MotorTrend Tests the 1500's

FishOnOne wrote:

ib516 wrote:
Some disagree with you assessment hybridhunter. Motor Trend had this to say about the new F150 with the 2.7L EcoBoost when comparing it to the EcoDiesel.

"This was to be the F-150's year. Hyped as the most thoroughly re-engineered, game-changing pickup of the millennium, these twin-turbo'd alloy haulers swaggered in with great expectations. First impressions were glowing. Of the 2.7L EcoBoost, Seabaugh said: "This little guy seriously packs a punch." Evans enthused, "This thing's like a race truck." At speed, Loh found it "an impressively tomb-quiet truck, like a library." The judges awarded Engineering Excellence points for truck firsts such as the 360-degree camera, park-distance sensors by the front wheels, panoramic sunroof, LED headlights, BoxLink hardware, materials engineering, and its impressive roster of available safety tech.

Then came some grumbling. "The interiors are Wurlitzer organs of heavy-handed design," Reynolds said. Burgess found the exterior redesign less of an advancement than that of last year's Silverado. Lieberman concurred, lamenting that it didn't look "nearly enough like the stunning Atlas Concept." Dynamic complaints cropped up: Reynolds noted, "The steering is truck-sloppy. There's a wobbly indecisiveness to their true direction that bothers me." He found the 2.7's brakes "very soft on application and very grabby once they engage." Many complained that the lane keep assist fought them for control of the wheel.

The bigger problem was that Ford didn't win a concurrent Chevy/Ram comparison, largely because we were unconvinced that Ford's EcoBoost/aluminum approach trumps Ram's EcoDiesel/eight-speed fuel economy play. Our Real MPG combined results give the Ram a 21-percent advantage over the 2.7L, while observed results over 350 miles with a 1,000-pound load extend that to 35 percent, furthering our impression that working an EcoBoost like a V-8 returns V-8 consumption. The Ram diesel rides better (on air or coil springs), looks better inside and out, and can be had similarly equipped for similar money. So while we remain deeply impressed with the F-150 as an engineering feat, these two examples impressed us less as trucks."

I don't think there was no surprises that a "small diesel" powered truck will produce better fuel economy than a gas powered truck. What was not advertised was the cost of ownership of these trucks and at this point it's my opinion that the gas powered truck will cost less in the long run compared to the diesel. What Ford has done with the 2015 trucks was put them on a diet and layed the foundation going forwards. At this point only Ford had the volume and the financial backing to make such a dramatic change to the design of their trucks and the material supply chain of their military grade aluminum, and I suspect GM and RAM will watch from the sideline for now.

I wouldn't bet against a more efficient vehicle in the "long run". You are bound to loose sooner or later. That is the silly thing about efficacies.
MM49