When I was shopping for a truck, someone on this board said something interesting about the Ecoboost...
He knew I was a fanboi of the 7.3L. He said "If you like the power delivery of the diesel, you'll like the Ecoboost". I don't think I knew what he meant at the time, but I do now...
The spool up and power delivery (including the very strong kick in the rear) feels very similar to a good diesel. However, the Ecoboost does it SILENTLY. It's much more pleasant.
I've always hated Dodges. But I drove a couple when I was looking, and I'll admit I was impressed.
There's a lot of bang for the buck. It felt like they had to put more in the truck to compete (since they were the red-headed stepchild).
I particularly liked the electronic interfaces. Very intuitive. Sync with phone, nav, etc was completely seamless.
Interior was awesome. But I really hated the knob on the dash gear selector.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:
Interior was awesome. But I really hated the knob on the dash gear selector.
The current trend of changing the shifter controls in gratuitous ways really irritates me. It's minor in the grand scheme of things, but I appreciate that Ford kept a conventional column shifter in the F-250.
The rotating shifter knob doesn't bother me. Once shifters were no longer connected to a shift valve in the transmission there was no need for a big clunky lever. My Wife's Fusion has one and I don't even think about it.
The F-150 EcoBoost is a freight train with an appropriately-sized trailer behind it. You will be fine with the trailer you've got, and it will ride way better unloaded than a 3/4-ton option. Use weight distribution on the hitch and go.
Now they have a PowerBoost option, which is the 3.5EB with a hybrid setup. If you camp at the track and want to power your trailer and its AC etc, this could be worth it:
https://www.outmotorsports.com/2021/03/2021-ford-f-150-powerboost-review-towing-test-a-hybrid-by-any-other-name/
In reply to Brake_L8 (Forum Supporter) :
Thanks for the link! That's exactly the one I'm looking at, has the 7.2kw onboard power, figure I can run the A/C on the race trailer from that, which is cool. Got the weight distributing hitch, so I'll be good to go. Thanks for the input everyone, I appreciate it!
ddavidv
UltimaDork
10/28/21 7:55 a.m.
Living in the rust belt, I'd choose the aluminum body Ford over the other two just on that fact alone. The lack of rust prevention on modern steel trucks is abysmal. Bedsides start to disappear within 3-5 years around here.
DrBoost
MegaDork
10/28/21 9:19 a.m.
In reply to ddavidv :
The fact that bed sides and GM cab corners are rusting within a few years is shocking and should be shameful for the companies. The fact that GM HVAC and radio buttons start wearing off at the 3-year mark should also have them hanging their heads in shame.