2024 Ford F-150 Tremor First Test: Ain’t No Faker
If you’re looking for an off-road-capable truck but don’t need the Raptor or its compromises, the 2024 Ford F-150 Tremor could be your go-to pickup.
The 2024 Ford F-150 Raptor remains one of the top factory off-road trucks you can buy today. You can even go extreme and get the Raptor R with its 5.2-liter supercharged V-8 chucking out 720 hp and flying over whoops like it’s no big deal. But either version of the Raptor is a lot of truck that some buyers just don’t want or simply can’t afford. What’s the next best (and more affordable) thing if you’re looking for something with a V-8 under the hood? It’s the 2024 Ford F-150 Tremor.
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While it won’t take on the desert at high speeds, the 2024 F-150 Tremor is still an impressive off-road truck. It conquers small to medium bumps like they aren’t there, and it can clamber off all but the burliest terrain. That said, although its softer suspension is great for off-roading, it does lead to some extra movement; under hard braking, for example, there’s occasional side-to-side motion and a lot more dive than in more road-oriented F-150s. And the off-road tires contribute to a long 60–0-mph stopping distance of 149 feet, 10 feet longer than the 2025 Ram 1500 Warlock Crew Cab and 11 feet longer than the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2.
We achieved our best acceleration runs with the Tremor in 2WD and “Sport” mode with all the electronic safety nets turned off. The sound of the V-8 and the squat will make you think you’re in a rocket ship, but the time slip isn’t quite as impressive as hammering the go pedal sounds and feels. From a dead stop, the Tremor’s 5.0-liter V-8 put its 400 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque toward a best 0–60-mph run of 6.4 seconds. It was able to cover the quarter mile in 14.8 seconds at 96 mph. Quick enough numbers but not exactly pulse-pounding (Ram’s I-6 Warlock is about a second quicker in both). But, man, your heart will tell you it’s awesome.
Even with some on-road compromises made for the sake of off-pavement abilities, the Tremor is satisfying to drive. Keep it in Auto 4WD with Sport mode on, and it handles predictably and doesn’t wallow in corners. There’s some lazy turn-in and you’ll need to brake early, but so long as you keep those deficiencies in mind, the truck will get you on and off the highway and away from stoplights with ease, and you never lack confidence behind the wheel. The Tremor will also let you know when you’ve gone too far; just listen for the all-terrain tires to howl.
Our Tremor also had Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driver assist technology. We generally rankBlueCruise just behind GM’s excellent Super Cruise among such features, and the execution in the Tremor did nothing to dissuade us from that opinion. The hands-free operation was predictable, and we rarely felt like we needed to take over for the system. If you’re willing to dish out the premium for BlueCruise—or the Ford or Lincoln you’re buying already includes it—it’s a good way to reduce fatigue and drama on long highway slogs. At minimum, use the trial period to give it a run, and you may be sufficiently impressed to subscribe. Without BlueCruise, you’ll get the regular adaptive cruise control with lane keep assist as standard items.
The Tremor looks cool, too; it doesn’t have the Raptor’s beefy fender flares or cool clearance lights, but then it isn't as difficult to place in a lane or park as its beefier brother. With cool orange accents inside and out, the Tremor looks both purposeful and tasteful. If you’re shopping for an F-150 and can’t or don’t want to go Raptor, the Tremor is quite possible the most well-rounded member of the entire family, with tidy on-road manners, great off-road capability, and a personality all its own.
Having experience in many forms of the automotive industry, Justin Banner has done more than just write about cars. For more than 15 years, he's had experience working as an automotive service technician—including a stint as a Virginia State Inspector—service advisor, parts sales, and aftermarket parts technical advisor (a fancy way of saying he helped you on the phone when you had trouble fitting your brakes over your aftermarket wheels and the like). Prior to his tenure as a full-time editor, Justin worked as a freelance writer and photographer for various publications and as an automotive content creator on YouTube. He’s also covered multiple forms of motorsports ranging from Formula Drift, drag racing, and time attack, to NASCAR, short course off-roading, and open desert racing. He's best known for breaking down complex technical concepts so a layperson can more easily understand why technologies, repairs, and parts should matter to them. At MotorTrend, Justin is part of the news team covering breaking news and topics while also working as a judge for MotorTrend Of the Year events and other major comparison tests.
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