2023+ F150 w/ 2.7l ecoboost- thoughts?

[GON]

SIL is looking for a 1/2 ton pickup. He did not like my recommendation of a 2020/2021 Tundra Crewmax (poor fuel mileage).

He sent me a note on thoughts on a 2023+ F150 ecoboost. Any thoughts?

 

[Thermo1223]

It is the best version of the Ecoboost IMO. I'd rather that, then a 3.5.

 

[fdcg27]

The thing is that the Toyota will deliver that "poor fuel mileage" for a very long time, almost certainly longer than the less thirsty Ford.

 

[Aichiguy]

I like mine. It has plenty of guts to pull a 5000 lb camper and gets over 20 MPG when not towing. With less than 20k, time will tell. I'm more concerned about the transmission and have already serviced it.

 

[BISCUT]

Hard to answer without knowing the intended usage.

 

[Thermo1223]

The thing is that the Toyota will deliver that "poor fuel mileage" for a very long time, almost certainly longer than the less thirsty Ford.

I don't know about that. I'd say it's even on terms of reliability but the Ford will certainly pull better fuel economy over its life. The 2.7 uses the same block design as the PowerStroke.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Belt driven oil pump behind the timing chains. That's a no-go for me.
Otherwise , an incredibly well designed engine.

 

[GON]

Hard to answer without knowing the intended usage.

Take Daughter and their two Sons west of Denver for camping. They went on a fourth of July camping trip, and there is a campfire ban. Propane was needed to replace a campfire for cooking. Their Bronco sport SUV can't legally transport propane. SIL rented a truck for the camping trip, primarily so he could transport the propane in accordance with hazardous material regulations. Gets back from the camping trip, and tells my Daughter he wants a truck. She agrees, but says you should run it by my Dad. I am sure he cringed having to reach out to me.

On a second note, he has to drive the boys to school three days a week, about 45 minutes of greater Denver area driving each way.

To recap, truck is for recreation with the Grandsons and commuting the Grandsons to school three days per week, 90 minutes round trip.

 

[BISCUT]

Take Daughter and their two Sons west of Denver for camping. They went on a fourth of July camping trip, and there is a campfire ban. Propane was needed to replace a campfire for cooking. Their Bronco sport SUV can't legally transport propane. SIL rented a truck for the camping trip, primarily so he could transport the propane in accordance with hazardous material regulations. Gets back from the camping trip, and tells my Daughter he wants a truck. She agrees, but says you should run it by my Dad. I am sure he cringed having to reach out to me.

On a second note, he has to drive the boys to school three days a week, about 45 minutes of greater Denver area driving each way.

To recap, truck is for recreation with the Grandsons and commuting the Grandsons to school three days per week, 90 minutes round trip.

IDK, my friend!!! Instead of cringing, he should close his mouth, check his ego, and listen. 2.7Eco is a great choice for the use IF it has been maintained. If I had an ECO (I have a 15 5.0), it is a 5k religious OCI. I have plenty of thoughts on this, but I don't see my experience with pick-ups providing you with anything you don't already know. I'm not a big fan of the Tundra, but overall, they are solid buys.

I've been in your position more than a few times. God bless ya! Oftentimes logic leaves the mind when it comes to listening to a family member with sound advice.

 

[TacoFergie]

Hard to beat the 2.7 ecoboost. It's arguably the most reliable modern F150 engines. Gets great mileage for a full size truck and has more than enough power to tow anything a 1/2 ton should be towing. There are many out there with well over 200k miles. My recommendation is keep oil changes to no more than 5k using a good quality oil and filter. The oil pump wet belt sounds concerning, but I'm not aware of any failing.

