![]() The TRX lays claim to the “apex predator” crown thanks to its power advantage, but many buyers will still prefer the Raptor’s driving feel at speed. But the Raptor’s value (a weird word to use for such an expensive truck) makes it an alluring alternative. Without question, the TRX is the preferred choice for those who want the biggest and baddest truck. But that only manifests at the bleeding edge of what either truck can do, and neither truck will spend much time in 0-60 mph sprints or driving 100-plus mph off-road (unless you have a dragstrip or a dirt track in your backyard). The TRX’s power advantage can’t be ignored. Paying more than $70,000 for a cloth interior just feels wrong. My TRX test vehicle cost $89,960 for example, and if I were buying a TRX that’s probably how I’d want to option it. But the easy counter-counterargument is that the same thing will be true of the TRX. The counterargument from Ram’s product spokespeople was that the average transaction price of a Raptor is not near its base price. The price difference between the two trucks is significant, with a $13,000 gap between their starting MSRPs. *We are still waiting for the redesigned 2021 Ford F-150 to arrive (and a new Raptor along with it) so the price above is for the 2020 version of the Raptor, of which there is still some inventory available. But if it’s raw power, the TRX loudly makes its case. If precision is your priority, the Raptor will still hold more appeal. Driving the TRX reminded me of playing with an oversized tennis racket: tons of power and more forgiveness when you end up slightly off center, but you lose touch. The TRX’s more-pliant suspension absorbs hard hits with shrugging indifference, but the trade-off is feel. The Raptor opens doors the TRX rams right through them. I used the throttle to help steer the TRX more than I did in the Ford at the TRX media drive last month. Its wheels feel like they’re sitting 6 inches deep at times, but with that engine the truck will churn through anything. The larger TRX leans more on its raw power. The Raptor’s weight advantage makes it the more nimble of the two, dancing over dirt with greater control and dexterity. Both rigs absolutely eat up dirt and gravel, but do so in different ways that are true to their dino spirit animals. Higher-speed off-roading on dirt roads and over washes reveals some daylight between the Raptor and TRX. The 2020 Raptor gets an estimated 16 mpg combined and the TRX just 12 mpg combined. This difference teams with the Raptor’s lighter weight and smaller engine to give it a fuel economy advantage, though both of these trucks drink a lot of gas. It’s worth noting that the Raptor can run in more-efficient two-wheel drive, while the TRX is always running in 4WD. The TRX’s top speed of 118 mph also bests the Raptor’s 112 mph, though that is purely down to tires since both trucks have enough power to beat those marks easily. It even comes with launch control (that also works on gravel), two words I never thought I’d hear associated with a truck, let alone an off-roader. But the TRX’s 4.5 second 0-60 mph time is untouchable by production truck standards and its raucous V-8 provides more snap off the line. The TRX’s spitting, rumbling, supercharged V-8 makes it quicker than the Raptor, which is no slouch in the acceleration department with a 0-60 mph time of 5.1 seconds of its own, according to Car and Driver. Even though the TRX weighs about 650 pounds more, it has so much power that its power-to-weight ratio of 9.05 pounds per hp still significantly trounces the Raptor’s 12.66 pounds per hp. ![]() (In case you forget, though, there are no fewer than five skid plates.) The tires, by the way? 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territorys.The 702-horsepower TRX enjoys a big power advantage. Total ground clearance is 11.8 inches, so just be sure to keep a ruler in the glovebox. The frame has been strengthened to handle the sort of antics owners of these trucks get up to. The automatic is shifted via a more traditional lever (with a manual shift gate) rather than the rotary dial used to shift between P, R, N and D on regular Rams the space where that dial used to be on the dash is now home to hard buttons that let the driver toggle between the many drive modes, including a high-speed desert-bashing Baja mode.īilstein adaptive dampers lie on all four corners to help handle the brutal impacts of blasting across terrain at high speed the front end boasts an independent suspension, while a Dana rear axle handles things astern. That power goes to the wheels via a full-time four-wheel-drive system, rear electronic locking differential and an eight-speed automatic, with the latter gaining paddle shifters for the first time.
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