I do not live at home & continue to be breast fed like alot of people here! I have other bills in life, like the roof over my head, & heating oil, Food, New Harley Davidson, Etc!........

 

Sell the bike and pay cash for the truck

 

Sell the house and live in the truck...duh!!

 

Well I got my chance to test drive the EcoBoost last night. It was a XLT, screw, max tow, chrome, 4x4, offroad (locker), gray, and even had the front bench seat. Just the way I would order one. I wish Ford still offered leather upgrade for the XLT w/frt bench seats.

Anyways, I must say for a 5600# truck.........it does get up and move!!!!! I took it out on the highway and it handled and accelerated with ease...at any speed, just floor it and hang on......it never seem to run out of power or ability to accelerate. Seriously, it just kept going........once I hit 80 I let off......but let me say it did it very quickly.

From a stop light.........you floor it and well.......you watch the tach hit just about 1800-2000 and then its like a shotgun!!! It just goes and you are at 50 before you know it. The acceleration is a weird feeling......its like a wind-up and then a fast-ball pitch. But the wind-up is pretty quick. I drove it in the tow-haul mode and the whole acceleration shift pattern was completely different and I know it would handle my Jeep on trailer with ease.

Definitely an impressive truck for what I would use it for: DD, towing the jeep or boat and hauling the family on the weekends....and get decent mileage doing so. I average 15mpg.....for a 20 mile trip. But that was with alot of accelerating testing and no where near driving as I would normally. But the instant "green" mileage bar graph was a nice touch and I could see where it would help you keep you're mileage high.

I did notice that going down the highway cruising, ~65-70, it felt like it wanted to shift or was hunting for the right gear....but I think you could as a driver find the sweet spot, cuising speed vs. rpm, to gain the max mileage.

 

I just returned from my EB test drive. It was a fully optioned Tuxedo Black SuperCrew FX4 with heavy tow package, trailer sway, etc. with 4384 miles and it was sweeeet. It had very comfortable black leather seats that felt better than my Gen.1 Lightning bucket seats. After getting my DL information and signing a waiver, the rep went thru all the accessories, functions and goodies on the new dash bezel display screen. There is NO boost gauge in the truck and no plans in the future to ad one, the rep was not sure why Ford chose to keep it out of the truck. The exhaust sounded a little odd at idle and was barely audible during normal driving or under WOT.

I took it for a 10-12 minute test drive on a new stretch of asphault farm road that I travel dailly to and from work. It was smooth and very quiet, a night and day difference from my '07 STX SuperCab or my '94 Lightning. The acceleration was smooth and definitely not like the old 'Stang SVO or Turbo T-Bird's of the 80's. You could not really feel the turbo kick in as I assumed it would. I did punch it from about 55 mph to 75 mph; it pulled smooth but it didn't feel like 365 hp and 420 lbs. torque. I was really expecting it to pull like my '05 Titan but it did not. Don't get me wrong, it feel's like the power is there but not like a turbo sports coupe.

We then took it out on the freeway and I punched it from 60-80 mph and it was smooth as silk. The power increased but once again the kick I was expecting did not arrive. I exited the freeway after about 8 minutes and enjoyed the luxurious feel in the turn and bumps on the off ramp. It does ride like a premuim luxury sedan and it is very quiet and well behaved in the cab.

Good points:

1. An abundant amount of front and rear leg room.
2. Super large center console.
3. Clarity of the Nav display.
3. Quiet, smooth, well behaved ride.
4. Averaged 16.4 mpg during the test drive.
5. Able to input up to (8) separate trailers into the trailer data base, allows you to name and track hours & maintenance for each, back-up camera to assist in trailer hook-up.
6. Center console shifter, M mode, also able to convert from a 6 speed to a 3, 4 or 5 speed trans at the push of a button.
7. Soft leather seats.
8. Tow mirrors work great, view is perfect.
9. No noticeable blind spots from rear of the cab.
10. Electric power steering was wonderful, felt a little different at first but was easy to adapt to.
11. I love the Tuxedo Black paint even though I am not a fan of black. I can see myself owning that color someday.

In-different points:

1. The power was good but you could tell it wasn't a large displacement engine.
2. I would like to see a boost gauge option.
3. The intercooler sets behind the front license plate. I would install a front plate bracket just to keep the debris out of the intercooler. Mitsubishi has a similar set-up on their AC condensor's and they are always catching a rock or debris of some kind that isn't covered under manufacture's warranty. I could see Ford doing the same thing in this case.
4. A throatier exhaust is a must. It sounds like a Honda civic.

Final wrap-up:

The rep and I were speaking about the new 6.2 and 5.0 and he brought up the gas mileage for the EB. The number's should be published the first or second week in January. He stated that the trip computer had given him a best of 20.3 mpg with cruise set at 65 and 70 mph. He guesstimated 23-24 mpg could be accomplished once the motor brakes in.

I think this is going to be a promising engine in a 2wd Regular or SuperCab as long as the vehicle weight is kept down. I DO think that a fully optioined FX4 SuperCrew may not be the best vehicle platform for the EB.

The 5.0 SuperCab and SuperCrew 4X4's are in the showroom at one of the big local dealers. I would put my money on the 5.0 as being the best overall powerplant in the '11 and up models.

Also, he asked me to give my drive impressions on a 30 second video and handed me a complimentary Black F150 ball cap.

