By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(April 28, 2015) There are many nice things to say about the 2015 F-150, and one exasperating thing. Let’s get the exasperating thing out of the way first. This is not a vehicle for bank robbers, getaway drivers, the easily exasperated, those prone to road rage or folks suffering from ADHD.

Every time you enter or exit, the adjustable pedals, adjustable seat, and damn near anything else that could move does just that, it moves. Get back in the truck, and you have to wait for the pedals — which have moved to their highest position from where you put them — to find their place. Ditto the seat, and so on. This is not something that happens in the blink of an eye. You could read the warning pamphlet on most medications in the time it takes for these items to go back to where they belong, and — damn it! — that takes too long.

This insanity sent me scrolling through the onscreen menu in the gauge cluster so that I could turn off the easy entry/exit nonsense. Which made it possible for me to stop the seat from readjusting, but not the pedals or anything else. This sent me to the owner’s manual, a draft copy on this particular truck and not the final item, but to no avail. I could find nothing about stopping them.

Then again, I also didn't know their Ford marketing name (if they had one), which would have made it easier to find. This forced me to readjust everything to my liking, and use the door-mounted memory switch to capture my preferences. Then I could press the button as soon as I had started with the vehicle (a pushbutton start, which required a foot on the now too close brake pedal), and have everything move into place.

It still wasn’t quick, but it was a lot faster than waiting for the various bits and bobs to cycle their way through their infuriating dance. All of which got me to wondering: “When is a truck no longer a truck, when it has too many frilly options and functions?”

It’s a question I’m sure a lot of the Ford engineers ask themselves as customers clamor for more of the “stuff” that makes Ford’s best-selling truck more car like each year. In the “Mutually Assured Destruction” competition with Chevy, GMC and Ram, being the first with the most lets you charge and earn more. And the F-150 tested here had a lot of stuff.

For instance, there’s the 8-inch center touchscreen, 8-inch productivity screen, dual climate control, ambient lighting, auto-dimming interior mirror, heated and cooled driver and passenger seats, leather trimmed seats and steering wheel, power fold/heat/signal memory mirrors, wiper activated headlamps — and these are just some of the standard features. It’s enough to make you wonder if there’s a real, live truck underneath all this… stuff.

There is, and it’s more than just an aluminum-bodied update of the last F-150. If anything, the new F-150 feels like the engineers went through every nook and cranny looking for ways to improve the vehicle. Take, for instance, the tailgate. The handle, rearview camera, and LED light are combined in a single, sturdy module that carries a chrome accent strip and sits at the upper edge of the panel.

Feel is greatly improved, as is fit and finish, and the design not only simplifies the electrical connections within, it makes it easier to service any of these items should they break or be damaged in use. It also let Ford replace the previous truck’s exposed lock cylinder with an electric module that lets you unlock the gate by pressing twice on the key fob’s tailgate icon.

Pop the panel open, and you don’t have to guide it down lest it crash to a stop at the end of its travel. Now the tailgate has a “soft-open” feature much like the “soft-close” option found on many high-end kitchen cabinets. It may seem silly, even a bit prissy for a vehicle meant to be manly, but this makes a lot of  sense. It cuts down on the forces sent through the hinges and hinge plates, which should increase reliability.

Another neat feature are the tie downs. They have an integrated key lock that lets you lock them into their Torx-bolted backing plates. Not only do you get a positive placement of these pieces, you can move them around the bed, and not have to worry that some miscreant is going to take a “five-fingered discount” on your tie downs.

The instrument panel is similarly upgraded. It carries over the broad design themes of recent F-150s, but does away with the multi-piece/multiple types of plastic construction used before. Instead, the designers have used the center stack and instrument cluster as the main dividers, and topped them with sewn leather pads in order to delineate the IP’s different zones. The effect is surprisingly luxurious, and gives the panel visual heft but not bulk; a theme that runs throughout the interior. However, what you really want to know is whether or not the aluminum body really makes a difference in the way the F-150 feels, drives and sounds.

It may sound silly, but I drove no more than 30 feet before remarking that the truck felt lighter. Maybe it was the renewed focus the engineers obviously placed on the control weighting and feel. The F-150 feels much more coordinated and “of a piece” than before. Or perhaps it was a side effect of the perceived increase in both noise absorption and sound quality; the aluminum panels seemingly don’t let as much sound through and damp down that which does make it.

Then again, it could be the increased responsiveness of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 which, even though mated to a two-speed automatic four-wheel drive system, didn’t require much throttle opening to move this pickup out smartly. Mix in the revised power assist levels of the braking and steering systems — which are more complimentary and retain a feeling of security but not heaviness — and it is a much improved driving experience. The F-150 feels like a completely new vehicle; a fresh start on a familiar theme.

Driving around town returned nearly 18 mpg, and could have reached that number with a touch more finesse and a few more miles. At longer drives at sub-highway speeds, the F-150 was good for 20-22 mpg. Cruising at Michigan-approved highway speeds (80 mph in most packs of vehicles), and this number rose yet again to 27 mpg. Unfortunately, most folks don’t get to cruise at a steady state for mile on end in search of the best fuel economy.

They are off and on the throttle, accelerating and decelerating, and often doing so in a manner inimical to good fuel economy. These folks will likely get much worse numbers, especially if they don’t adjust their driving style to the peculiarities of a direct-injected, turbocharged motor. Spool up the turbos, and the F-150 moves out with authority; you become easily seduced by the power and use it at every opportunity. That’s fun, but it’s also tough on the wallet. Use the engine’s accelerative ability properly, however, and you’ll find that you really can get “the power of a V8 with the economy of a V6” even if it’s not as much fun.

And if you’re really good, you can sneak up on the boost curve, using only what you need and feathering out before reaching cruising velocity, and get better mileage yet without holding up a line of cars behind you.

Now if only there was a way to disable the power assists when you enter the vehicle…

The Virtual Driver