2017 Ford F-150, F-150 Raptor Win Big at Gold Hitch Awards
The 2017 Ford F-150 and F-150 Raptor have taken home three out of five Gold Hitch Awards from online truck enthusiast magazine, The Fast Lane Truck.
The F-150 won the overall "Truck of the Year Award" as well as an additional award for being this year's best towing half-ton truck. The F-150 Raptor, on the other hand, earned an award for being the best-performing off-road truck.
The Gold Hitch Awards are based on the results of high-altitude towing and performance testing held in Colorado and Utah, and is considered to be the "world's toughest towing contest." Awards include midsize, half-ton, heavy-duty and off-road performance categories.
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"The 2017 Ford F-150 is the best towing half-ton truck this year," Andre Smirnov, editor of TFLtruck.com, said. "The overall versatility, towing performance, and choice of available powertrains and technology features of the entire 2017 F-150 lineup elevated the F-150 above all others."
The towing capabilities and technologies of the Ford F-150, along with its second-generation 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 as well as its all-new 10-speed automatic transmission, have allowed the truck to beat its fellow competitors — the 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the 2017 Nissan Titan — during the high-altitude towing test across the Ike Gauntlet. The vehicle's tow/haul mode and trailer braking provided support in its descent.
Meanwhile, the all-new F-150 Raptor outperformed four competitor trucks and clinched the Gold Hitch Award for off-road trucks. The Raptor's purpose-built performance chassis was too powerful to be bested by the competition.
The vehicle is equipped with BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires which are complemented by the FOX shocks, which are jointly engineered by Ford Performance and FOX. It also comes with 3-inch diameter canisters as well as nine-stage bypass dampening for improved control.
"The 2017 Raptor is a complete package that combines a powerful engine, speed and off-road components to tackle nearly every kind of terrain, and do it in comfort," Smirnov said.
The award recently received by the Raptor is one of the many recognitions the vehicle has gotten from the likes of FOUR WHEELER and Cars.com, and awards such as the AutoGuide.com Truck of the Year as well as the Autotrader Must Test Drive award.
