2024 Ford F-150 Tremor First Drive: Good Enough to Skip the Raptor?

One of the countless things that stunk about the global pandemic is that there was never an original launch for the Ford F-150 Tremor, which first came off the line in May of 2020. We only later got behind the wheel, long after the truck had been on sale. Given its slow emergence from Dearborn, Ford's factory quarter-ton rock crawler might not be familiar to many. A total shame, as the light-duty Tremor is in many peoples’ opinions (your not-so-humble author’s included), the best mainstream F-150 you can buy, blending solid off-road, hauling, and towing capabilities in one appealing package. It might even better than the slightly less mainstream F-150 Raptor, and we’ll get into why below.

Just this year, the 2023 F-150 Tremor handedly won an off-road comparison test against similar models from Chevy, Toyota, and Ram. It wasn’t even a close victory, as the Tremor excelled everywhere and the rest of the competition just didn’t. And that was the old truck. Surely the just-refreshed-for-2024 Ford F-150 Tremor is even better, right?

What Exactly is an F-150 Tremor?

The Tremor concept actually debuted on the refreshed-for-2020 Ford Super Duty trucks. The heavy-duty Tremors were an answer to Ram’s mighty Power Wagon, though the Fords offered a diesel option. Totally awesome on paper, didn’t work so hot in reality. At over 7,200 pounds, 800 pounds fatter than a Power Wagon, the gasoline-engine F-250 Tremor was just too porky to work off-road. Our road test editor’s awesome quip after we spent a day running trails in a Tremor Super Duty? “It's like exploring the world with an anvil.” The approximately one-ton-lighter F-150 Tremor solves for all of that.

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The first thing to look for when Tremor spotting are the 33-inch General Grabber A/TX tires shod over black 18-inch wheels. Then look for the orange mustache across the grille. Ford has decided that orange highlights are what visually separate the Tremor from other F-150s, and there are splashes of orange on the side vents, bed stickers, and tailgate. So be it. The 2024 Tremors gain an optional new front bumper, and the winch-ready center section is shared with the also-updated Raptor. Both trucks feature unique end caps. F-150 Tremors also get unique aluminum running boards and four tow hooks, two on the snout, and two on the rear bumper.

On the suspension side, the front upper and lower control arms, tie rods, and knuckles are all Tremor-specific parts, as are the dampers, which are monotube units up front and twin-tube out back. The rear suspension is comprised of two-stage, variable-rate leaf springs. The F-150 Tremor sits about an inch higher than an F-150 with the FX4 off-road package, and its track is about an inch wider.

This is all good for 9.8 inches of ground clearance, a 25.2 approach angle, a 26.9-degree departure angle, and a 20.0-degree breakover angle. You can choose either the F-150 lineup's 5.0-liter V-8 that makes 400 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque, or the twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 that also makes 400 hp, but 500 lb-ft of torque. The 10-speed automatic transmission included with both engines is paired to a two-speed transfer case, and there also is a standard locking rear differential.

Anything new for 2024?

Most of the newness for the refreshed 2024 F-150s is centered around the tailgate design and updated BlueCruise 1.2 hands-free driver assistance feature, though there are a few more tricks up the F-150’s sleeve. Let’s start with the Pro Access Tailgate. Like the torque wars in the HD segment, the tailgate wars are in full swing. Ford’s latest volley has a large, swing-out center section, but with a twist: the swinging part has three detents. The first and most important if you tow is 37 degrees. This allows you access to the pick-up’s bed without hitting the tongue-jack, a nice solution to a common problem. The 37-degree opening is large enough to accept a medium size cooler or tool box. Normally, when hooked up to a trailer, you’d need to go over the massive bed walls, which if you’re normal height or shorter, is tough. The Pro Access Tailgate also opens to 70- and 100-degree positions.

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The refreshed F-150 also offers clever built-in bed ribs, rounded channels molded into the bed liner that accept pieces of wood to act as bed dividers. (This first appeared on the smaller Maverick as a DIY-friendly add-on.) An owner could cut up their own 2x4s, or even lumber as large as a 2x8, for use in there. Pretty slick. The new F-150s also includes Stolen Vehicle Services. If your truck gets thieved, it will send an alert to your phone via the FordPass app. If you don’t reply back, it calls the police. We sort of suspect that an Apple Air Tag would be every bit as effective, but hey. The Stolen Vehicle Services also prevents a master reset of your vehicle, something thieves use to bypass security features.

