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2019 Ford F-150 Limited
Ford convincing truck buyers that a V-6, even one with turbos hanging off the sides, is a suitable replacement for a V-8 would be almost as surprising a development as any of these brands winning conquest sales from the others. But, especially in this high-output spec, the engine impresses. While its low-end response isn't as vigorous as the Chevy octopot's, its brute force takes the worry out of highway merges, even with three tons of trailer along for the ride.
The only stock truck we've ever tested that's outrun this F-150 was the old Dodge Ram SRT-10, and that was a standard-cab short-box truck packing a Viper V-10. That a leather-lined crew cab powered by a V-6 is knocking on that title-and running a 13.7 at 102 mph in the quarter-mile-is remarkable. While the six's muffled burr of an exhaust note isn't as stirring as that old Viper engine or either of the eights in the other trucks tested here, as Tingwall noted, "I'd happily trade engine character for performance in a utilitarian application like this." Ford also did a better job calibrating the jointly developed Ford-GM 10-speed transmission than GM did. The Silverado often required two separate shifts with a hesitation in between to find the right gear, as if it were reluctant to step all the way down. The Ford more often found the right ratio on the first try.
The Ford F-150 Limited is the quickest-accelerating, most powerful, most expensive truck in this group of quick, powerful, and expensive trucks. But it narrowly misses our award for the best luxury truck.
You could spend weeks divining the differences in ride quality between the Ford and the Ram, as both have commendably plush comportment with and without trailers hooked up. Bumps fade in a single well-damped suspension cycle, and there's none of the structural shudder that plagues the Silverado. We've been even more wowed by the ride in F-150s with smaller wheels, though, and would spec humbler rims than 22s were it our own money. But we all agreed that once the toy haulers were hooked up, the Ram was smoother and more controlled than the Ford.
That a leather-lined crew cab powered by a V-6 is knocking on that title-and running a 13.7 at 102 mph in the quarter-mile-is remarkable.
That a leather-lined crew cab powered by a V-6 is knocking on that title-and running a 13.7 at 102 mph in the quarter-mile-is remarkable.
Even four years in, the interior of this truck looks great, with rich detailing like the crosshatch-brushed-metal-look trim around the HVAC vents, genuine ash wood panels behind the door handles that seem as if they were sourced from the Gibson guitar factory, and distressed and mottled leather on the seatbacks. Ford's secondary-control layout is easy to understand and use, and the massaging seats were welcomed by backs that had been tormented by the Silverado's ride. But in the end, we were ever so slightly swayed to Team Ram by the erstwhile Dodge's fabulous interior detailing and more composed trailering behavior.
