THE ALUMINUM F-150 COULD BE THE START OF SOMETHING BIG
What is it?
This is the new 2015 Ford F-150. It’s just a replacement for North America’s best-selling vehicle the last 32 years -- one widely believed to be the most profitable model the Detroit Three make. A radical overhaul for the F-150 leaves Ford Motor Co.’s prosperity hanging in the balance.
Much has been made of the 2015 F-150’s aluminum construction, and rightly so. Yet aluminum is only one element of what’s new in the F-150, and focus on the body almost shortchanges the rest.
This truck is offered with the smallest engine in the F-Series pickups’ 67 years. Its hauling and towing capabilities increase substantially across the range, and fuel efficiency should, too. It offers safety and convenience features almost unimaginable in a pickup a decade ago. The 13th full F-Series redo has generated more than 100 Ford patents or patents pending -- more than any truck in the company’s 112-year history. It’s a landmark as surely as the 10th-gen F-150 in 1997; that truck marked the end of Ford’s 32-year-old Twin I-Beam front suspension and introduced things like overhead cams, an aero smooth shape and a third cab door.
The new F-150 could prove to be the “segment changer” Ford promises, but in some ways it’s a conventional pickup. It’s conservatively styled, compared to ’97, and retains its tried and true ladder frame and leaf-spring, solid-axle rear suspension. GM has introduced variable displacement, and Chrysler a coil-spring rear suspension under its Ram. Both automakers have put eight speeds in their pickup transmissions to meet government (and customer) demand for better mileage. Out of the box, Ford has spent the most F-150 dollars on drastic weight savings as a foundation for further possibilities, including even smaller engines, alternative power and more gear ratios.
How radical is the lightweight body? Chief engineer Pete Reyes says 18 months into the 2015 F-150’s development, Ford management was still debating steel vs. aluminum. It’s a safe bet the F-150’s first-year production surpasses the volume of all aluminum-intensive cars and light trucks built to date, including military Humvees.
The body and underlying structure are almost entirely 5000/6000 series alloy, heat-treated with proprietary technology Ford developed to increase bend resistance. The cab’s structural cage is hydroformed and joints and seams are riveted and glued rather than welded. There’s more structural reinforcement between the inner and outer box and weight loss allowed Ford to up-gauge panel thickness as much as 65 percent. What’s left is a harder, more dent and rust resistant shell; on average it’s 500 pounds lighter than a 2014 F-150 body-in-white, depending on configuration.
Ford engineered the new 2015 F-150 pickup frame to be lightweight yet strong enough for typical pickup truck duty.
The aluminum bolts to a steel frame evolving from the previous generation. The biggest change: Inverting the ratio of conventional and high-strength steel, with high-tensile varieties up to 70,000 psi resistance increasing from 23 percent to 78 percent of the total. The box section of the longitudinal rails is bigger, but are stamped in two halves and welded together, rather than hydroformed as before. This allowed engineers to thin out the inner half, where strength is less an issue, and further reduce weight. The 2015 model has an additional crossmember for eight total; five are cut through the box rails and welded twice. The 2015 frame is 70 pounds lighter than the 2014, but Ford says stiffness improves at least 5 percent by any measure.
Mating steel and aluminum brings potential for contact or galvanic corrosion. To minimize that, body and frame attachment points -- six or eight for the cab, four for the box -- are treated with special primers and coatings, and fitted with appropriate washers.
There are other, less obvious weight reductions. Laminated glass allows thinner panels without increasing cab noise. Engines, including the F-150’s new 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 are lighter and there are small savings throughout. Wheels are optimized to reduce mass in low-stress areas, trimming weight 2.5 pounds on average per wheel. A new tire-jack attachment trimmed another 2.2 pounds.
The net result is an “up too 700-pound” weight reduction from ’14 to ’15, according to Ford -- again depending on cab/box configuration. The value should be obvious. At the typical 1500-class Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 7,000-7,200 pounds, 700 pounds less in the vehicle means 700 pounds more payload. Or a crew of four and the same bed load. Conversely, it takes less energy to move the unladen truck at a given rate.
