Reviews
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With the popularity of full-size American pick-ups continuing to grow in Australia we wanted to take a closer look at what the attraction is, and what it would be like living with one in suburban Melbourne.
With that in mind we picked up this Ford F-150 which we’ll be driving over the next three months. This example is the base-spec XLT and we chose the short wheelbase variant thinking it would be a bit easier to park around town. The F-150 XLT SWB starts at around $107,000 plus ORC.
JUMP AHEAD
Part 1: F-150 in the 4X4 shed
While the plan is to see what the Effie is like around town, we admit that these full-size trucks do their best work out on the open roads and highways, and that’s what we did first up, hitting the highway for an interstate road trip and weekend camp.
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This might be the SWB model but that only limits the length of the cargo tub, leaving plenty of space in the cabin. With rear-seat passengers and the seat squab folded up, there’s a ton of flat floor space to carry your gear inside the cabin where it is secure.
I was able to fit a 40-litre fridge and a power pack to keep it running in the rear-seat area as well as my swag and kit pack. I used the seat mounts to secure the heavier gear with tie-down straps and with a bit more planning I could have used an elasticised cargo net as well. Some specific tie-down points here would be handy and the Ram 1500 has them for just this reason.
With my gear in the cabin, all I had left to load into the massive cargo tub was a couple of bags of firewood and some car parts I needed to drop off. The bed has a spray-in liner, plenty of tie-down points, and a handy fold-out step that makes it easy for fat old blokes to climb into the tray when loading.
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There are a few features in the F-150 XLT that I actually prefer over the higher-spec Lariat; the cloth seat coverings feel hard wearing without feeling cheap and harsh, and I think they will stand the test of time longer than the leather pews in the Lariat, and XLT’s column-mounted transmission shifter is easy to use and frees up the the centre console for storage. The console is huge compared to what you get in any midsize ute, and it’s nice to be able to make the most of it without a T-bar shifter taking up space.
The XLT’s multimedia screen is not as big as the one in the Lariat but it is still big enough and easy to use. Everything about living with the F-150 is easy, except parking it in town.
Out on the highway the Effie tours with ease, eating up the highway miles with an average fuel use in the low 12L/100km range. The 678Nm twin-turbo V6 petrol engine has plenty of poke for overtaking and the 10-speed auto kicks back the ratios accurately when you put your foot down to overtake.
These big trucks make interstate trips effortless, meaning less stress and fatigue for the driver, and the 136-litre fuel tank means that while you’re not stopping at every fuel station, you’ll be pulling up just enough to give yourself a break when you need it.
We did have one small niggle with the Effie from the start; each time we started the truck, the dash display would give a low battery voltage warning, and this continued after the road trip which should have well and truly had the battery charged. It wasn’t a problem and even after sitting in my driveway for a week the F-150 still started straight away when I hit the button. Ford chose to check it out and simply replaced the battery to avail any further problems.
We hope to put more miles on the F-150 over the coming months including the holiday break, loading it up and getting some dirt under the tyres. We’ll keep you posted.
Part 2: Is bigger better?
It’s been a month in the city for the big Ford and I’ve learned to pick the times when I need to go and buy groceries and where to find the best parking spots.
Yes, the F-150 fits width-wise in a standard supermarket parking spot but it can be a squeeze, and the folks parked on either side might not be able to get in their cars if they return before you do, but it does fit – even if the tray is hanging out a bit. Most of the locals just stare in horror that I would even park it there.
While many comment on how big the F-150 is they don’t realise that it’s really not that much bigger than a Ranger or Hilux, but its bigger than what they are used to. It’s that size that make the Effie so comfortable and such a pleasure to drive. Aside from the suburban parking, driving the F-150 is a dream and I can’t wait to get out of town with it.
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Even though most people only see the big size of the Ford, it’s the little things that are the only real negatives to it. Like the piddly little side mirrors. Big trucks need big mirrors and with the tiny mirrors that the F-150 comes with you can easily lose an SUV or family hatch in the blind spots down the sides. It means moving I your seat to get a proper look down the side iof the truck before you think about making a lane change or turn, just to make sure there’s not another car hidden there.
I’m sure that Ford offers the F-150 with bigger side mirrors in the USA so I can’t understand why Ford Australia wouldn’t have specified them for the Aussie trucks. Especially as many F-150 buyers will be making their purchase to tow a large caravan or other trailer. It leaves big opportunity for the aftermarket to come out with mirrors better suited to the truck and what it will be used for.
