Reviews
Gallery62
Things we like
- Stonking drivetrain is punchy and tows well
- Amazingly easy to drive and very comfortable
- Excellent practicality; can fit five adults no problem
Not so much
- Limited model range means spending a lot for extra features like adaptive cruise control
- There’s no getting away from the size
- Some cheap interior materials
With 460,915 sold in the US in 2024 alone, the Ford F-150 is an automotive sales force. Even though it was outsold by the Toyota RAV4 for the first time ever in 2024, the F-150 was the USA’s best-selling automobile for 42 years and over 41 million of them have been produced since its release in 1948.
There were attempts to sell big trucks in Australia in the 1990s, but they’ve not really taken off since Australian re-manufacturing started in 2015. Ram and Chevrolet are doing well in large pick-up sales locally, so naturally, Ford wants a piece of the pie. Given its name and reputation, it has every chance of doing well.
Launching here in two grades - XLT and Lariat - the F-150 is built in the USA and then remanufactured locally to right-hand drive by RMA Automotive. Just one engine option is available in Australia, giving the F-150 healthy towing ability. But if you’re after a large ute, is the F-150 the one to choose? Here’s the WhichCar guide.
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JUMP AHEAD
- How much does the Ford F-150 cost?
- What features are standard in the Ford F-150?
- How comfortable and practical is the Ford F-150?
- How big is the Ford F-150?
- How much can the Ford F-150 tow?
- Will I enjoy driving the Ford F-150?
- How much does the Ford F-150 cost to run?
- What warranty covers the Ford F-150?
- Which Ford F-150 should I buy?
- F-150 colour range
- Which trucks rival the Ford F-150?
How much does the Ford F-150 cost?
| 2025 Ford F-150 pricing | |
|---|---|
| XLT short wheelbase | $106,950 (plus on-road costs) |
| XLT long wheelbase | $107,945 (+ORC) |
| Lariat short wheelbase | $139,905 (+ORC) |
| Lariat long wheelbase | $104,945 (+ORC) |
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What features are standard in the Ford F-150?
The entry-level F150 XLT includes these features:
| 2025 Ford F-150 XLT standard features | |
|---|---|
| 20-inch alloy wheels | Satellite navigation with one year of live traffic included |
| Dusk- and rain-activated automatic halogen headlights | Seven-speaker sound system |
| Two-bar grille with chrome front and rear bumpers | AM/FM/DAB+ digital radio |
| Black running boards | 8.0-inch digital instrument cluster |
| Rear privacy glass | 1x12V socket, 2x USB-A and USB-C ports |
| Spray-in bed liner | Dual-zone automatic climate control with rear air vents |
| ‘Boxlink’ cargo management cleats | Power-adjustable pedals |
| Underbody skid plates | Fold out office |
| Keyless entry with push button start | Cruise control |
| Column transmission selector | Trailer reversing assistance |
| Cloth upholstery | Normal, eco, sport, tow/haul, slippery, deep snow/sand and mud ruts driving modes |
| 12-way electric driver’s seat with a 10-way electric front passenger seat | Tow bar with integrated brake controller, tow hitch and 70mm tow ball |
| Power-adjustable pedals | Electronic rear locking differential |
| 8.0-inch touchscreen with Ford’s ‘SYNC4’ infotainment software | |
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| F-150 XLT safety features | |
|---|---|
| Six airbags | Driver attention monitoring |
| Auto emergency braking (AEB) with vehicle, cyclist, pedestrian monitoring | Rear parking sensors |
| Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert and trailer coverage | Reversing camera |
| Rear automatic braking | Tyre pressure monitoring |
| Lane keeping assistance | |
The F-150 is yet to be tested by ANCAP and therefore, is unrated for safety locally. However, it received a five-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the US, achieved through different testing to ANCAP.
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| F-150 Lariat adds | |
|---|---|
| Mesh front grille and extra exterior chrome | Heated and cooled front seats |
| Rain-sensing automatic wipers | Heated outboard rear seats |
| Auto-folding mirrors | 12-way electrically adjustable front seats with driver’s memory |
| Remote start | Power-adjustable steering column with memory |
| Twin-panel sunroof | Console-mounted shifter |
| Sliding rear window | Larger 12-inch touchscreen |
| Leather steering wheel | 12-inch digital driver’s display |
| All-LED exterior lighting, including front fog lights | Wireless phone charger |
| Power tailgate | 18-speaker B&O sound system |
| Power-sliding middle rear window | 1x extra USB-A and 1x extra USB-C port in the front centre console |
| Leather upholstery | Ambient lighting |
| Lariat extra safety features | |
|---|---|
| Front parking sensors | Lane trace assist |
| 360-degree parking camera | Speed sign recognition |
| Adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality | Autonomous emergency braking with evasive steering and intersection assist |
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How comfortable and practical is the Ford F-150?
On both fronts, the F-150 excels. Not only is it very comfortable, but it’s quite practical as well with storage space everywhere: large door bins, a huge central box, dual glove boxes, a big tray in the centre console (with a wireless charger in the Lariat) and a cool reverse armrest to form a tray large enough to use a laptop.
However, if you’re expecting interior quality typical of a $140,000 car, you’ll be disappointed in the F-150. The Lariat uses lots of soft touch materials around its cabin, though some of the materials used like the leather trim on the seats feels a bit cheap.
