Topic: Test Drive: 2015 Ford F-150 FX4 EcoBoost

[AdamD]

also have to remember: testers are almost never completed in terms of break in. This one wasn't. Figures will improve once the engine gets some miles on it, maybe between 10 and 20 thousand clicks. So the numbers I reported, given that it was 1) the dead of winter 2) i used the remote start a lot and 3) I think this one had about 8,000 clicks on it, compared to other non-broken in pickups, is pretty good, in my opinion.

This is salesman BS.  at 8000 km, 99% of the gain in fuel economy will be coming from warmer temperatures and driving regimen/style.  Especially at this time of the year.

I played with some configarators recently and a moderately equiped 1/2 ton from GM or RAM with the standard V6 can be had for +/-40K.  Thing is, perusing dealer stocks near me, all RAMs had the Hemi ($1300.) or the Diesel ($4200.) with no V6 available.

I agree with the point about break in. I am not so sure it makes that big of a difference in modern engines. I do find this 2.7L to be an interesting motor and I look foreword to seeing the long-term thoughts on it from consumers. Based on what I've seen from fulley.com people are  getting some pretty impressive numbers (for a full size truck).

I have a 2014 5.0 and am enjoying it, but in all honesty the 2.7 would be all that I need for what I do with the truck (then again this is probably true for 90% of truck owners).

[tooscoops]

it makes a slight difference... more almost for the transmissions to "get used" to the drivers and settle down a bit...

i'm glad to see them trying new things, but i'm in the camp of no thanks.

and to those talking about the diesel costing more and such... just priced out a bighorn crew 4x4 with what seemed to be the same equipment as a ford almost identical to this ope... (tried to build and price this truck online and found it tough, but that goes for all truck build and price sites with the multitude of variations)...

the ford was 56149 - 4500 incentive. so 51649.
the ram was 61900 - 8500 incentive. so 54300.

and both cars have significant room to discount... not sure if the ford can get costco money... ram gets an additional 1500 for current truck owners/skilled trades... i feel like i recall the f150 doesn't get the costco, so for a current truck owner, the ram with diesel would only be a few hundred more.

just wanted to point out transaction prices and their importance.

oh, and my customers all averaged out are sitting at about 9l/100 avg with their ecodiesels. not gonna lie though... seen a few of them in for service as well (especially on the cold days as the def fluid freezes at -11 we found out!)

[EV-Light]

it makes a slight difference... more almost for the transmissions to "get used" to the drivers and settle down a bit...

i'm glad to see them trying new things, but i'm in the camp of no thanks.

and to those talking about the diesel costing more and such... just priced out a bighorn crew 4x4 with what seemed to be the same equipment as a ford almost identical to this ope... (tried to build and price this truck online and found it tough, but that goes for all truck build and price sites with the multitude of variations)...

the ford was 56149 - 4500 incentive. so 51649.
the ram was 61900 - 8500 incentive. so 54300.

and both cars have significant room to discount... not sure if the ford can get costco money... ram gets an additional 1500 for current truck owners/skilled trades... i feel like i recall the f150 doesn't get the costco, so for a current truck owner, the ram with diesel would only be a few hundred more.

just wanted to point out transaction prices and their importance.

oh, and my customers all averaged out are sitting at about 9l/100 avg with their ecodiesels. not gonna lie though... seen a few of them in for service as well (especially on the cold days as the def fluid freezes at -11 we found out!)

which package did you use for the Ford? Lariat? or XLT?...and my gosh Ram's website is hard to use...I gave up on trying to build a Ram, it's so slow.

[Danno001]

just wanted to point out transaction prices and their importance.

oh, and my customers all averaged out are sitting at about 9l/100 avg with their ecodiesels. not gonna lie though... seen a few of them in for service as well (especially on the cold days as the def fluid freezes at -11 we found out!)

Re: Transactional prices - shows you the take rate on the ecodiesel is not great if the real price is in effect the same as a hemi or gasoline competitor model.

Re: DEF fluid. Truck manufacturers know that DEF freezes at -11 and make DEF systems that thaw the fluid so that it is injected in the exhaust when it has liquefied. Meanwhile the engine management systems knows the fluid is thawing and makes any required compensation.  If Ram customers are having issues with the DEF systems, it is due to poor engineering and/or poor implementation.
Just ask anyone that had a fleet of 2011 Peterbuilts with MX engines on the DEF issues.

PS Multiple short trips in freezing weather must be just he..ll on a DEF system.
 

[Fobroader]

just wanted to point out transaction prices and their importance.

oh, and my customers all averaged out are sitting at about 9l/100 avg with their ecodiesels. not gonna lie though... seen a few of them in for service as well (especially on the cold days as the def fluid freezes at -11 we found out!)

Re: Transactional prices - shows you the take rate on the ecodiesel is not great if the real price is in effect the same as a hemi or gasoline competitor model.

Re: DEF fluid. Truck manufacturers know that DEF freezes at -11 and make DEF systems that thaw the fluid so that it is injected in the exhaust when it has liquefied. Meanwhile the engine management systems knows the fluid is thawing and makes any required compensation.  If Ram customers are having issues with the DEF systems, it is due to poor engineering and/or poor implementation.
Just ask anyone that had a fleet of 2011 Peterbuilts with MX engines on the DEF issues.

PS Multiple short trips in freezing weather must be just he..ll on a DEF system.
 

That to me is just bad engineering which is unacceptable. They knew the conditions that this truck was going to be exposed to and to not make preparations for is just plain old stupid. All of my friends with Cummins, Duramaxes and Powerstrokes have no problems with their trucks in cold weather.