Something else that it totally inadequate on the F-150 XLT is the piss-poor performance of the halogen headlight. The XLT get halogen lamps while you have to step up to the Lariat to get LED lighting. In my opinion, the both should have LEDs standard.
The first time driving the Effie at night I was switching the lights on and off trying to determine if they were on or not. I could only see if they were on if they caught a reflective road marker and it wasn’t until I got out of town and away from streetlights that I could see the actual beam on the road. When other cars were overtaking me the difference between the beams from their lights compared to the Ford’s was remarkable. Something else for the aftermarket to come up with an upgrade.
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I mentioned last time how much I appreciated the large flat area in the back seat for stowing my 40-litre fridge, swag and other camping gear for a weekend trip; I found another use for it when I was able to put a full-size 26-inch Cruiser pushbike in the back without having to remove a wheel or loosen the handlebars. That’s something no mid-size ute can accommodate.
Yeah, I could have put it in the tray, but it would need to be secured there and it would be vulnerable to theft and be out in the weather. The back seat space it ideal.
- Kilometres this month: 223km
- Average fuel use: 13.4L/100km
Part 3: Highway touring
In our last month with the Ford F-150 XLT we hit the highway and come away impressed by its long-distance touring comfort.
While many sing the praises of the capacity and the ability of full-size American pickup trucks to pull heavy trailers and fit a lot of stuff in the cargo tub, we haven’t done either of those things with our short wheelbase XLT. We don’t have a trailer to tow or big loads to put in the tray, but we love the way the Effie drives and eats up highway miles.
In all my years of driving new vehicles, I don’t think I’ve spent time in another 4x4 that delivers its driver as relaxed to their destination as the F-150 does after a long stint behind the wheel. It is a superb long-distance touring vehicle.
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The Christmas period is when so many of us pack up the 4x4 and hit the highway to enjoy the holidays and spend time with friends and family, and I’m no exception. It’s an 1100km drive from where I live to visit the family at Christmas, and it’s relatively easy as it’s all on good quality highway, most of which is posted at 110km/h.
The Hume is a good drive these days, except for the last 50km or so as you come into Melbourne where it is broken up and as rough as any outback track. It’s disgusting that the speed limit has been dropped on National Highway 1 because it is in such poor condition that all cars can’t cover it at a reasonable speed.
It’s no problem in the big Effie, of course, nor for the heavy transport trucks that use the highway, as their large wheels and tyres are able to roll over the ruts and holes in the surface, but small-wheeled compact cars don’t fare so well.
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The F-150 not only eats up the kays with ease, but it does so quite economically. Cruising comfortably at the posted speed limit the Ford was returning numbers in the low 10L/100km range, occasionally dipping into the nines when the speed limit dropped down.
We reckon that’s very good for a big ute with an open tray out the back, but what was more revealing was looking back at the fuel use of the Ford Ranger Platinum driven over the exact same drive last Christmas. The top-of-the-line Ranger returned low nines, dropping into the eights occasionally from its 3.0L V6 diesel engine that delivers nowhere near the performance of the Effie’s turbocharged 3.5-litre petrol V6.
I reckon that’s bloody impressive considering the cheaper price of ULP compared to diesel (the F-150 is happy running on 91 RON ULP), and taking into account the lower servicing costs over the long term. The F-150’s 136L fuel tank meant I could have done the 1100km drive non-stop if it were safe to do so; it’s perfect for long-distance touring.
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Before we broke for the Christmas break, we had the chance to pit the F-150 against the Toyota Tundra. We initially planned to use our XLT for this test but when we saw the $150k-plus price tag of the Tundra we swapped our XLT for a higher-spec F-150 Lariat, which we borrowed from Wheels magazine.
After swapping back into the XLT, Wheels editor Andy called me to ask why our XLT went so much better than his Lariat, and we have to say it does feel like it has much snappier acceleration.
The only real difference between the two F-150s is the extra weight that the Lariat carries due to its powered, heated and cooled leather seats, big glass sunroof and other luxury add-ons, none of which I really miss in the XLT anyway. There is one feature of the Lariat that I do miss in the XLT though, and that’s the higher grade’s larger multimedia screen, but sometimes a base-spec vehicle really has its advantages.
After three months with the F-150 XLT, I was sad to hand it back to Ford.
- Kilometres this month: 2200km
- Average fuel use: 10.5L/100km
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