The F-150 XLT uses a small 8.0-inch touchscreen and the Lariat a larger 12.3-inch unit, both running Ford’s excellent ‘Sync 4’ infotainment system. Both are well featured with wireless smartphone mirroring, satellite navigation and digital radio, and are also easy to use.
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The 18-speaker B&O sound system in the Lariat is a highlight too - it’s quite punchy and sounds great.
The rear seat of the F-150 is palatial - it’s much larger than a Ranger and can easily fit three child seats or three large adults. Head-, knee- and legroom is excellent, and the seats themselves are a bit flat but still comfortable.
The seats also fold up or down, with secret storage underneath the seat base that’s lockable on the Lariat. The features on offer are reasonable too, with air vents, charging ports and massive door bins, plus the Lariat adds heated outboard seats as well.
The tray - as we’ve come to expect from Fords, thanks to the Ranger - is quite practical with rulers on the tailgate, Ford’s ‘Boxlink’ system with locking cleats, a built-in step in the tailgate and in the Lariat, a power tailgate. There are certainly more clever features here than in rivals.
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How big is the Ford F-150?
The F-150 SWB measures 5,884mm long, 2,030mm wide, 1,955mm tall and rides on a 3,694mm long wheelbase with the LWB adding an extra 300mm to 6,184mm in total. For reference, a Ranger is up to 5,403mm long, 2,028mm wide and 1,928mm tall.
The F-150 SWB’s tray measures 1,705mm long, 1,656mm wide (or 1,531mm at the opening), 1,285mm wide between the wheel arches and 543mm high from the load floor to the top of the box – the LWB’s tray is an extra 300mm long at 2,005mm in total length.
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How much can the Ford F-150 tow?
Regardless of model chosen, the F-150 is capable of towing a 4,500kg braked trailer, which is at least 1,000kg more than smaller utes like the Ranger, and its tow ball mass can be up to 450kg.
The F-150’s GVM ranges from 3,320kg in the SWB to 3,265kg in the LWB, while its GCM ranges from 7,270kg in the SWB to 7,315kg in the LWB.
Payload ranges from 685kg in the Lariat SWB to 794kg in the XLT LWB.
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Will I enjoy driving the Ford F-150?
A great example of the relaxed American mode of transport, the F-150 is very comfortable. Its ride is softer than the firm Silverado, but still displays reasonable body control. The F-150 is very refined at speed - road noise levels are low, engine noise is low and it’s comfortable and relaxing to drive.
Handing is not something you’d expect to be a strength of the F-150, but it might surprise you as it can be reasonably fun to punt around. The steering is a touch slow but reasonably accurate and direct, which is helpful given how large, in particular, is the LWB F-150.
There’s no escaping the F-150’s size around town where its large mirrors help visibility, but it’s still quite long.
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The drivetrain is arguably the most impressive part of the F-150 experience. A de-tuned version of the engine used by the Ford GT supercar, the 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 still makes strong outputs: 298kW of power at 6,000rpm and 678Nm of torque at 3,100pm.
That engine is mated to a 10-speed torque converter automatic transmission, sending power to either just the rear or all four wheels.
While the power figure is competitive with V8-powered rivals, the F-150’s torque figure easily eclipses them by at least 50Nm and helps cement the F-150’s strong towing ability. The F-150’s grand touring ability is excellent; a 12-hour stint would fly by in it and thanks to its huge fuel tank, you’d not need to stop for fuel for over 1,000km at a highway cruise.
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How much does the Ford F-150 cost to run?
The F-150 range is rated at 12.5L/100km for combined fuel consumption, with CO2 emissions of 290g/km. The F-150 features a huge 136-litre fuel tank and can use 91RON regular unleaded fuel.
Real life fuel consumption will obviously depend on use, but we bettered Ford’s claim in a mix of driving with a result of 10.7L/100km, which is not bad for such a large vehicle.
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What warranty covers the Ford F-150?
Like the greater Ford Australia range, the 2024 Ford F-150 is covered by a five-year/unlimited warranty with up to seven years of roadside assistance if serviced by a Ford dealership. That’s matched by Toyota and eclipses both Chevrolet and Ram’s local warranties.
The first five years/75,000km of servicing costs a reasonable $2,081 ($416 annually).
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Which Ford F-150 should I buy?
This is difficult because of a few factors: there are only two models on offer in Australia and the equipment levels - and price - between the two is huge. Those expecting features like adaptive cruise control and LED headlights have no choice but to spend the extra almost-$33,000 and go for the Lariat.
In our opinion, the XLT is somewhat sparsely equipped for a $100,000+ product. But spending the ewarrantyxtra to choose the Lariat doesn’t make the F-150 more capable as it’s just a trim level.
In saying that, we would spend the extra money and go for the Lariat because it’s very well equipped and while it’s almost $10,000 more than the Silverado LTZ Premium, it adds enough extra equipment and is more refined enough to justify the extra cost.
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F-150 colour range
| 2025 Ford F-150 colours | |
|---|---|
| Oxford White | $0 |
| Iconic Silver | $700 |
| Carbonised Grey | $700 |
| Animatter Blue | $700 |
| Agate Black | $700 |
| Rapid Red (Lariat only) | $700 |
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Which trucks rival the Ford F-150?
MOREEverything Ford
MOREUte Buyers Guide
Things we like
- Stonking drivetrain is punchy and tows well
- Amazingly easy to drive and very comfortable
- Excellent practicality; can fit five adults no problem
Not so much
- Limited model range means spending a lot for extra features like adaptive cruise control
- There’s no getting away from the size
- Some cheap interior materials
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