Comprehensive Review of the Ford F-150: Design, Performance, and Features

You never realize how many trucks are on the roads of the United Arab Emirates until you are in a truck yourself. When I started driving the Ford F-150, it just felt like every other car is a pickup truck.

I think the reason for this is the height. When you are on eye level with others of the same height, you tend to notice them. Otherwise, these giants are ignored like headless zombies in a crowd of smaller cars. The smaller cars include Range Rovers and Land Cruisers.

From Ford’s stable, we have the entry-level Ranger to the Ford Super Duty. This range includes the all-mighty Ford Raptor, which is based on the F-150. We also have the Chevrolet Silverado and Ram trucks. So it is quite a crowded marketplace.

However, we all know that the F series (all their pickups) are the best-selling vehicles across all of the US and Canada.

Design

This is the recently updated Ford F-150. Even though it looks quite a lot like the old one, there are some very visible changes like new headlights, a bigger and wider grille, and new taillights. The bumper and tires are also new.

The color silver, which I got the truck in, looks pretty good. Usually, you see most trucks in red, black, white, or Raptor Blue.

Engine

Never having driven a truck before, I frankly did not know what to expect. All I knew was that I would have the keys to a giant silver truck with a 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost engine putting out 370 BHP and 4WD.

Now this engine really surprised me. It was fast. Obviously not supercar fast, but fast enough that you had to pay attention to your speed to avoid getting fined. The engine does a great job of accelerating you up to the speed limit quicker than you’d expect from such a massive vehicle.

A lot of this is possible due to the 10-speed gearbox, which shifts effortlessly and provides the correct gear as required. The weight-saving measures and the use of a lot of aluminum during the construction of the car have allowed the engineers at Ford to reduce the weight of the car by over 200 kilograms. The band of power available from 60 kph to 140 kph is particularly impressive.

In this power-band, the engine feels, accelerates, and performs at its best. You get the confidence to overtake at highway speeds and maintain a steady pace of 140 kph. In fact, it would pull easily to higher speeds from 140 kph if not kept in check.

Handling

There is no denying it. The size takes some time to get used to. Almost 20 feet in length and 8 feet wide, it is literally a house on wheels. In crowded metropolitan cities, they sell apartments of this size!

Obviously, one cannot expect razor-sharp handling in a truck, but you do know what is going on with it, especially via your bottom side. Due to its length, you can feel a lot of what the car is doing from your bottom, including rear-end grip and slight sway of the body.

The steering feel is not as precise as I would like, and I did not enjoy the way it artificially weights up at different speeds. You always have to be putting in small, constant steering inputs on the highway to keep the car steady.

The brakes were not as sharp and instant as I expected them to be. I guess 9000 kilometers on the odometer the car had were all got through some hard testing by auto journalists.

Off-Road

Most truck users either use it to tow something or carry something in its bed. However, I did not have anything to tow or put in the bed, so I decided to take it off-roading.

What better place than the red sand dunes of Dubai to test this truck's off-road prowess? With a group of seasoned off-roading specialists, we took to the sand dunes one Friday early morning.

They were sand specialists with their cars modified to take on any type of sand dune and I was a greenhorn truck driver with no off-roading skill or experience whatsoever in a stock F-150 with 22-inch polished wheels and regular road tires.

The car did better than any of us imagined. I did get stuck once, but that was due to my ineptitude rather than the car's fault.

Interiors and Equipment

I had the 4×4 SuperCrew Limited version, which in normal person’s language translates to having 4 proper sized doors and enough space for 4 passengers and the driver to sit comfortably with business class style legroom and headroom, plus the big bed at the back.

With ample space, the F-150 LIMITED version comes with all the bells and whistles. Ford does not let you or your passengers forget where you spent your money on. There are LIMITED badges all over the place.

• Full leather interiors in navy blue
• Bang & Olufsen audio system with Apple and Android connectivity
• Automatic side steps
• Massage seats
• Heated and cooled front captain seats
• A lot of safety features like lane-keeping assistance, cruise control, blind-spot assist, and parking sensors, reverse and front camera, etc.

What I was disappointed and surprised by was the quality, or the lack of quality, of the audio system. If it was an unbranded regular audio system, I would just accept it. However, when it is branded as a Bang & Olufsen system, you expect something much better. Sadly, it did not live up to its name.

The other thing which I am sure the guys at Ford know about, and every other single-car journalist in the world would notice, is the quality of plastics, or again the lack of quality in the plastics.

Verdict

To make a box on wheels look good, perform decently, and make the driver and passengers feel comfortable and at home, all at the same time is a task in itself. On top of that, to tow or carry equipment with ease is another achievement.

Having all of the above and at the same time having some decent off-road prowess truly makes the Ford F-150 a spectacular vehicle. No wonder so many people embrace the F-150 truck lifestyle. It is truly built tough.