What is the best selling vehicle in America? And what is the best selling truck (and for the past four years, vehicle) in Canada? The answer to both these questions is the Ford F-Series truck. And with the F-Series family, the F150 accounts for a large portion of sales. The F-Series has been the best selling truck in Canada from almost half a century!
Last week we were provided a fully loaded 2016 Ford F150 Limited, to experience first hand why this truck is so popular. I’ve only driven a truck on few occasions in my life, so I’m no expert when it comes to trucks, but below is what I thought of the F150, from the average man’s point of view.
Ford F-Series trucks come in a whole lot of varieties, you can opt for a basic truck that will do the duty of what a truck is supposed to do, or you can go all out and make your F150 in a luxury truck that rivals some of the luxury SUV’s currently available in the market place.
Due to the sheer number of different configurations available on the F-Series trucks, prices can range from a low of $24,557 to almost $80,000!! Our test vehicle was the fully optioned top of the line 2016 F150 Limited, with a sticker prices of $79,549 (including $1,700 for destination and delivery) before taxes.
Ford F-Series trucks have been in production since 1948 and the latest trucks is the 13th generation of this hot selling pick-up truck. The 13th generation F150 was introduced as a 2015 model and the big news was the use of aluminum in all of its body panels. This extensive use of aluminum has resulted in a weight loss of nearly 750 pounds over the 12th generation F150.
As I mentioned above, F150 can be configured in a lot of different ways and there are quite a few engine options available. The F150 is offered with a naturally aspirated 3.5 liter V6 engine, a turbocharged 2.7 liter EcoBoost V6, a turbocharged 3.5 liter EcoBoost V6, and a naturally aspirated 5.0 liter V8 engine. These trucks come in 2-door, 4-door, and extended cab versions, with three available bed lengths.
Engine/Driving
Our review F150 Limited was equipped with the 3.5 liter EcoBoost V6 engine, which produces 365 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. It is rated at 10,700 pounds for towing and 1,450 pounds payload. According to Ford, this engine should consume 13.8 liters/100 km in combined driving. We drove the F150 in about 80/20 city/highway driving, the trip computer showed 15.5 l/100 km. I drove normally and didn’t haul or tow anything. However, when our other driver took the F150 for a couple of days, who has a heavier right foot, the consumption went from 15.5 to 16.5 l/100 km.
Driving the F150 is not as daunting as its size might suggest. The truck feels much smaller on the road, and there are lots of safety features to assist you, like blind spot monitoring, lane keep assist, rear view camera and 360 degree view, cross-traffic alert, and even semi-automatic parallel parking. Visibility is pretty good, however, the A-pillar and the side mirror are pretty big, which blocks some of the view, especially when turning left and someone is crossing the street.
I did find parking the F150 a little difficult the first couple of days, only because of its length, which I got used to after the initial couple of days. There is a front and rear camera and a 360 degree view to help you with parking and parallel parking is made easy with the semi-automatic system.
As you’d expect, the F150 drives like a body-on-frame truck, but it’s also very comfortable and very quiet on the inside. The “Limited” is loaded with luxury features and makes spending time in the cabin a very pleasant experience. The interior can easily be mistaken for a luxury SUV interior.
The interior is huge on the F150 Limited, there is a lot of room for the front and rear passengers. The rear seat leg room is the most I’ve seen in any of the vehicles I’ve reviewed in the last 3 years. The rear seat can also be folded up, with a flat floor, it’s a great place to put larger items that you may not want to put in the bed. The F150 Limited is also equipped with a panoramic sunroof to let in light into the luxurious cabin.
Interior/Tech
The interior looks great with the brown leather on our F150 Limited, the seats are very comfortable and come with heating/cooling for the front passengers, and they even have massage feature! Although, the massage is not really that good. The power driver/passenger seats have lots of adjustability, making it easy for taller and shorter people to find the perfect seating position. Getting in an out of the F150 is also very easy, thanks to the automatically retractable side running boards.
The interior also comes with a lot of little and big places to store your stuff; stuff like sunglasses, big phones, tablets, and even laptops. The laptop would go into the very large storage compartment in the center console. The F150 is loaded with USB ports, and even a couple of 110V power outlets, one in the front and one in the back.
The F150 Limited also comes with all the tech gadgetry found in other Ford vehicles, including the latest SYNC 3 system, which is very easy to use. The system can be activated by voice, or by using the 8” touchscreen. I’ve always been a fan of the SYNC system and using it has become second nature. The new system is smoother, when using the touchscreen, and even easier than before to use. The F150 also has a TFT screen in between the two gauges, which displays a wide variety of information and can be customized to display desired information in different formats.
A lot of people buy trucks like these to haul/tow stuff. From what I hear, it is a bit hard (at first at least) to back up a trailer, because you have to turn opposite of the way you want the trailer to turn. Well, Ford has taken the thinking part out of backing up a trailer, with the “Pro Trailer Backup Assist”. By activating the system, the driver is prompted to remove their hands from the steering wheel and the F150 automatically backs up (with the trailer), all the driver has to do is turn the system’s knob in the direction he/she wants the trailer to go in, the systems does the rest.
Exterior
The exterior design of the F150 is pretty handsome, it has lots of angles and the headlights look really cool, especially with the orange trim around them. There are lots of other LED lights, which should help a great deal with loading the bed in darker condition.
The bed on our test vehicle came with spray-on bedliner ($550 option), the bed also comes with lockable/removable tie-down clamps. Getting in and out of the bed is also very easy, thanks to a ladder that folds into the tailgate, this is not new on the F150, but still a very cool feature. Our F150 also came with foldable side steps, which makes it easy to put stuff in the bed from the side.
Overall Impressions
Overall, I think the 2016 Ford F150 Limited is a great all rounder, it can be used as a work vehicle, a luxury people mover, or both. Ford gives buyers plenty of choices when it comes to options, if you need a basic F150 for work, they have you covered. If you need a work vehicle with a little or a lot of luxury, they have you covered. There is a reason the F150 is such a popular truck in Canada and the United States. I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t retain its status as the best selling vehicle for many years to come.
