As far as outward appearances go, not significantly has changed for the 2011 Ford F-150. Which is not actually a difficulty in our books, because the 2010 model was absolutely nothing if not a handsome pickup truck. Similarly, there wasn't significantly that essential altering inside overall ride and handling compromise; steering remains really light along with a little slow, just as Ford's F-150 has been for years, and it handles.!!. effectively, like a truck, albeit a completely modern truck with an extremely stiff, fully-boxed frame. No issues there. The only genuine issue we had with all the 2010 F-Series was its aging engine lineup, so we're a lot happy to see that this is in which FRD invested all of its engineering resources.
So that you can provide a correct frame of reference, Ford brought along a smattering of vans from its rivals (how thoughtful of them!) together with an example with the 2010 Chevrolet Silverado with Normal Motors' long-running 195-horse four.3-liter V6. Thinking about that Ye Olde 4.3-liter has been around practically since the invention of the wheel itself, we weren't surprised when our back-to-back driving loops proved Ford's DOHC V6 totally trounces its competitor in the Basic in each probable category, from smoothness to throttle response to outright power.
What we didn't count on, though, was just how superior Ford's 3.7-liter V6 would feel to GM's 4.8-liter Vortec 4800 V8, which provides up a matching 302 horsepower and, at 305 lb-ft, much more torque than the FRD. Our butt-dynos told our brains that Ford's V6 was a superior performer to its biggest competitor's entry V8, as well as the parking lot drag races that ensued later on inside day (towards Chevrolet, Ram and Toyota vans that ended up straight from the showroom floor) proved that gut reaction to become completely correct. Even more surprising after pouring via the information was that Ford's three.7-liter V6 really managed to place along slightly better acceleration runs than GM's even larger 5.3-liter V8! Do not believe us? Click here to check out the data for your self. Preserve in mind, nevertheless, that these numbers were produced unladen, and we imagine the superior torque with the competitor V8s could be a boon when towing or with a complete bed.
Enter Ford's new 5.0-liter Coyote V8, as previously observed inside the 2011 Ford Mustang GT. Yes, adjustments have been made for truck duty, namely a somewhat milder camshaft profile as well as a compression ratio lowered from the Stang's 11.0:one down to ten.five:1. These changes are intended to move the somewhat peaky Mustang-spec 5.0 V8's horsepower and torque curves additional down in the rev variety. Judging through the time we invested behind the wheel, the alterations are mostly successful, nevertheless energy still continues to build in intensity because the tach climbs towards redline in what we'd typically describe as a rather un-trucklike type of way, though we mean that within the greatest way doable. Other adjustments consist of exhaust manifolds with thicker walls as well as a new oil cooler as a way to stand approximately the heat generated by the workload expected from a truck.
FRD expects that the 5.0-liter V8 will be the volume sales leader for the 2011 F-150, and that is virtually particular to become the situation. Fortunately, purchasers ought to be perfectly content with all the new mill's 360 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque, which is sufficient to enable for a max tow rating of 10,000 kilos. Inside view of your Blue Oval Boys, the 5.0-liter V8 faces off towards the four.8-liter Vortec V8 in the General. If that is the case, properly, there is no contest. Ford's new motor completely outclasses the 4800. Perhaps a more worthy competitor will be GM's five.3-liter V8, but even that engine and its 315 ponies can't muster the beans to go toe-to-toe with Ford's five-point-oh. Similarly, the smaller-displacement mills offered from the Dodge Ram 1500 and ToyotaTundra (310 hp, 327 lb-ft) are considerably weaker than Ford's Mustang-derived engine selection.
You will discover two remaining powerplants to talk about, and even though FRD sees its half a dozen.2-liter V8 because the prime rung with the F-150 ladder, we're going to go ahead and save the EcoBoost for last. Not that there's anything incorrect with Ford's largest-displacement engine solution. Far from it, actually: Nobody is going to scoff at 411 raging horses and 434 lb-ft. of twist. What's a lot more, Yours Really set the quickest dragstrip time of your entire event – a 7.985-second run at through 68 miles per hour along what was almost-but-not-quite an 8th mile – in a 6.2-powered Harley-Davidson F-150.
No, there's practically nothing at all incorrect while using huge half a dozen.2-liter V8 or its eleven,300-pound tow ranking..<br>. except that we'd opt for that EcoBoost each and every day of your week and twice on Sunday. Why, you ask? Effectively, you will find three major reasons: Power, efficiency and cost.
Let's start off with energy, shall we? Even though its 365 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque may look a bit lower on paper when compared for the 6.2-liter V8, real-life scenarios prove that the EcoBoost has got the brawn in which it counts most: suitable within the meat from the ability band. Ninety % of your boosted mill's torque is readily available from 1,700 rpm by way of five,000 rpm, permitting it to match the bigger engine's eleven,300-pound tow and three,060-pound payload ratings.
