Ace of Base: 2018 Ford F-150 Raptor

Yes, you’re right – the Raptor is as far from a base truck as The Onion is from real news. However, there’s an argument to be made that the Raptor is as much of an individual model as the Focus RS is a model separate from the workaday hatchback. That is the argument I am making here today.

Raptor pickups can quickly climb into pricing’s nosebleed section, stretching bank accounts of off-road fans and vacuuming their wallets clean. Is a no-options Raptor worth their time? Given that the majority of add-ons augment the truck’s performance not one whit, I think it is.

Starting at $50,675, the entry level Raptor is *gasp* a SuperCab, not a SuperCrew. With ever increasing numbers of truck buyers popping for four full doors, a SuperCab F-150 sticks out like a lime-green tee shirt in a sea of drab business suits. Your author cannot recall the last time he saw a SuperCab Raptor with his own two eyes.

Pro tip: selecting a SuperCab Raptor shaves nearly $3,000 off the truck’s sticker price, along with several inches off its total length. The latter will make the pickup more manoeuvrable, whether one is using the thing on trails as intended or busting bollards at the mall. If you have a Raptor, I do hope it’s the former.

Another unexpected bonus of choosing the Raptor no one wants? The SuperCab also has a fuel tank measuring 36 gallons, a marked improvement over the SuperCrew’s 26 gallon thimble. Given the truck’s prodigious thirst, Raptor drivers are wise to carry all the fuel they can.

Both trucks come equipped with legendary levels of off-road kit, including gonzo-sized BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 rubber measuring a monstrous 315/70/R17. Fox Racing shocks soak up bumps like those old Bounty paper towel commercials purported to soak up water, while beefy springs at all four corners allow the truck to perform Baja levels of heroics even when piloted by the most hamfisted of drivers.

Only the deep-hued Ruby Red is an extra cost color, with all manner of greyscale plus the fabulous Race Red being offered gratis. Ford loves to show the Raptor in Lightning Blue, so I’ve implored potential customers to select anything but in an effort to add diversity on our nation’s trail system. Leave the optional wallpaper – a $1,075 Exterior Graphics Package and $900 Hood Graphics Package – on the factory floor. It makes for a cleaner looking machine, too.

A pair of options packages conspire to drive the Raptor’s price skyward, including a luxury-focused bundle with 360-degree cameras and the like costing an eye-popping $9,770. I also advocate for the exclusion of interior trim packages which can add thousands of dollars simply for a dollop of color or carbon fiber, along with the binning of Ford’s $1,950 Raptor Technology Package and its suite of safety nannies. The base model’s low-rent audio system is my sole gripe.

Checking all the boxes on a Ford Raptor order sheet will result in a machine cresting the $75,000 mark, nearly a $25,000 jump from the truck you see here. The base trim SuperCab is packed with the same off-road kit and its capabilities in the dirt are legion. Plus, because it’s a SuperCab, chances of seeing a double of yourself out in the dunes ranges somewhere between slim and none.

Last week’s announcement of the Limited trim earning Raptor levels of power reminded me of how good the Raptor is, even if I am not enamored with its engine note. Saving $25,000 over a fully loaded model is simply the icing on the cake.

[Images: Ford Motor Company]

Not every base model has aced it. The ones which have? They help make the automotive landscape a lot better. Any others you can think of, B&B? Let us know in the comments. Naturally, feel free to eviscerate our selection.

The model above is shown in American dollars with American options and trim, absent of destination charges and available rebates. As always, your dealer may sell for less.