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(With rear seat folded up for extra storage)
CLOSEST AMERICAN-MARKET COMPETITORS: Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra 1500, Dodge Ram 1500, Nissan Titan, Toyota Tundra.
Our Condo-Association Maintenance Man, who not only does a superb job keeping up with the physical problems and needs of the community's infrastructure with the limited resources available to him, not only lives on the property with us, but is also a personal friend of mine....and of many others in the community. For work purposes, he's been plugging along, for years, with a worn-out Chevy Silverado that is older than dirt, and, when it is in the shop (which is quite often), he relies on an old F-150 that was owned by one of his relatives (I think he said his girl friend recently bought it, but I'm not sure). Anyhow, even though he also has an old Nissan Pathfinder (itself, with the troublesome Nissan transmissions, not the most reliable of vehicles) which he uses for personal needs, it is becoming clear that it is (or will soon be) time to start looking at something new.
At the D.C. Auto show last month (the show was late this year, not in January/February as usual), I signed up for the usual Ford $50 pre-paid gift card offer, which has a May 31 time-limit for a dealer test-drive of any Ford product. I also signed him up for the offer, as he will probably be doing some test-driving of his own pretty soon. I told him how smooth, comfortable, and refined the new Dodge Ram 1500s were (the engineers really did a superb job on their sound-insulation and smooth ride), but he is leery of Rams from seeing others have reliability problems even with almost-new ones. Like me, he's somewhat of a GM fan (once had an old S-10 Blazer that ran around the odometer at least twice). Also like me (and he agrees with me 100% on this), he's very disappointed that GM, like Ford, is dumping most of their sedans (he loves riding in my Lacrosse, but it's an unsuitable vehicle for his needs). We discussed a possible new Silverado 1500, but many recent owners of full-size Chevy/GMC trucks and truck-based SUVs have had to endure not only the noted "Chevy Shake", where the roof panels and parts of the vehicle's structure vibrate and drum at certain road-speeds and road conditions, but have had other reliability problems as well. The Nissan Titan, of course, is out, because of his prior experience with the Pathfinder, and neither he nor I, for several reasons, are particularly impressed with the Toyota Tundra, even though it is generally a good bet for reliability.
So, that leaves, as the most likely (but not certain) choice, the quintessial American truck...the Ford F-Series. Though Chevy C/K and Silverado sales have often been right behind it, the Ford has dominated American full-size truck sales for almost 40 years. Though sometimes its reliability has been quite good, and other times rather spotty, it has satisfied many millions of buyers over the years, many of who come back as repeat-buyers. So, for me, it was obvious that the most sensible way to use the Ford test-drive offer this year was on a new F-150.
Luckily, my favorite Ford/Lincoln shop is enormous (one of the largest on the East Coast, and has almost anything you want in stock...even though F-150s, like most large trucks, come in many different sizes, configurations, and options. I felt, for his needs, a moderately-priced XLT model, with 4X4 (he sometimes needs to run around in the snow) would fit the general everyday needs of the job....he usually doesn't haul or tow heavy enough things for the F-250's added capacity. He wanted the SuperCab version, with the rear-hinged half-doors in the rear and a small rear seat, not the SuoerCrew with the 4 full-size doors and regular-size rear seats. So, I chose a dark blue SuperCab version, with 4X4, without the FX-4 Off-Road package (which he doesn't need), with the 3.5L Twin-Turbo EcoBoost V6, which probably outs out enough power for his needs. A conventional 5.0L V8 is available, if he decides he wants it. Bed length (with a spray-on bed-liner) was 6.5 feet (about right for his needs), and it had a Camel-Tan cloth interior. List price, in that configuration, with the 301A Equipment Group, Electronic-Locking Rear Axle, Long Range Fuel Tank, and XLT Chrome package, and a $1495 Destination Charge, was $48,485, but, with factory and dealer incentives/discounts, would probably go out the door for 40K or less. The base XL model would be cheaper, but the XLT, though not as plush or impressive inside as the Lariat, Platinum, or King Ranch versions, is a noticeably nicer truck, inside and out.
