Yahoo Autos The 2021 Ford F-150 Is a Refined Workhorse
The Ford F-Series is by far the most popular passenger vehicle in the U.S., and the F-150 is the linchpin of the F-Series. Arguably, it's the most important thing Ford makes. A new generation of this truck is a very big deal.
The 2021 F-150: New aluminum bodywork, new available driver-assist tech, and a host of clever features designed to make life for the F-150 owner easier. Engine options are updated carryovers, as is the 10-speed automatic transmission (newly standard across the whole range), but a hybrid is coming soon, and eventually, there will be an all-electric version, too.
Our Iconic Silver tester was close to the top of the F-150 range—a 4x4 Lariat SuperCrew with a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 and basically every option you could throw at this particular trim, for an MSRP around $67,000. A bit more expensive than your average pickup, though not as pricey as a fully loaded '21 F-150 can get.
What strikes you first is just how nice the interior is. The old F-150's cabin never felt quite good enough for the price, and the new Ram 1500 showed us what a luxurious pickup truck interior could be. Though not as flashy as the Ram's, the 2021 F-150's interior is definitely on par when it comes to comfort and features, and far ahead of the new Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra 1500. This latest generation offers a 12-inch infotainment screen running Ford's new Sync 4 system and an all-digital instrument cluster that features nifty, minimalist gauge faces and easy configurability. It's now one of my favorite digital instrument panels, right up there with Audi's Virtual Cockpit and the pared-back masterpiece in the Porsche Taycan.
Some of the interior materials do feel a little cheap, but the cabin is wonderfully comfortable and quiet. The ride can be a little stiff and bouncy around town while unloaded, but individual impacts are very well damped, and the truck is smooth on the highway. The steering is fairly light, encouraging smooth driving and making maneuverability fairly painless. (The optional 360-degree camera helps in that regard, too.) Really, the only thing you really have to manage in the F-150 is its size, with the tall hood creating a big blind spot immediately in front of you.
The powertrain really shines. The 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 now makes 400 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque (compared to 375 hp and 470 lb-ft previously), and it's a monster. The low-end grunt is prodigious, V-8-like. Around town, the truck feels ridiculously quick for its size, and out on the open road, the V-6 makes passing effortless. And this is easily the best 10-speed gearbox I've experienced, picking exactly the right gear at every moment and never letting the engine get caught flat-footed. The calibration of the whole package is just about perfect.
There are a lot of clever touches throughout. The power tailgate has a spot to mount C-clamps, making it useful as a jobsite work bench, and this particular truck was equipped with Ford's 2.0-kWh onboard generator, enough to run plenty of different types of power tools. Hybrid models come standard with a 2.4-kWh generator, with an option for a 7.2-kWh unit that Ford says can power a plasma cutter, TiG welder, chop saw, air compressor, angle grinder, and work light, simultaneously. Our test truck also had the center console workstation. With the push of a button, the gear shift lever folds away, and the console lid folds forward to create a flat tabletop surface.
Our truck also had Ford's Co-Pilot 360 2.0 safety suite. It brings adaptive cruise control and lane keeping for highway driving, and it works very well. Next year, Ford will roll out a hands-free highway driving feature, which will be available as an over-the-air update, and we look forward to trying it out.
The new F-150 is a major refinement over the previous model. You can tell Ford put a ton of work into this new pickup truck, and it might be the most complete product the automaker currently offers. And while it may lag a bit in ride comfort compared to the Ram, it matches or beats that truck in nearly every other regard.
It's pretty amazing that this one single model line spans such a range. There's a sub-$30,000 version of this truck, and one that pushes $80,000. Our test truck gave us just one of the myriad flavors of F-150, and showed that Ford should have no trouble maintaining its pickup truck sales lead.
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