It was love at first drive.
Like a wayward politician, I have
to be honest here and admit to my wife, my friends and of course my
family that I had an illicit and extremely passionate week long love
affair with the Ford F-150 pick-up.
But it all came crashing down, as these things do, when I pulled up to the gas station.
But
I'm getting ahead of myself, from the second I caressed the black F-150
leather clad steering wheel I knew that I would fall in love, and fall
hard.
Unlike other big pick-up I've known over the years the
F-150 drove like a just like a car. In the past I've always had to
compromise when it came to pick-ups.
Did I want the rough and tough utility of a pick-up, or the comfort and security and let's pace it ease of parking of a car.
But
not the F-150…oh no. With some magic suspension chemistry, Ford has
managed to combine the rough and tough DNA of a pick-up with the
comfort and convenience of a car. At no time did I ever feel like I
was behind the wheel of a porky
5921 pound truck. Instead, if I closed my eyes I could easily imagine I
was driving a Ford Flex or any other much more nimble car.
OK,
if I'm being totally honest, and let's face fact when it comes to love
no one is ever totally honest, I have to point out the fact that the
brakes were a bit on the mushy side, and the truck did tend to "bound"
over railroad tracks and other such bumps in the road that a car's
suspension would easily absorb.
But than again what car can carry five adults, two dirt bikes and a wet dog in style and comfort?
My
tester Ford F-150 4×4 Supercrew Lariat came with so much room in the
back seat that my 12-year-old lanky son could (and did gladly) stretch
our his feet in the back seat without touching the front seat.
I
felt like I was his driver and he was some British royal on the way to
family country estate in a stretched, lifted and 4×4 limo.
That's
because inside of the Lariat is a mostly successful bend of leather,
and plastic. Classy touches include the french stitching on the leather
bound instrument dashboard trim, the almost howitzer like precision of
the satisfyingly heavy shift lever, and the "pimp my ride blast" of the
700 watt optional Sony sound system.
I've driven cars that are
tens of thousand of dollars more expensive that would be so lucky as to
have a stereo system of the power, sound, and quality of the F-150
Sony.
But don't kid yourself, all of this luxury and fine detail is not inexpensive.
My test truck came with a $45,686.00 sticker, and that was after the Ford $1000.00 Lariat premium discount.
But
for about half the cost of a Porsche SUV you not only get a truck that
could easily tow the Porsche or perhaps two Porsche's, but four wheel
drive, heated and cooled seats, rear view camera, sat navigation, MS
Sinc for your phone iPod or external hard drive, Sirius Sat radio, duel
glass rear view mirrors that could be used to park the Titanic, a
clever and stow-able tailgate step, chrome and fake chrome everything,
and you sit about three stories above everything else on the road
looking down of the pheasants in their tiny Japaneses cars scurrying
about around you.
And did I mention the built in trailer brake controller when you want to tow…say…the Sears Tower to New York?
The
5.4L V8 with 320 HP seems eaily up to the job of moving the truck and
anything else you might to tow. To be fair, it's perhaps not the most
powerful or fastest engine you can get in a full sized pick-up, but it does have that satisfying powerboat rumble at idle that will put a smile on any gear head's face.
So
like I said when I started this review, I was it utter, hopeless, and
passionate love with the F-150… that is until I pulled up to the gas
station with just over a half a tank of gas in the truck.
I
needed to top up the tank in Denver as I was driving to the mountains
and gas is about 20 to 50 cents more expensive in the high country of
Colorado (apparently they must airlift all gas into the Rocky Mountains
because otherwise I don't get why gas gets so expensive at altitude).
Anyway, I was impressed with Ford's capless fuel filler as I pumped $2.50 gas into the F-150.
$10, $20, $30, $40, and $50 rolled over in the pump's display.
Keep in mind that the 36 gallon tank was already over half full according to the gas gauge when I began pumping the gas.
I
stopped at $50.00 with my heart broken and just the smallest start of a
tear in the corner of my eye. My brain understood that I was getting an
as tested 16.2 miles to the gallon. Which, when you think about, it is
not too shabby for a big and badass truck.
But somehow my heart
didn't understand the cold hard implications of filling a 36 gallon gas
tank until the numbers just kept going higher in the pumps display.
So yes, I will dearly miss the Ford F-150.
And yes, I will always treasure that special week we shared together innocently romping through the mountains of Colorado.
I just sincerely hope that after all we've been through we can still be friends.
2009 Ford F-150 4X4 Supercrew Lariat
Price as Tested: $45,685.00.
Engine, Transmission: 5.5L FFV V* Engine with electronic 6-spd auto
Horsepower: 320
G-Tac Test Data
1/4 Mile: 19.02 second at 82 mph
0-60 mph: 12.02
Max Acceleration: 0.35 g's
EPA Fuel Economy Estimates
City: 14 mpg
Highway: 18 mpg
Combined: 15 mpg
As tested: 16.2 mpg
CO2 per year: 14,673 lbs
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Roman Mica is a columnist, journalist, and author, who spent his early
years driving fast on the German autobahn. When he's not reviewing cars
for the active set, you can find him training for triathlons and
writing about endurance sports for, EverymanTri.com. Mica is also the Endurance Sports Examiner.