I think that cover's about everything on my test drive.

James

 

Thanks

So the intercooler is still in the middle and the license plate covers it?
Before they said that license plate would be on one side of bumper which would look stupid. I don't guess you got any pixs?

 

I completed my test drive on Monday, but was out of town until today.

I test drove a red FX2 Supercab, and took a coworker with me (I scheduled it while I was at work). Had around 5500 miles, and had huge ECOBOOST written on the side in white. I drove it about 15 miles.

I thought the power was great, what struck me was how hard it pulled around 4000rpm, had a great midrange punch (dare I say diesel like). After 4000 it didn't seem to pull quite as hard, but still quick. I floored it a few times, on an on ramp I was able to hit 80-85 on the ramp before having to slow down and merge onto the freeway. My coworker owns a 09 4.6L 3V crew cab 4x4, and he felt the Ecoboost had much better acceleration. I wasn't able to floor it from a stop.

I was hoping for as little better mileage, but I only drove 15 miles. I set the cruise at 74, rest the MPG meter, and drove 5 miles. At one point I slowed to 60 and floored it until 80-85 to check passing power. At the end of the 5 miles the meter said 18.5, but again it was only a few miles and it was 20 degrees out.

Otherwise, the selectable gear transmission was great to have and the LCD screen in the dash was useful and cool...

The intercooler is very low, like behind the front bumper and is angled down quite a bit. The engine bay is pretty open with that little V6! Turbos are low on each side.

 

Where was the license plate? On the side or in the middle? BTW thanks for the review

 

The front bumper on the truck I drove was smooth if I remember correctly with no license plate bracket screw indentations and it had the 5 1/2' bed. I thought the engine compartment had a lot less room on either side than on my '07.5 - 4.6L 2V engine. Might just be my observation.

The intake ducts appeared to be around 4" in diameter and the duct y-pipe was high on the drivers side between the huge engine cover and the radiator.

The exhaust had a flexible flange in front of the muffler. I forgot to ask what that was all about; may be due to the turbo set-up or from torque when the boost kicks in.

The rep mentioned this was a pre-production truck so there may be some minor tweaks in the truck prior to release to the public.

I also enjoyed the selectable transmission. The idea of being able to choose whether I want a 3, 4, 5 or 6 speed transmission is awesome.

Check the response on page 2 from "Mo Power", it seems to be similar to my test drive.

Sorry, no pictures. I was in a rush to make it back to the office so I forgot to ask if I could snap a few with my cell phone. Ford donates $10.00 for each test drive to a charity of your choice.

 

I just drove an EcoBoost F150. You know what I thought? Boring.

Actually, that's a good thing. I drove a Lariat. Nice truck, but much fancier than what I will end up getting. It didn't feel peppy. It felt civil, which is what I'd like, untill I need power. I didn't go on the highway, so I don't know what full throttle feels like. I did do a kick down a couple times and the power comes on in a way that would work for me.

I am a buyer who would probably be ok with the base 3.7. I'd like to have more power than I need. The 5.0 seems very nice, but I'd rather spend less on gas. I think that the EcoBoost is a pretty good alternative for people who want plenty of power, a civil driving experience and have many things that their money would be better spent on than gas.

I understand that this is a tow motor. I do plan on towing a light camper trailer so the 3.7 might be a little underpowered for my taste. The 5.0 would serve my needs well. I'm like a lot of guys, I like a V8. I'm just a little concerned that gas prices will continue on the roller coaster ride they've been on and will be up there. I don't drive my vehicle that much, but money spent on gas is money that can't be spent on other things. I think that this EcoBoost engine could do the trick for me. It's not going to make the F150 a sport truck, like the '04 Lightning that I had, but will make it a pleasant driving experiance for someone who appreciates a vehicles performance capabilities.

Do I think that the EcoBoost engine is the best thing since sliced bread? Nope. It is a nice offering from Ford, and allows people to make wiser buying decisions when it comes to the F150.

 

The ecoboost can light the tires up and you don't think it's peppy? Have you saw the youtube videos?

 

You are correct, I test drove 2 EBs tonight and while the Ford Rep, a salesman and I were talking that is one thing the rep mentioned. There is not to be anything placed in front of the intercooler. The front tag (if required) will be offset. The intercooler needs the airflow to work.

My thoughts:
I had an unsupervised test drive of a 5.0 yesterday and 2 EBs today. I still plan on getting the EB but the 5.0 moved waaay up IMO, that motor has some stones. It has loads of power and great sounds. The EB sounds a little funny at first but ain't no joke, it moves and pulls a trailer much better that a 5.4 could ever dream about.

The trannys still shift like crap and the design of the rear locker is stupid. Why is it open not LS and only work in 4wd up to ~30MPH? I can think of several situations where that is not gonna work. Other than that the truck is great.

 

Thanks for the response and your impressions of the engines

 

Sure I've seen the videos. The EcoBoost truck that I drove didn't feel so peppy. I can light up the tires on my Edge, at least untill traction control kicks in.

It may just be the truck that I drove, but I didn't find throttle response to be that spectacular. There may be a whole lot at more at half throttle or more, but there wasn't a lot of response up to that point. I don't think that it should be necessary to push the pedal to the floor to get a good response. I've had two supercharged F150's and they both had "peppy" throttle response off idle on up. I was expecting something similar from the EcoBoost engine.

 

Just wait until the tuners get a hold of it.