Inside, Ford’s made the slick-looking, well-integrated 12-inch touchscreen standard, which we applaud as it works well and looks like part of the cabin. Ford has also made 5g LTE modems standard across the F-150 lineup, which is great for connectivity and OTAs. A head-up display is now optional, but it’s one we recommend. Why look down for key info?

The other big news is Ford’s offering BlueCruise 1.2 across the F-150 lineup as a subscription service. Version 1.2 of Ford’s hands-free driving software features in-lane repositioning and lane change assist. We tried it out in a non-Tremor F-150 and were pleased with how well the system works. If you’re on a road where BlueCruise works (basically, most freeways), you can drive for however far with your hands off the wheel. The F-150 does have eye monitors, so if you look away for longer than eight seconds (we timed it) the truck starts beeping at you and prompting you to grab the wheel. Eight seconds is long enough, however, to use both hands to safely open up a water bottle, or thumbs up a text message. The lane repositioning just keeps the truck centered better, and if you hit the turn signal stalk, the truck will switch over one lane. Want two? You need to cancel and then hit it again. Nice stuff.

Yes, But Off-Road?

This is where the Tremor is happiest. Oddly, even though we began the F-150 Tremor drive in Johnson Valley (a world-class off-road park), Ford limited our demo to some light trail running. There was no point where we even had to shift the trucks into low-range. Which is a damn shame as the Tremor excels in the real tricky stuff.

Luckily, you’re reading our review, because we’ve already beaten the F-150 Tremor like it was a borrowed press car and let us assure you, it’s the best full-size off-roader F-150 you can buy—yes, even better than a Raptor—if your off-road needs don't skew toward open desert runs. Say huh? Why? How? It’s much narrower, nearly seven inches so, which can be crucial when trying to get through dense trees or narrow rocks, and good thing, too, because the Tremor's slightly better as a rock crawler. Remember the Raptor is built for high speed desert running and jumping, not 1-mph crawling. The Tremor is also better at regular truck stuff, like towing and hauling. With the Max Tow Package and the 3.5-liter V-6, you have 2,445 pounds of payload and a max tow rating of 13,500 pounds. Contrast that with the 1,405 pounds of payload for the V-6 Raptor (1,410 for the Raptor R with its supercharged V-8) and an 8,200-pound max tow rating (8,700 for the Raptor R).

Ford did guide us to a small off-road playground, to showcase both the Trail Control with Trail 1-Pedal Drive and Trail Turn Assist, but again the Tremors were so capable that we never had to engage 4-Lo. Trail Control is essentially an off-road cruise control, where you indeed use the cruise controls to set your speed. We’re never really sure of the point of such features (Toyota offers something similar), but yeah, if you don’t want to use the gas pedal at 1 mph, it has you covered. Trail Turn Assist is more interesting. Again, Toyota’s offered this sort of technology on the Land Cruiser for years and years, and it's found on the Bronco, too, but when you activate it, turn the steering wheel to lock and goose the throttle, the inside rear wheel is braked, allowing you to tightly pivot around an obstacle. Quite handy, actually. That said, we should point out that the new all-electric Mercedes G-Class does something similar, but since it’s a four-motor EV, it one-ups the dragging-inside-rear-tire thing by spinning the inside rear wheel backwards.

Conclusion

We went into this test drive already smitten with the current F-150 Tremor, arguably was the best all-around light-duty pickup truck Ford makes. The updates for 2024 do nothing to change that opinion. As odd as it looks and even If you don’t tow, the smart door-within-a-tailgate is no doubt super useful, as is the latest version of Ford’s BlueCruise. With a starting price of $66,790 (up from last year’s $62,865), the F-150 Tremor is by no means cheap. However, it’s not out of line compared to the vehicles it competes against, or well-equipped full-size pickups generally. Moreover, it’s such a great truck that if you’re in the market for a full-size factory off-roader and don't feel like paying tens of thousands more for a 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor, it'll be happy trails.