[tooscoops]

yeah, the heater system on the ram doesn't kick in until the engine is warm (of course)... so the engineers just didn't think (my personal opinion)... so on start up it can cause issues. i just hate everything that has to do with def. would have been nice to at least not have to worry about it causing added issues.

the take rate on the ram diesel is great... can't keep em in stock. there is an increase for the diesel, it is just that even with that increase, the price is comparable... the hemi trucks are cheaper than the diesel, the ford, the chev...

the hemi's are cheaper than the ford 5.0, hence why ram sales are climbing so drastically... build a good truck, win some awards, sell em for less... seems like a good plan!

and yeah, all the truck sites seem to suck for build and price... but i understand it... there are nearly 300000 different half ton trucks you can build... can get confusing.

[Fobroader]

Well if the dealers had no issues with people deleting all that DEF and related crap off their vehicles it would make things a lot easier. Its amazing how much more reliable, powerful and efficient all the trucks become when you remove that system.

[tooscoops]

why is that a dealer issue? just curious.

[Fobroader]

why is that a dealer issue? just curious.

Because apparently removing these systems is cause to cancel any and all warranty on the vehicle.

[nlm]

For me, I would go 5L, no issues, the fuel mileage is about the same.

Except if you want towing I think Ford puts all the towing with the EB. FiL just bought a 2014 F-150 for the farm and needed towing and had to take the EB. He wasn't complaining since he was wanting to give it a go. Not sure if the tow packaging is different for 2015.

Initial impressions vs the Sierra trade-in: it tows a lot better/easier and the EB has a pair of stones.

[Fobroader]

For me, I would go 5L, no issues, the fuel mileage is about the same.

Except if you want towing I think Ford puts all the towing with the EB. FiL just bought a 2014 F-150 for the farm and needed towing and had to take the EB. He wasn't complaining since he was wanting to give it a go. Not sure if the tow packaging is different for 2015.

Initial impressions vs the Sierra trade-in: it tows a lot better/easier and the EB has a pair of stones.

Oh the EB is a great little engine, lots of power. I just think for reliability in the long run the 5L will win. I tend to keep my vehicles a while.

[OliverD]

why is that a dealer issue? just curious.

Because apparently removing these systems is cause to cancel any and all warranty on the vehicle.

That doesn't make it a dealer issue – it's a manufacturer issue.

[Fobroader]

why is that a dealer issue? just curious.

Because apparently removing these systems is cause to cancel any and all warranty on the vehicle.

That doesn't make it a dealer issue.

Actually it does if they are the ones that are denying a warranty claim.

[OliverD]

why is that a dealer issue? just curious.

Because apparently removing these systems is cause to cancel any and all warranty on the vehicle.

That doesn't make it a dealer issue.

Actually it does if they are the ones that are denying a warranty claim.

The dealer does not provide the warranty, the manufacturer does.

[Fobroader]

why is that a dealer issue? just curious.

Because apparently removing these systems is cause to cancel any and all warranty on the vehicle.

That doesn't make it a dealer issue.

Actually it does if they are the ones that are denying a warranty claim.

The dealer does not provide the warranty, the manufacturer does.

Yeah, but the manufacturer is not there to see anything, so the dealer, under their own discretion can choose whether they will provide their customer with warranty or not. Theres a number of Alberta dealers that actually will give you warranty even if the truck is highly modified so there is a lot of dealer discretion.

[tooscoops]

then it is also the dealer who decides a warranty expires? otherwise they could just lie about how many kms on the car too....

think you are putting a little too much responsibility on the dealer there. it is not "their discretion" to "choose" if it gets warranty... it is their franchise, livelihood and every other dealer employee's livelihood put on the line by outright lying to their "boss".

only parts effected by the modification are removed from warranty in relation to those other dealers you speak of.. and maybe they would be willing to remove the def system for you. 

[Neromanceres]

FWIW, I had a 2015 Silverado LT Crew Cab 4x4 5.3L V8 for a couple of days (rental).  It had 1500km's on the odo and the computer showed a lifetime fuel economy of 12.6L/100kms.   

I drove it a little over 100kms and the computer gives an average fuel economy over the last 100kms.  Mine showed 11.4L/100kms with approximately 70% highway 30% city driving.  Weather was cool ~5C and rain.

Overall I didn't like the cabin layout but was impressed with the fuel economy.  I was also very impressed with the cylinder deactivation and how imperceivable it was and how often it activated.

[Concerned Commuter]

I own a 2014 FX4 Ecoboost - my real world highway is around 12.0 litre/100km, though on a recent trip of 350 mile round trip I achieved 11.0 (or 25 imperial MPG).  Towing a 16' trailer I also got 17.3 litres per 100 km on an 8 hour round trip.

So the whole trip was downhill? Nice! Or was the trailer in the box, or was it just flat and empty? A snowmobile trailer without the snowmobiles?
[/quote]
Actually Picky (you left out the "r"), it was not downhill.  The loaded trailer was an enclosed 8' wide x 16' long tandem axle loaded with furniture and appliances.  My best guess would be loaded weight of about 3000 lbs.  I live in Western Canada. and the trick has less than 4,000 kms on it, so it is not yet broken in.

[tooscoops]

oh, and forgot tauri, what i built was an SLT Bighorn. i'm not as familiar with the ford packaging, but i think that would be pretty close.

[OliverD]

oh, and forgot tauri, what i built was an SLT Bighorn. i'm not as familiar with the ford packaging, but i think that would be pretty close.

Sport might have been closer but it's hard to match them exactly.