Why There's No Better Road-Trip Truck Than the Ram 1500 TRX

Ford set a daring bar when it slapped a $41,669 base price on the new all-electric F-150 Lightning full-size pickup. That MSRP places the least expensive Lightning Pro model weirdly in line, price-wise, with an equivalent gas-fed, base-model, four-wheel-drive F-150 XL pickup. It doubled as a preemptive challenge to other makers of electric pickup trucks. Rivian's stunning R1T, our 2022 MotorTrend Truck of the Year? That starts at $67,500, but it's also smaller and aimed at luxury customers. So what about Chevrolet's new Silverado EV, the Lightning's (most) direct competitor?It looks like Chevy is trying to clear Ford's price hurdle, promising that the 2024 Silverado EV will start at $39,900—in WT trim with a smaller battery pack, with an undetermined amount of range. With destination charges estimated by GM at $1,695—the same as Ford charges to deliver its Lightnings—that price officially lands at $41,595. Do a little math, and that means the least expensive Silverado EV undercuts the least expensive Ford F-150 Lightning by $74. Clever, Chevy, clever.But this isn't the first Silverado EV that'll go on sale. We'll get a 400-mile "Work Truck" (WT) first, and we don't have pricing info on that. Later on down the line, we'll see the RST and First Edition models—ditto, no pricing info on those, either. The last variant to go on sale (for now) will be that smaller-battery WT version at $41,595. Because it's not available at launch, and we don't have pricing information on the trims that will be available first, it's a little hard to determine what sort of value the first run of Silverado EVs will offer potential owners.The cheapest WT model won't be available until the fall of 2023, along with the more mainstream Silverado RST and RST First Edition trims. Pricing for those models, as well as the 400-mile Silverado EV WT beating them all to market, is forthcoming.

Ever since the current-generation Ford Ranger landed on these shores—finally—a few years back, we've been looking abroad with some envy at the Ranger Raptor offered globally with swollen fenders, big ground clearance, and a twin-turbocharged Diesel engine with a stinking 369 lb-ft of torque. Anyone holding out hope for that particular Ranger Raptor, we're sorry—it's not coming, and it never will. But there's great news for you: the next one is. The 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor isn't only better than that old truck, it's also coming to America. And wait until you get a load of its specs.For one, that 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 diesel is gone, and in its place is a 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V-6 worked over by Ford Performance and producing 284 horsepower and 362 lb-ft of twist. That's down a few lb-ft, but ups whopping 74 horsepower over the old truck. This performance engine features an anti-lag system similar to what is fitted to the Euro-market Focus ST. Power is channeled through Ford's familiar 10-speed automatic and a full-time four-wheel-drive system that features a two-speed transfer case. The off-road hardware is impressive. Requisite front and rear diff lockers are present, and there is a full complement of selectable terrain modes, including Baja mode for high-speed desert rips. Speaking of, the chassis has been reinforced in all the expected ways to cope with the severe stresses on the suspension of, say, hitting a medium-sized rock at 60 mph on the playa. That means that the suspension mounts are all beefed up, and some parts of the frame around the bed and spare tire well. You can see all the reinforcements in the image below, and they're not dissimilar from those in the 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor, which utilizes a similar frame.The suspension itself consists of beefy aluminum control arms up front, and a live axle with a Watt's linkage out back. Ford returned to Fox to swipe 2.5-inch Live Valve internal bypass shock absorbers to deal with wheel oscillation punishment. (Interestingly, these units are of a smaller diameter than the 3.1-inch units in the Bronco Raptor.) Ford claims that the Teflon-infused oil inside these revised shocks reduces friction—and performance-robbing heat—by 50 percent. Ford also promises better on-road comfort than the previous model. A Bottom-Out Control feature provides more damping force in the last quarter of the shock's travel, to prevent spine-rearranging slaps on the bump stops. There is some serious armor under this truck. 2.3mm steel plates protect vulnerable points underneath the front of the truck, and also protrude out from the bumper giving the truck a stylish underbite. The radiator, steering, engine sump, and differential are all protected. Most importantly, the new Ranger Raptor manages to keep the handsome, Maverick-influenced look of the "regular" next-gen Ranger intact while adding a serious dose of adrenaline. Remember, the current-gen Ranger wasn't initially designed for the American market—it was adapted after the fact from a global-market truck. And it shows. The new Ranger is a true global product, one designed with the U.S. in mind from the get-go, and we think the new Ranger Raptor shows that there was some serious forethought that went into ensuring it'd appeal to buyers on both sides of the pond—buyers that have very different conceptions of what a pickup should be. The elements you'd expect are all present—big fenders with black arch extensions, a grille with a "FORD" logo you could see from space, hood and fender blisters, and a rugged rear end with tucked up twin-exit exhausts. The loop and side rails on the bed look to us to be more of a Euro-market styling element, but perhaps that will come to us, too.The interior is much more modern than our Ranger, and obviously is very similar to the global Ranger we saw last year, with the expected Raptor touches—bright Code Orange accents, a sporty steering wheel, and bolstered sport seats.This is a good time to mention that you're looking at the ROW version, specifically the U.K. market version. Don't be surprised if there are minor variations in the American-market truck—head- and tail lamps and bumpers are often different in different markets. But it's a very close preview of what we will get, that has been loudly confirmed to the world by Ford—an American-market Ford Ranger Raptor, designed from the ground up with us in mind. That's something worth getting very excited about.

WHAT IT IS: A three-row all-electric SUV from Hyundai previewed by the Seven concept.WHY IT MATTERS: The Hyundai Ioniq 7 will be the third vehicle in the expanding Ioniq family of electric vehicles. Following the footsteps of the acclaimed Ioniq 5 subcompact crossover and the soon-to-arrive Ioniq 6 sedan, the 7 will borrow the 5's pixelated taillights and daytime running lights. When the 7 concept made its debut at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show, Hyundai Motor America  CEO José Muñoz promised the production model will hew closely to the show car. "You'll be amazed," he added. Although the Seven concept has a loungelike interior and coach doors, the version that goes on sale will have a normal interior with a steering wheel. We expect its cabin to borrow some of the Ioniq 5's details.PLATFORM AND POWERTRAIN: The Ioniq 7 will be based on Hyundai's Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), which can accommodate multiple sizes with different battery systems. This is the same architecture used in the Ioniq 5, the Kia EV6, and Genesis GV60, all of which are much smaller. Similarly, the Hyundai Ioniq 7 will share much with the Kia EV9 and Genesis GV90. The Kia is slated to go into production soon and could be here next year, while the Genesis GV90 will most likely arrive in 2024. The Ioniq 6 sedan will also share its platform with these SUVs. Like its smaller sibling, we expect the 7 to have a range north of 300 miles while being able to charge from 10 to 80 percent in about 20 minutes with a 350-kW charger.ESTIMATED PRICE: $50,000EXPECTED ON-SALE DATE: Q1 2024