class families — safe, stable, spacious and well- appointed." The SuperCrew wasn't originally on the drawing board when SVT launched the short-wheelbase Raptor at the end of '09. But before that truck hit the street, customers were inquiring about a true five-place version of the showroom prerunner. With a business case in hand, the Special Vehicle Team put pen to paper and began working up the extended-play version. Tweaks include quicker steering to make up for the 12-inch increase in wheelbase, a 36-gallon fuel tank (up 10 from the SWB model) and firmer springs to compensate for the added heft (which offer up the added benefit of a one-ton increase in towing capacity to 8,000). New for 2011 across the board are the 411-hp 6.2L SOHC two-valver as the only available engine and Ford's SelectShift transmission - which allows a sequential lockout of every gear down to first - a 110V inverter and socket in the center column and a telescoping steering wheel. Yes, Virginia Slim, it's civilized — about as far away from Big Oly as Olympia, WA is from Dearborn. Look past the straight-outta-Riverside flatbill posture and SVT's latest high-performance machine might be the ultimate vehicle for outdoorsy middle-class families — safe, stable, spacious and well-appointed. Tossed through a slalom set up on one of the old airbase runways, the Raptor's electronics were generally intuitive as to my intent — though in driving like a bit of an irresponsible nut while attempting to predict their reactions, I managed to wind up horribly off-line, sliding to a sideways stop before a gate because the stability control didn't kick in as expected. In sport mode, the electronic helicopter mom held the truck to around a 40-degree yaw angle, allowing for fairly impressive ass-out roostertails through the cones. Around a 300-foot snow-and-ice circle, it was a different story — the stability control kept knocking the truck off-line. Discouraged and feeling like I must be at the limit of my ability if I was running sideways into the nanny and not recovering in a predictable manner, I pulled off the circle and let another group of journos have a whack at it.     Emboldened by the joyous wall of snow sloughing off the rear tires of a truck clearly sliding around the track with the safety programs deactivated, I headed out for another spin with the assists switched off. And that, friends, is when things got glorious.
On the other hand, despite its American-4x4-as-conceived-by-an-anime-artist looks and astounding capability, the Raptor lacks some fundamental wild hair that tends to deeply endear vehicles to me. In a sense, it recalls the Rolls-Royce Phantom, a vehicle with similar power and weight figures that also drives smaller than its Iowa-class size and is similarly able to toss off considerable feats of speed and agility as effortless bits of piffle.
That said, the truck's no-surprises nature was a boon on the unpaved, snow-covered logging roads we covered after we left the test facility. Even as a newbie to the conditions, 50 mph on fresh powder didn't seem like an unreasonable speed much of the time. And the electronic watchdogs became welcome allies, telegraphing when we might be getting near the edge of the envelope in unfamiliar conditions. In short, any drama was almost assuredly the fault of the driver, not the truck.
Now if SVT could only dial in a dab of Bomarc... Photo Credit: Davey G. Johnson; Mike Levine Editor's Note: We really, really, really wanted to run this as the splash shot atop the review, but it had absolutely nothing to do with the story. Still, we thought it would make at least a handful of you laugh. Also, if you want the top shot and a couple of the other shots from the Raptor SuperCrew first drive event as wallpaper-sized images, head to our Facebook page. 
| March 8th, 2011 Top Stories |