The new 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 is a good match for the 2015 Ford F-150
Four engines are available. The base V6 drops from 3.7 to 3.5 liters displacement and horsepower and torque (283/255) drop 6 and 8 percent, respectively. The 3.5-liter, turbocharged EcoBoost V6 is carryover, with the same 365 hp and 420 lb-ft. Horsepower in the 5.0-liter V8 increases 25 to 385 and torque 7 lb-ft to 387. The 6.2-liter V8, offered only in the Raptor, disappears with its host vehicle in 2015.
The big news is the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6, with exactly the same displacement as the base four-cylinder in the compact Toyota Tacoma. The Ford V6 is turbocharged, of course, with twin turbos attached to exhaust manifolds cast into its aluminum cylinder heads. Its block is cast from compacted graphite iron -- previously used only in diesel blocks. CGI is heavier than aluminum, but also denser, allowing thinner, more-compact castings and requiring no bore liners. Overall the 2.7 weighs about 10 pounds less than the 3.5 EcoBoost. With direct injection, variable cam timing and 17-18 pounds of boost, the 2.7 EcoBoost delivers 325 hp and 375 lb-ft of torque. F-150s equipped with the 2.7 have a 2,200-pound max payload and a tow rating up to 8,500 pounds.
The rest of the powertrain is carryover: an updated six-speed automatic, fulltime or on-demand all-wheel-drive, and four different axle ratios ranging from 3.15 to 3.73.
Like the frame, the F-150 suspension represents evolution from the previous generation. Upper wishbones for the coil-over-shock front suspension are now stamped (like the lower) rather than forged, to trim weight. The knuckles are aluminum and attachment points and bushings have been revised. The rear shocks are now splayed in opposite directions at each end of the rear axle for more stability.
The cab is 2 inches wider with substantially more hip room, legroom front and rear and more headroom in back. The dashboard and every trim panel is new and there is more of just about everything -- more electronic screens, more speakers, more stuff. Megabuck luxury sedans have nothing on the new F-150 when it comes to stuff. If a technology or feature exists in the automotive milieu, it’s probably available here -- including park assist. We were truly disappointed by not finding an opportunity to auto-park a long-wheelbase F-150.
An available 360 degree surround camera should be a big help when maneuvering the new Ford F150.
Big-ticket safety items include adaptive cruise control, blind spot warning, lane keeping, second-row inflatable seat belts and Curve Control; it provides more aggressive four-wheel braking if the truck is barreling too quickly into a corner.
Full LED lighting comes standard from mid-trim up, including inside, in the bed, under the side mirrors and in the high and low headlight beams. The tailgate locks with the doors on all but lowest trims, and lowers itself from the key fob. There are up to eight standard tie-downs in the box. Then there are work-related options -- the truck stuff. Box steps on the sides retract in front of the rear wheels, and there’s a step and assist handle hidden in the tailgate. The new BoxLink option is a modular system of cleats, dividers, etc. locking into structurally reinforced points in the box. BoxLink is a foundation for aftermarket accessories and for Ford’s optional ramp kit. The ramps lock securely on the tailgate lip and store along the bed sides. There’s also a charger with a 400-watt 110 AC invertor, sufficient to charge most power tools.
The 360 View camera shows a bird’s-eye view around the truck, complete with lens washers. The back-up view adds a line superimposed from the hitch, making backing toward the trailer tongue an easy, one-person job.
Ford’s official on-sale date for the new F-150 is “fourth quarter” 2015. As we’ve already reached the fourth quarter, let’s say November. The vagary probably comes down to satisfaction with build quality coming from the Dearborn truck plant. Once Dearborn comes online, the Kansas City F-150 plant -- now building 2014s -- shuts down for months for 2105-model changeover. In the meantime, if the new F-150 really takes off, it could be in short supply.
The 2015 F-150 line is trimmed from 11 to 5 variants, cutting the Raptor and Tremor, among others. Prices range from a $26,220 standard cab, short-bed XL to a $52,155 SuperCrew Platinum, including the $1,195 destination charge. Model prices are up $340 to $3,385 from 2014, but Ford says each one adds content, if not weight. The base XL, for example, gets two electronic screens, two more speakers and a telescoping steering wheel.