The current F-150 was introduced in 2015, and of course, was totally redesigned, with many aluminum panels and parts, which lowered the weight by roughly 700 pounds, improving (all else equal) the handling, gas mileage, and braking. A slight improvement in ride quality came with it, though not to the extent of the Dodge Ram's silkiness. A facelift just a year or so ago brought a new, somewhat more complex chrome front end (black on some of the sportier models). I was leery, at first, of the aluminum construction for the bed.....and, at the time, Chevy made a big deal of that in the weight-dropping ads shown on TV, showing how the Silverado's steel bed could absorb more impact without buckling or holes being gouged in it. But, given the nature of our condo man's work, I don't think that the typical things he usually hauls with his truck are likely to place a large enough impact on the bed to warp or seriously damage it in a reasonable length of time, and aluminum, though not corrosion-proof, doesn't rust in the same manner than non-Galvanized steel does. And the latest F-150 seems to be (still) satisfying a lot of buyers without them having to have the beds constantly worked on in an aluminum-certified body shop for damage. For regular accident-damage, though, one cannot usually take a aluminum-bodied vehicle to just any body shop...it usually has to be an aluminum-certified one....I'm sure Ford (and most insurance companies) have a list of acceptable shops.
The F-150 doesn't have the most solid exterior/interior trim or hardware I've seen (the fold-in mirror housings have a lightweight feel), and so does some of the interior controls/buttons, particularly for the climate-control system. The cloth seats are generally comfortable, though, and, while the lower cushions are power-operated, the setback uses a hand-lever. In front of the driver, like with most trucks, is a full set of engine gauges...no guessing what goes on under the hood. The rear seat, of course, in the SuperCab version, is not particularly suited for large adults, but that's the version he wanted. The 4-door SuperCrew version, with the larger doors in back, is more suited for a family or larger adults.
OK....on with the test drive. On this particular truck, the 3.5L V6 is started with a conventional key/fob and ignition switch on the steering column.....some packages offer a full-electronic key/fob. Though not Lexus-smooth, the engine starts up and runs, lightly-loaded, with reasonable refinement and power for the weight of the vehicle (I didn't test it wth a full load). My test truck, of course, was the heavier 4WD model, so the lighter-weight/less-drag RWD version would probably accelerate and stop a little quicker. This engine is advertised with start/stop technology which shuts the engine off at idle, but I didn't notice it operating much as I drove it. The 10-speed automatic (specially developed by a joint Ford/GM effort for RWD/AWD trucks) shifted fine under most conditions, and, on my particular truck, used an old-school column-shift whose handle sometimes covered part of the dash-vent for climate-control...your hand had hot or cold air blowing on it when you moved the lever. Steering response was about what was expected for a truck of this size and mass, which means slow by the standards of most vehicles (keep that in mind if you have to suddenly swerve to avoid a deer or child running out in your way). The electric power steering was rather numb and lacking road feel...but, again, that is typical for large trucks. Body roll was moderate, but not excessive considering the high center of gravity. There was some light-to moderate road noise coming in from the rear tires, even on smooth roads, from the aluminum bed and rear-cabin sheet metal....though not excessive, it clearly lacks the Dodge Ram's luxury-cocoon sound insulation. Wind noise is generally well-controlled. Brakes were generally effective, though this is, of course, a lot of vehicle to stop, even with the lighter-weight aluminum body. I didn't have any problems with the gas/brake pedal spacing and my big size-15 shoes like I do in some vehicles.
Verdict? While I didn't do a full-review in detail, I was generally more impressed with the latest 2019 version than I was when this basic-generation was first introduced four years ago. I haven't read of any major reliability problems, though Ford has come under fire for the way they advertise the EPA-mileage numbers for their recent EcoBoost engines (the EPA numbers for the 3.5 EcoBoost on my truck were 17 City, 23 Highway, and 19 Combined). It will (now) be up to our Condo man (I won't use his name, for privacy reasons) to check out the latest F-150 himself and see what he thinks...and, yes, get a nice gift card just for the drive.
And, as Always, Happy Truck-Shopping.
MM