Indiana Jones put it best: “It’s not the years, honey, it’s the mileage.” Looking back on the Ford Raptor, it’s crazy to think that it’s been 11 years since it came out. Now on their second generation, the Raptor is still going strong (despite a two-year hiatus between 2014 to 2016).
There were a lot of changes that happened between those generations. One big one was the change from a naturally aspirated V8 to a turbocharged V6. A lot of Raptor fans (myself included) prefer the throaty V8 to the sporty forced induction V6, and now that they’re getting on in years, there’s no time like the present to look back on the first-gens and evaluate how well they perform off-road.
Such is the premise behind this video from YouTube channel The Straight Pipes. Hosted by Yuri and Jakob and based out of Toronto, Ontario, the duo take a 2010 Raptor that they’ve driven over 12,000 miles (as of the video’s filming, it was at 230,000 miles on the odometer) since owning and give feedback on its performance.
Taking it through an off-road park in Ontario, Yuri gets behind the wheel and offers his two cents. Compared with the newer trucks he’s driven, Yuri says, “It feels just as good as everything else.”
Yuri does his best to avoid branches and bushes hanging out onto the trail, but it gets the better of Jakob at one point. “Stop plowing through the bushes!” he yells. Those of us who’ve driven trucks through narrow trails know all too well what Jakob’s talking about!
Something else Yuri points out is the console layout. “Controlling this with hard buttons is so much nicer than controlling newer infotainments,” he says. It’s a fair point, as most trucks since 2015 or so all have giant touchscreen displays. Sometimes, they’re a pain to use since they require more eye coordination than tactile feel.
The guys give the Raptor a fair trial and assessment on the trail and it boils down to simplicity. Made right before large infotainment screens and multiple sensors became a thing in trucks, the 2010 Raptor is still a fun truck to drive in 2020. What do you think of their opinions? Share your thoughts in the comments below.