I Have A F150 Xl 4.2 V-6 Auto And I Like It Alot. It Has Plenty Of Get Up And Go When U Hit The Pedal. As Far As Gas Mileage, I Get About 20 Hwy And 17 In Town. I Had A Ford Ranger Before And It Doesn;t Even Come Close TO My 150. Hope This Helps, Good Luck.

 

there is only one reason to get the V6. that is if you need a full sized truck and the 4.6 is more than you can afford. becaue of the size and weight of an f150 you are not going to save any gas with a v6. if you can afford a v8 get one.

 

I have the 4.2 and 5 speed in my 2000 4x4 stepside I'm real happy with it.I bought the truck new and it had every thing I wanted, manual trans ,manual transfercase,XLT package the fact it had a v6 was'nt a deal breaker for me after driving it,especially considering I bought it in Calif. and it qaulified for some kind of discount that saved me quite a bit of money.
Cheaper to insure to that's a big thing here in Jersey as I'm sure you've heard.Also I drove the 4.6 auto as comparision was'nt that impressed.Try them both, I don't tow a trailer or haul tons of weight alot so it worked out good for me.Again drive them both the v6 isn't as bad as some say and your dealer may be able to really work with you on it.Good luck with whatever you get.