I was able to drive a 2021 f150 lariat with the v8 engine yesterday on island. I believe it was 500a pkg with with few options, but I didn't get a good look at the sticker to be honest. I wanted to drive the platinum, but the sales guy couldn't find it as it wasn't on there new car lot. Below are my observations. I driven a somewhat comparable ram 1500(Laramie w/ sport pkg) back in December and will most likely use it as a comparison for some things.
- the seats, steering wheel, and overall quality of the interior is really nice. For a pickup, it felt more like a premium or entry luxury entry(it should for the price). The comfort of the seats were exemplary, which is pretty standard for ford products in general. Buttons were logically placed, but the steering wheel button placement seemed somewhat counterintuitive for some things(tach menu on the right side, volume on left side). This is only noticed as the expy I owned had buttons that were easy to get to and made sense where they were.
- the 12in screen seems larger in person, while the rams screen seems smaller in person. The icons are huge and easy to get to, but theres no home button, so there's a lot of drill down. However, the screen is uncluttered, which the rams tends to be. There is also a noticeable lag btw pressing and action of features. I wanted to try the speak function, since it's supposed to have natural speech identification, but the truck wouldn't let me. Guess she didnt feel like taking orders.
- the truck had the v8. I havent driven the 5.0 since testing a 2015 f150 with it. In sport mode, it seemed a bit lurchy, but it smoothed out considerably in normal and eco. Its not as punchy or exciting as the 3.5l, but it gets out of its own way well enough. It's def comparable to the hemi, though not as smooth. Its also whisper quiet outside of sport mode.. The tranny is improved 10 fold over the expys(last gen). Shifts were buttery or firm when needed, and there was barely any hunting for gears.
- For a pickup on leafs and off road pkg, the ride was phenomenal. There was minimal truck jitters and the body movement was well controlled while still being supple over cracks and divets. I've driven many a car over the stretch I drove and the f150 was def top 3. Handling was also impressive. The steering is pretty light in all modes, and slightly loose in eco, but sport and normal is more direct. Compared to the ram, the ford had a more supple front, but ram had a more supple rear. In all, the ram is slightly better, as the leafs still wiggle on the worst roads. The ram also felt a bit lighter in its moves.
- it's a quiet ass truck. As quiet or more as the denali I driven, which was the quietest car I've ever been in to this point. Note: pickup did not have moonroof.
- if you like music, the standard b&o is trash. No bass at all, surround setting does not surround, and sounded a bit tinny. Rubbish, hugely inferior to the expys b&o, which I rele liked. Upgrade to the unleashed. The platinum had the unleashed, so hopefully we can try it out.
In all, I was very impressed. I can see myself in one of these, though I'd still Maybe get a ram first. If this is the direction the 2022 expy will be headed, I'm excited for it.
- the seats, steering wheel, and overall quality of the interior is really nice. For a pickup, it felt more like a premium or entry luxury entry(it should for the price). The comfort of the seats were exemplary, which is pretty standard for ford products in general. Buttons were logically placed, but the steering wheel button placement seemed somewhat counterintuitive for some things(tach menu on the right side, volume on left side). This is only noticed as the expy I owned had buttons that were easy to get to and made sense where they were.
- the 12in screen seems larger in person, while the rams screen seems smaller in person. The icons are huge and easy to get to, but theres no home button, so there's a lot of drill down. However, the screen is uncluttered, which the rams tends to be. There is also a noticeable lag btw pressing and action of features. I wanted to try the speak function, since it's supposed to have natural speech identification, but the truck wouldn't let me. Guess she didnt feel like taking orders.
- the truck had the v8. I havent driven the 5.0 since testing a 2015 f150 with it. In sport mode, it seemed a bit lurchy, but it smoothed out considerably in normal and eco. Its not as punchy or exciting as the 3.5l, but it gets out of its own way well enough. It's def comparable to the hemi, though not as smooth. Its also whisper quiet outside of sport mode.. The tranny is improved 10 fold over the expys(last gen). Shifts were buttery or firm when needed, and there was barely any hunting for gears.
- For a pickup on leafs and off road pkg, the ride was phenomenal. There was minimal truck jitters and the body movement was well controlled while still being supple over cracks and divets. I've driven many a car over the stretch I drove and the f150 was def top 3. Handling was also impressive. The steering is pretty light in all modes, and slightly loose in eco, but sport and normal is more direct. Compared to the ram, the ford had a more supple front, but ram had a more supple rear. In all, the ram is slightly better, as the leafs still wiggle on the worst roads. The ram also felt a bit lighter in its moves.
- it's a quiet ass truck. As quiet or more as the denali I driven, which was the quietest car I've ever been in to this point. Note: pickup did not have moonroof.
- if you like music, the standard b&o is trash. No bass at all, surround setting does not surround, and sounded a bit tinny. Rubbish, hugely inferior to the expys b&o, which I rele liked. Upgrade to the unleashed. The platinum had the unleashed, so hopefully we can try it out.
In all, I was very impressed. I can see myself in one of these, though I'd still Maybe get a ram first. If this is the direction the 2022 expy will be headed, I'm excited for it.