I'm currently in the market for a larger truck, and have been patiently waiting for my local dealer to receive their first ecoboost equipped truck. I received the call Tuesday and went to the dealer today to take it for a drive.

The truck was a 4x4 supercrew with lariat trim, 20" wheels finished in white platinum (not that the colour matters) I didn't make note of the rear gear, but can easily find out. It pretty well had every option except the navigation system. I'm looking at an FX4 luxury, so it was pretty much equipped the way I would order it.

My first impression: WOW! I can't believe how quiet Ford has made these trucks. The ecoboost does have a different engine sound standing beside the truck, it doesn't sound like a conventional gas engine. I can't put my finger on the difference, but it's definitely different. I started by putting $20 in the tank, reset the trip meter and away we went. I wanted to get a real good feeling on this engine in normal driving conditions like I'd use everyday, so I started out with some highway driving; the initial pedal feel is like there's a floodgate underneath your right foot. It's almost scary in a way - you definitely can't go foot to the floor on a typical onramp curve, there's too much power. In fact, the truck accelerated so well I was forced to slow down in order to merge into moving traffic. The turbos (audible) were barely evident under half or greater throttle but there is no question they work. Passing was a non-issue, following a vehicle at 100 km/h and pulling out to pass, 1/2 to 3/4 throttle easily motivated the truck to 130 plus in the length required to pass and re-merge in front of the other vehicle.
I took the truck into downtown Hamilton to see how it reacted on in-town driving and had to drive longer than I wanted before I could get a red light (darn synchronized lights) Once I did, I was able to do a couple of spirited light-to-light drags, and again - WOW. When you first hit the pedal, the RPMs almost 'pause' while the turbos spool up (roughly a one second delay) and then the thrust kicks in (with a little wheelspin through two gears). The turbos definitely put you back in your seat! Back out on the highway I wanted to try a throttle run on the highway 6 incline (not sure of the exact grade, but it's at least 6% for about 1.5 kms) Once I had a clear lane I kicked it down to 5000 RPM and watched the spedometer climb to 160 km/h before the mid-point of the incline. The scary part: it felt like there was a lot more left, however that was enough to put a grin on my face.

My main goal with this test drive was not to try and measure fuel mileage, but to get a feel for the engine and the performance of the turbos. Back at the dealer I snapped a photo of the information centre showing the results of my drive:


Just to be fair, I also drove the 5.0 engine and there is a stark difference between the two. The 5.0 sounds and feels like a "traditional" truck engine. However, during a drive it was evident that to get the same type of response from the motor that the ecoboost provided you had to get the RPM in the 4000+ range to take advantage of the torque/hp curve. While cruising, it had the typical "sluggish" feel in that it would take some input to the throttle and a serious downshift to get into passing mode, unlike the ecoboost which almost doesn't even take a downshift (just a little more pedal)

Anyway, sorry for the long-winded post however I wanted to try and help some other members like myself who are still "on the fence" with respect to this engine. Needless to say, my F150 will be ordered with the EB motor.

 

I to am on the fence as to what engine to get.

 

well...it's obvious that the eco is the alpha male!

.....although the 6.2 is just nasty...and will be really potent with a custom tune......or in a couple years when they 3 valve and direct inject it ")

 

They made you put gas in it to take a test drive? What type of a scam operation are they running there?

 

I had the same thing happen to me. They sent me off with the truck and it was showing 30 miles to empty. I went to the gas station to make sure I got a good drive in it. I just happened to be there at the same time it was delivered. You would think that if they called to invite you to take a truck out that they would have it ready to go.

 

x2 I took a 5.0L out today and wasn't overly impressed, although I have never owned a truck and I'm comparing it to my car in terms of acceleration so perhaps its just something to get used to..I am interested to see how the Ecoboos performs.

 

Yep, the turbo's and wastegates are audible when the radio is turned down.

Sounds good.

 

I did the math - you got just over 14 mpg.

 

I was on the fence also. I had an 07 5.4 with a troyer custom tune. I ran the 91 octane tune all the time. Sold the truck and test drove a 5.0. It was nice but liked the 5.4 with the tune. Then I test drove an ecoboost yesterday and all I can say is wow. In my seat of the pants feeling it was definitely better than the 5.4 with the custom tune. Very responsive when you step on it, and smooth as glass driving down the road. I can't wait until they can locate what I want.

 

Were you comparing trucks in same configuration and gear ratio's as your tuned 5.4?

Because I also feel that my custom PHP tuned 5.4 feels stronger than the same configured trucks with 5.0's I have driven. Even on my 87 perf. tune......my torque feels to come on earlier and feels broader.

 

I had an opposite EB test drive experience. I purchased the 5.0 because I felt the EB I drove wasn't that potent in a fully optioned FX4 SCrew. Just a few brief thoughts on my EB test drive. Enjoy the new truck.

 

Same experience here.

 

Unless it is a dealer demo, I'm surprised the dealer let him put that many miles on it. If you were buying the truck would your rather buy one with 1.6 miles on it, or 160? The salespeople typically don't have a blank credit card to purchase fuel and are only authorized to do so as part of a new vehicle sale / delivery.

You know that during the test drive you have a cold start followed by acceleration tests.

Perhaps it is all the years of running engines that range in cost from a low of about $25,000 to a high of around $6.5 million that I've become pretty sensitive to letting things warm up and settle in before asking for max power.

 

Yep, about as dumb as driving one of my John Deere's out of the shed, dropping the plow and working it at full power without warming up. Ain't gonna happen. These green machines cost way more than a truck..

 

Nice! I thought the Ecoboost had more power than the 5.0. It had a bit more hesitation but would really move the truck. I love the characteristics of the 5.0 and don't regret getting it since I have used my truck a ton in this bad weather and the Ecoboost was not available in December. If it were available I would have chosen the Ecoboost by a small margin.