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"An Automotive Love Affair"

Point / CounterPoint
By Joseph Mavilia and Price Cobb

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Price

Joe

Hey Joe:

As much as I love advertisements, I’d have to say that the F-150 Super-crew ad with  firemen jumping out would wind me up if it were mine. This thing is nice and I can’t imagine all that fire gear leaving the leather upholstery in a very attractive state afterwards. 

At long last, Ford has done the obvious and taken America’s most loved full-sized pickup and stuck a full four doors in it. Not the suicide style doors found in many tri and quad cab-ed (three and four door) versions. 

The only nit-pick you might be able to level at this thing is the lack of overall bed space. But so what? You remodel your house inside and you are going to pick up space in some areas (this is a pick-up truck remember?) and lose it in others. 

Adding the rear two doors makes the F-150 much less hassle to shuttle friends and family all the while giving you the choice to bring along the four-wheeler and a bale of hay or two for the ranch. 

Well Mr. Cobb:

In the “good old days” of the late 1950’s I owned a 1955 Ford half ton pickup truck and that’s where I got my first newspaper experience. I delivered the LA Times to over 400 folks in the South Pasadena, California area. I had a love affair with that truck but “timing is everything” and I wish they had thought of crew cabs back then. Relative to today, truck options were very limited back then.

Extended cabs are second best for me, and as you know, I drive a Dodge dual-e extended cab from time to time, and if I had my ‘druthers I’d ‘druther drive a four-door truck. It’s almost like having a sleeper on a Peterbuilt.

The short bed?  I agree you don’t usually need more, and the fold out “pipe coral” device is really neat. It not only extends the size when extended with the tail gate down, it serves as a divider when in the bed with the tailgate up. This is a very useful invention.

Price                                       Technical

Joe                                            Technical

Compared to the current diesel rage, today’s gas motors are supremely quiet at all times. From initial crank to full throttle use up one of Colorado’s many mountains you’ll never hear much more that the muted trumpet of the intake. At sea level, the 5.4-liter engine probably has more than ample thrust but up in this rarefied air the engine is at best just adequate. I wish there was a more powerful motor option (Hey Ford, how about the Lightning’s super-charged motor?) available in this chassis.

Price, I used to hate diesels for personal use vehicles, but I’m beginning to warm up to diesel engines and don’t mind the clatter any longer. But when you want quiet you’re right and you can hardly tell if the gas engines are even running. And if you still have a need for speed, you wouldn’t want a diesel.

On the other hand, if you have to haul 2 tons of hay, that Dodge Dual-e with the Cummins Diesel is just what the doctor ordered.

I must admit, with all the negative press lately about the roll over stuff, I was a little concerned with the Firestone tires. The Ford press fleet company told me they’ve never had a problem with Firestone tires.  

Price                            Features & Design

Joe                              Features & Design

The cabin is, as far as trucks go, nirvana. I find the window switches better placed than the F-150’s big brother (250) and, everything falls more readily to hand. My single dislike is Fords placement of the Overdrive button on the end of the gear lever. 

Ford chose to keep the wheelbase at a sane 139 inches instead of stretching it for a longer bed. The turning radius is the same as the two door long bed F-150. I don’t know how you use a truck, but in my case a pick-up bed is rarely full, so with this Super-Crew you can use the Bed Extender to safely carry stuff 7 feet long. 

Interior is typical modern Ford. Oval and round everything. Our Super-Crew had an overhead console and a standard one alongside the comfortable cloth captain’s chairs with an all power drivers’ side seat. Both front seats have lumbar control to alleviate lower back pain for some of us older folks. 

Considered one of the roomiest cabs in the industry, I still find the F-150 claustrophobic. It has to be an allusion due to the way the truck sides are canted in towards the roofline adding to the aerodynamics and aesthetics of the vehicle. Must work since Ford can’t seem to make these things fast enough.  

Yes sir, the interior is nice, but I’m surprised you didn’t mention the Running boards. They’re like having stirrups on a saddle and for this truck, I found them helpful. It’s a good leg up for me, but more importantly if you have a granny that rides with you sometime they are a must. If you don’t have a granny, you could live without them. 

I got lots of thumbs up from road warriors. It speaks to approval of the look and appearance. And rightfully so because with the availability of the four-doors you get all the benefits of full car, with the ability to haul dirty cargo that stuff you buy a truck for.

I like the short frame because quite frankly when I drive one of the bigger trucks I feel like it’s wasted most of the time. Even when I have to haul 12 foot  rails to mend the fencing it is adequate, especially when that is infrequent. The rest of the time the space is useless.  

Price                    Performance & Handling

Joe                    Performance & Handling

 Our F-150 came with the thoroughly modern OHC (Over Head Cam) 5.4-liter Triton engine. This engine is almost on par with GM’s standard of the industry small block. Pushing out 260 H.P. and 350 lb. feet of torque (to GM’s 5.3 liter 285 H.P. 325 lb. feet of torque.) all made at a respectably low point in the rev range.

This Ford provides a solid ride with lots of power and for me it’s simply fun to drive. With the 4X4 it’s great for those rugged and muddy jobsites, or just for fun. But it does take a lot of gas to have all that fun. I did no better than 15 mpg even though much of my driving was freeway travel.

Price                                               Pricing

Joe                                                  Pricing

Base price is steep. The only thing I see you get over some of the other trucks is the two extra full size doors. But for 10 grand extra?

You get what you pay for, and there’s a lot to like for the dough. I think I’d have to look long and hard before I spent that extra money. In my view price alone will scare a lot of people away.

Good News

Take a minute and really analyze why you might own a truck. If you don’t have to have something that runs on rattle juice (diesel) and you’re like most of us this four-door will fill the bill for family and farm alike.

The best design in small pickup trucks ever. It has power galore, and it’s fun to drive. I like how it handles, and it’s not only a workhorse, it hauls a bunch of wranglers to boot.

Bad News

Some trade offs in bed capacity. Rotary switch 4WD engagement. Engine choice. Ford needs to add something the size of the GM 6 liter. (300 H.P. and 360 lb. feet of torque.)

Poor gas mileage, short bed if you need longer much of the time and the price is way more than it could be.

Price

Joe

In the end this may be the perfect truck for the way most of us use them. Ours was a 4x4 and would be if I owned one. Not for off road use but for the more than occasional snow. Rotary switch shift-on-the-fly four-wheel high engagement with front locking hubs makes it all so seamless.  

This is one heck of an automobile. For me the only other choice is Fords own HD (Heavy Duty) series of trucks with diesel. But if gas is your thing then you can quit looking right here.

Green Flag

Not much more to say, because I really liked this truck. It’s great looking with four-door utility and for general use, it’s a winner.

I've tested all except the Tundra, and I'd be hard pressed to choose between them if all things were equal in features. But all things aren’t equal and the price would weigh heavily on my final decision. I've owned trucks from all these manufacturers and was pleased with all of them which make it almost a toss up. The 4-doors is a big plus for me, and that would tip the scales if the others didn’t have this option.  

Green Flag