Ford has unveiled a completely redesigned F-150 for 2009. The folks at Ford had their work cut out for them when seeking to improve upon a full-size light duty truck that set a single year sales record for pickups in 2005. They did so by borrowing styling cues from Ford's super duty F-250 counterpart and loading the F-150 with impressive new features.
The new F-150 maintains roughly the same length, width and height as the outgoing models, but styling has evolved drastically. The grille is nearly vertical and larger than in past years. The headlights have a two-tier effect like the F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pickups.
Beneath the new sheet metal is a fully boxed frame with hydroformed side rails. The result is a lighter, yet more rigid chassis, now with towing capacity of up to 8,500 pounds and payload capacity of 3,030 pounds.
The base engine for the F-150 is a 16-valve 4.6-liter V8 that puts out 248 horsepower and 294 pound feet of torque. An available 24-valve 4.6-liter V8 generates 292 horsepower and 320 pound feet of torque, while the top of the line 5.4-liter V8 cranks out 310 horsepower and, for a work truck, the all-important 365 pound feet of torque. Power is sent through either a 4- or 6-speed automatic transmission to the rear wheels or available 4-wheel drive with low range.
Fuel economy for the F-150 ranges from 14 miles per gallon city, up to 20 miles per gallon highway.
The new F-150 is available in four box options and seven trims. We drove a well-equipped 5-passenger Super Crew King Ranch model. While the overall length of the truck is nearly unchanged, Ford has managed to extend its Crew Cab model a full six inches. This makes for better rear legroom and, with the rear seats folded away, cargo space of up to 57.6 cubic feet behind the front seats.
Other features that set the F-150 apart from other trucks include the innovative tailgate step, power retracting mirrors to get in tighter places, and the connectivity of Ford's SYNC hands free entertainment system.
Standard safety features on the F-150 include front and rear antilock disc brakes, dual stage driver and passenger airbags, side curtain airbags, and AdvanceTrac Roll Stability Control.
Base MSRP for the 2009 Ford F-150 is $21,565. A fully loaded Super Crew model will top out at around $50,000. The F-150 is backed by a 5-year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty.
The updated, muscular good looks of the new Ford F-150 only hint at the wealth of improvements beneath its rugged sheet metal.