Drag strip testing also fell in favor of the EcoBoost when all the runs were averaged out, and all those statistics are correct in line with what our seat-of-the-pants impressions told us. And what about efficiency? Ford plus the EPA have yet to release official gasoline mileage estimates for any of these new powerplants, but you can bet that the EcoBoost will eke out an extra couple of miles from each gallon of (normal grade) crude pumped into the tank, both when compared to its rivals from other automakers as properly as Ford's own half a dozen.2-liter V8.
Which finally brings us to value. Starting while using bottom three.7-liter V6, stepping approximately a 5.0-liter V8 will run you a reasonable thousand dollars and enhance your max tow score from 6,100 to 10,000 kilos. Moving as much as the EcoBoost from your bottom 3.7-liter V6 will cost $1,750. Think us when we tell you that you'll consider all those 750 dollars over the 5.0 cash quite properly invested every single single time you choose to place your foot to the floor. By way of comparison, the top-level six.2-liter V8 will deplete your checkbook by $2,995 more than the foundation V6. While we're not suggesting it really is a poor deal, we're suggesting you conserve some coin and opt instead for that EcoBoost. Either from the top two engines can tow approximately a class-leading eleven,300 pounds.
We cannot assist but wonder how the EcoBoost engine would behave packaged from the almost impossibly off-road capable SVT Raptor, which, like the top-level Harley-Davidson edition for 2011, is only available with the six.2-liter V8. We suggested to Ford that perhaps an EcoBoost Raptor is something worth looking into, specifically taking into consideration that the Blue Oval itself has entered a specially prepared truck powered by this exact motor inside grueling Baja 1000. One more strange anomaly that we wished out loud could be rectified was that the bottom three.7-liter V6 isn't readily available with four full doors in SuperCrew trim along with four-wheel drive. It may be had with either one of those people configurations (not together), and we're certain there's a good amount of power on hand for buyers who only seldom use their truck beds for hauling and want max gasoline efficiency the rest from the time.
No matter which motor consumers ultimately select, they'll be rewarded having a six-speed automated transmission that was designed by Ford itself, and the automaker is quick to boast that it's the only manufacturer to make six-speeders standard equipment across its total range of pickups.
That really can be a large deal, and here's why: We took the opportunity to compare a 2011 EcoBoost-powered F-150 back-to-back-to-back with competitors from GM and Dodge. We'll be blunt: Chevy's five.3-liter is entirely outclassed in this firm. Dodge's Hemi engine, on the other hand, felt as if it had lots of guts to get the job completed (390 hp, 407 lb-ft), but part-throttle conditions, including when maintaining a steady rate up a slight grade or changing lanes to pass slower site visitors, caused the Ram's five-speed computerized to drop down a gear (and sometimes even two) when the EcoBoost and its six-speed would resolutely remain in its current ratio and pick up the called-upon speed. That's the result of abundant torque. When we pressed additional (not that it was necessarily needed), Ford's tranny would indeed downshift and summon plenty of reserve turbo-fed horses. Impressive ability, and also a boon for gas mileage. Toyota's 5.7-liter V8 (381 hp, 401 lb-ft) also fails to match the barrel-chested feeling of steady-stream torque experienced together with the EcoBoost when towing.
A different feature we appreciated is Ford's SelectShift function. Whilst most automakers present some sort of manual control over the automatic transmission, we applaud FRD for allowing the driver to retain the transmission in a particular gear, even when bumping in opposition to redline. Automakers, take note: This is how manual control of automatic gearboxes must always be completed.
Of course, 4 brand-spankin'-new powerplants are the principal focus of our attention, but Ford has added a couple of extra meaningful updates for 2011. A single highlight is a new LCD productivity screen (previously noticed on the newest Super Duty) that puts a 4.2-inch, 480x272-pixel display front-and-center between the two big gauges inside the instrument cluster. Tons of helpful info is displayed, such as current and average gas economy with range-to-empty, transmission temperature, tire pressure and dual trip odometers. Further, off-roaders can see the lateral, vertical and turning radius dimensions of their maneuvers and those people towing a trailer can customize their trailer brakes and even conserve settings for particular trailers.
Also obtainable is often a SYNC technology package, which includes the Site visitors, Directions and Data application that gives hands-free access to personalized targeted visitors reports, turn-by-turn driving directions and data like company listings, news, sports and weather.
To say we were impressed by Ford's newest pickup powertrain packages can be an understatement. We're particularly keen on two of them: the foundation 3.7-liter V6 and also the uplevel 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. It really is really an superb sign that even the least expensive and most gasoline efficient of all FRD F-Series vans will boast 302 horsepower – loads for fundamental chores and around-town operating. All those feeling the will need for velocity can step approximately the turbo mill on a full 90 percent of all F-150 models (including the lower-end XL and XLT) for just $1,750. We see that as a (tire) smoking deal.
As of nowadays, FRD officially gives the very greatest array of powertrain packages inside the half-ton pickup truck marketplace.