Ford Motor Co. is raising prices on the new 2015 aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup by $340 to $3,385 and has trimmed the number of models to five from 11.When the new truck arrives this fall, the least ...
In any case, the 2015 F-150 won’t be cheap. The moderately optioned, mid-trim Lariat we drove was $44,850, 4x2 with the 2.7. Sixty large is easy to crack. The SuperCrew Platinum, 4x4 with 3.5 and missing a few options, was $61,195. The 2.7 EcoBoost adds $795, the 3.5 EcoBoost $1,995. Ford expects to sell 16 percent with the base 3.5, the balance spilt almost evenly between the other three choices.
Ford claims 10 million testing miles for the new F-150 -- double the radical 1997 -- with some unusual variations. One was the Baja truck on the auto show circuit: an aluminum-bodied, ’14-look 2.7 finishing the 2014 1000 with nothing more than air filter changes. A few aluminum trucks were embedded with high-volume fleet customers in the construction, mining and utility industries. And the 2.7 was bench tested for 800 straight hours with high-ethanol fuel -- not recommended -- and degraded oil.
In all the promotion and hype, there are still two components missing from the aluminum F-150 equation and they’re two of the most important: published, specific curb weights, and EPA mile ratings. Ford’s 2014 ratings generally lag more recently updated GM and Ram pickups and surpass only the Toyota Tundra. For now Ford promises “a 5 to 20 percent” fuel efficiency increase for every '15 F-150 -- depending on specific configuration, of course -- and “benefit for every customer.”
The range-topping 2015 F-150 Platinum pickup will be popular in Texas -- just a prediction.
What’s it like to drive?
Pickups, more than any vehicle we can think of, demand real-world application for proper evaluation and appreciation. That means beds filled with top soil, heavy payloads on poorly graded gravel roads, cabs packed with peewee hockey players and their gear before sunrise and long, lonely Interstate treks after sunset.
A 180-mile drive through south Texas in brand, spanking new 2015 F-150s was somewhat instructive nonetheless, with a short off-road stint and lane-change maneuvers through a parking lot gymkhana. In the gymkhana, the new F-150 definitely feels lighter than its competitors. Weight transfers can be less violent, and it can do a better job keeping up with big, rapid, hacks on the steering wheel. But we don’t know anyone who drives full-size pickups in gymkhanas.
We know plenty of people who climb out of their trucks dozens of times a day, and spend hours in the driver’s seat, and we think they’ll find the new F-150 a pleasant place to spend time. The base XL interior feels fairly cheap, though hard-plastic graining is a bit better than in the 2014. The two-layer dash with soft vinyl inserts, standard on the Lariat upward, is the F-150’s salvation in comparison with the Chevy Silverado’s well-finished cab. Ford says bevels and angles on brightwork inside the new F-150 were carefully calculated to eliminate glare and glint, and there is definitely less instrument and light reflection on the glass than there is in a Chevy. Yet the outside dash vents in the F-150 still look backward.
Interior of the 2015 Ford F-150 Platinum pickup truck.
The basic hard switch layout is similar the 2014 F-150, and excellent. Audio sits above, climate-control below. There are 2-inch rotary knobs for volume, tuning, temperature on each side or temp and fan and pushbuttons for everything else, including conventional station presets. The value here is incalculable. No matter how fancy you want to get with the other stuff -- no matter how complicated or customizable the touchscreens are -- you’re handled with these basics covered, perfectly. Elbow rest points on both sides of the driver’s seat are perfectly matched, whether the F-150 has a console and front buckets or the center section of its front bench folded down. The door releases are big and right behind the pull used to leverage the door. They’re easy to find but nearly impossible to confuse and you open and push out with the same motion.
The fat, angled A-pillars blocking sightlines in so many cars and trucks are still an issue in the new F-150, though less so than in the Silverado, depending on how you sit. That might be because the aluminum A-pillars are thinner, but also because the SuperDuty-style cut-down in the front-door windows is deeper than before. It opens up clear space around the big mirrors and allows a clearer view slightly left or right.