My BiL has an 18 2.7 with about 120k that he bought from his dad at about 90k miles who purchased it new. Before we leveled it and put 34" tires on it, it averaged about 22-24mpg at about 72-75mph. Anything faster in a truck is going to really drink fuel no matter the engine in my experience. My FiL also used it for his business and occasionally towed his 7-8klb roof or gutter forming machines while his F250 was at other jobs. It towed it no problem. I don't condone this, but the it's taken little to no maintenance down to the fac that the spark plugs haven't even been changed yet. I know many people with F150's including myself with the 2.7 and 3.5 ecoboost or powerboost. The only issues any have had is phasers on an 18 3.5 at about 150k (common on the 17-20 3.5) and his transmission also failed around the same time. I would suggest if not buying new, get a 23+ as they got the updated transmission hardware.

 

[GON]

Hard to beat the 2.7 ecoboost. It's arguably the most reliable modern F150 engines. Gets great mileage for a full size truck and has more than enough power to tow anything a 1/2 ton should be towing. There are many out there with well over 200k miles. My recommendation is keep oil changes to no more than 5k using a good quality oil and filter. The oil pump wet belt sounds concerning, but I'm not aware of any failing.

My BiL has an 18 2.7 with about 120k that he bought from his dad at about 90k miles who purchased it new. Before we leveled it and put 34" tires on it, it averaged about 22-24mpg at about 72-75mph. Anything faster in a truck is going to really drink fuel no matter the engine in my experience. My FiL also used it for his business and occasionally towed his 7-8klb roof or gutter forming machines while his F250 was at other jobs. It towed it no problem. I don't condone this, but the it's taken little to no maintenance down to the fac that the spark plugs haven't even been changed yet. I know many people with F150's including myself with the 2.7 and 3.5 ecoboost or powerboost. The only issues any have had is phasers on an 18 3.5 at about 150k (common on the 17-20 3.5) and his transmission also failed around the same time. I would suggest if not buying new, get a 23+ as they got the updated transmission hardware.

Very good commentary- thanks for taking the time to post, I just sent your writeup to my SIL.

 

[GON]

IDK, my friend!!! Instead of cringing, he should close his mouth, check his ego, and listen. 2.7Eco is a great choice for the use IF it has been maintained. If I had an ECO (I have a 15 5.0), it is a 5k religious OCI. I have plenty of thoughts on this, but I don't see my experience with pick-ups providing you with anything you don't already know. I'm not a big fan of the Tundra, but overall, they are solid buys.

I've been in your position more than a few times. God bless ya! Oftentimes logic leaves the mind when it comes to listening to a family member with sound advice.

Daughter didn't want my solution.

Move next door to us and you can have a fully insured Dually diesel/ 6.2L/ or V10 with 4.33 rear anytime, as long as you want. The only thing better than owning a truck, is being able to use your FIL trucks anytime, for free....

Oh well......

 

[TacoFergie]

Very good commentary- thanks for taking the time to post, I just sent your writeup to my SIL.

No problem! I will say that I'm a Toyota fanboy and was a previous Toyota tech but couldn't bring myself to get a new Tundra to replace my 15 Tacoma last year. Right now, I'd say the F150's are probably the best be overall for 1/2 tons in the last 3-5 years. I like the new Ram Hurricane as well, but didn't care for the infotainment and how all HVAC controls are in the infotainment, plus all the new ones I drove were a bit glitchy. The 21+ Tundra is very hit and miss for engine issues and overall build quality is lacking IMO, especially for Toyota standards. GM I won't consider because I find the seats to be terribly uncomfortable, besides the engine and transmission issues.

I just went through new truck shopping last year test driving probably 25 trucks and I'm a bit overkill with research, started researhing in 2023. lol I went with a 23 F150 Lariat 3.5 ecoboost because I wanted 4wd Auto (XLT is electronic selectable 4WD, not auto). Anything Lariat on up is primarily the 3.5 ecoboost or powerboost, though the 2.7 and 5.0 was available on the Lariat trim, but those aren't common. I get on average about 17mpg 80% city driving, if I keep it to 72-75mph I get about 20-22mpg, above 75mph it drops pretty fast. If they decide on a 3.5 ecoboost, those all got updated phasers in 21+, haven't heard an issue with those yet either. So to recap, 21+ 3.5's got updated phasers, 23+ got updated 10r80 components and Lariat and above trim levels got 4wd Auto (assuming it's 4wd).