Extended-cab F-150s retain the previous generation’s suicide-style doors, as opposed to competitors’ conventionally hung short rear doors. There’s no B-pillar to constrain rear access. The rear seats fold upward with one hand, exposing a flat floor underneath. The rear doors now open 180 degrees to the box side, so you can’t get trapped between front and rear in a parking space.
Interior of the 2015 Ford F-150 Platinum pickup truck.
The F-150 feels lighter than its competitors on the road, too -- and maybe a little less tedious to drive in terms of attention to lane position or slight steering corrections. Ride quality is solid-axle, large-pickup standard; these days it’s easily tolerable. You won’t be wishing for a load to dampen the bounce. There’s no obvious difference in noise or vibration frequencies with the aluminum. The F-150 is quiet enough for low conversation inside, though GM’s trucks might still be a bit quieter. The 2.7 EcoBoost (and 2.7 only) has stop/start. It’s more intrusive than those in the best Euro sedans, much less than those in commercial vehicles. Before long you probably won’t notice, and you can always turn it off.
The little V6 is generally impressive. Its lightly laden on-road performance in a very large truck belies its displacement. There’s enough grunt to smoke the rear tires from a stop with a mild brake torque, and sufficient high-end breathing to make spins up to redline worth the fuss. The six-speed auto is nicely matched to its power band, generally appropriate in gear selection and reasonably responsive (something we can’t say about all Ford automatics). It’s not at all dreary. For most general-use pickup buyers, the 2.7 EcoBoost is more than adequate and presumably the most fuel-efficient engine for those not completely leaden of foot.
The 3.5 EcoBoost comes with the highest payload and tow ratings, but without pulling a big boat or something else heavy, you won’t be blown away by the upgrade in thrust. And regardless of the acceleration rate, neither V6 turbo sounds as nice or revs as freely as the 5.0-liter V8. In the purely hedonistic enthusiast sense, the 5.0 remains the choice.
On a loop Ford crafted through south Texas hillsides, with small boulders, telephone poles, thick mud and deep puddles, off-roading with the FX4 package (now an option rather than a model) was low stress and almost no-brain. With plenty of grip and hill descent control and other electronic magic at work it’s comes down to throttle modulation and not hitting anything. The lasting impression is the 360 View’s value -- especially for drivers short of stature or who sit low in the cab. Anything you can’t see from the driver’s seat is right there on the screen, right down to the ground with sufficiently accurate perspective.
None of the above says much about the work the new F-150 will do, and we mean work providing utilitarian, every-job transport for families or income-generating work for lawn-care providers, cement contractors and other tradespeople. Lowest payload and tow ratings in any new F-150 (1,690/7,500 pounds) are higher than those for any competitors, and the highest (3,300/12,200) are higher, too (payload as much as 70 percent). Yet we can’t tell you much about how the new F-150 or its driver feel when it’s operating at those ratings, or what it feels like after it’s been doing so for five years, or what it really costs to operate, maintain and insure over the long haul. With pickups, those things can matter most.
Another prediction: The 2015 Ford F150 King Ranch will also be popular in Texas.
Do I want it?
That’s a tough one. Pickup buyers are among the most loyal on earth -- right up there with Harley owners, NASCAR fans and beer drinkers. Brand means as much as performance. Yet Doug Scott, F-150 marketing manager, sees the F-series’ 13th overhaul as a rare opportunity to snag pickup buyers from other brands. Then there are people buying their first pickup, however many they may be.
Nothing about the 2015 F-150 suggests its sales leadership is at risk, beyond adequate production volume or preconceived notions about its aluminum build (note here, overhead-cam V8s did not hurt when they debuted in the 10th gen). In many respects the new F-150 is more remarkable than a La Ferrari or a Bentley Mulsanne Speed, and certainly a greater engineering challenge.
If you’re immune to all that brand stuff (perhaps you just arrived from Mars), we think maybe you do want it.
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