Mach-E had to go to the shop and we got a gas F150 as a loaner.
I cannot begin to tell you the ways in which I hate this truck compared to the Lightning. You would think that would not be the case given that they're bascially the same platform, but let me tell you.
First of all the 10 speed transmission. It's a freaking party under the cab floor and I wasn't invited. It does ok if you give it all the beans, but anything part throttle is wild. All the shifts and then some. And the clunky downshifts when you're coming up to a stop.
The 2.7 EB idles too rough for my taste, My prior 5.4 3V idled smooth. This 2.7, I can't seem to get a smooth idle out of it, and I did try to give it an italian tuneup. It's also way too peaky. You give it some gas off the line and the traffic's moving away from you, then you give it more gas and all a sudden you're into the boost and you're coming up on the bumper of the car in front of you. I actually changed the dash display to add a boost gauge to the top row. It's not really that fast acting though. I'm pretty sure I would want the 5.0 if I had to drive one of these.
The ride without the independent rear suspension of the Lightning is crap. The Lightning rides amazing, better than any half ton truck I've ever driven. If I had to get a gasser it would be the Ram, it rides a lot nicer.
The interior is pretty much the same as the Lightning but if you get an XL that has the manually adjustable seat, it's not height adustable, and the non-adjustable height is basically the same as taking the power adjustable seat in my XLT Lightning and putting it all the way to the top. What the hell, Ford? If you're going to give me a fixed height seat at least don't put it so **** high that a truck that has cavernous legroom in my truck, is now up against the steering wheel in this truck.
Also this is more of a trim level gripe, this truck being an XL does not have running boards standard. My wife and kid are having a hard time climbing in and out of it. If I owned this truck I would probably fix this with the cheapest aftermarket deal that I could get.
Likes:
1) The column shifter. Every gas truck should have column shifter with no exceptions. If I was keeping my Lightning off lease, I'd probably retrofit one of these, I understand from the Lightning forum that it can be done.
2). The mileage is not terrible, I'd still like a little better, but it's getting 18.5 in mixed city/highway and it's a 5500 pound truck that is not aerodynamic and this is a 4x4 truck to boot. It's 4MPG better than I was getting in my Navigator on the same duty cycle.
Verdict: I had an option to get an Explorer as a loaner, I just thought this one would be better on headroom and legroom. Unfortunately it is not. I am probably going to take this truck back and get the Explorer on the next day I'm not working from home. Maybe I will like it better.
If I wanted a gas truck, it would be a Ram 1500, if for no other reason than the transmission. They all have their issues, but I could not live with this 10 speed.
Any gas truck would be a short term fix though. I really want electric long term. I may be willing to go gas for a little bit because we want to buy a travel trailer and need to tow it, and the Silverado EV is way expensive. But eventually electrics are going to improve and that's what it's going to be.
I cannot begin to tell you the ways in which I hate this truck compared to the Lightning. You would think that would not be the case given that they're bascially the same platform, but let me tell you.
First of all the 10 speed transmission. It's a freaking party under the cab floor and I wasn't invited. It does ok if you give it all the beans, but anything part throttle is wild. All the shifts and then some. And the clunky downshifts when you're coming up to a stop.
The 2.7 EB idles too rough for my taste, My prior 5.4 3V idled smooth. This 2.7, I can't seem to get a smooth idle out of it, and I did try to give it an italian tuneup. It's also way too peaky. You give it some gas off the line and the traffic's moving away from you, then you give it more gas and all a sudden you're into the boost and you're coming up on the bumper of the car in front of you. I actually changed the dash display to add a boost gauge to the top row. It's not really that fast acting though. I'm pretty sure I would want the 5.0 if I had to drive one of these.
The ride without the independent rear suspension of the Lightning is crap. The Lightning rides amazing, better than any half ton truck I've ever driven. If I had to get a gasser it would be the Ram, it rides a lot nicer.
The interior is pretty much the same as the Lightning but if you get an XL that has the manually adjustable seat, it's not height adustable, and the non-adjustable height is basically the same as taking the power adjustable seat in my XLT Lightning and putting it all the way to the top. What the hell, Ford? If you're going to give me a fixed height seat at least don't put it so **** high that a truck that has cavernous legroom in my truck, is now up against the steering wheel in this truck.
Also this is more of a trim level gripe, this truck being an XL does not have running boards standard. My wife and kid are having a hard time climbing in and out of it. If I owned this truck I would probably fix this with the cheapest aftermarket deal that I could get.
Likes:
1) The column shifter. Every gas truck should have column shifter with no exceptions. If I was keeping my Lightning off lease, I'd probably retrofit one of these, I understand from the Lightning forum that it can be done.
2). The mileage is not terrible, I'd still like a little better, but it's getting 18.5 in mixed city/highway and it's a 5500 pound truck that is not aerodynamic and this is a 4x4 truck to boot. It's 4MPG better than I was getting in my Navigator on the same duty cycle.
Verdict: I had an option to get an Explorer as a loaner, I just thought this one would be better on headroom and legroom. Unfortunately it is not. I am probably going to take this truck back and get the Explorer on the next day I'm not working from home. Maybe I will like it better.
If I wanted a gas truck, it would be a Ram 1500, if for no other reason than the transmission. They all have their issues, but I could not live with this 10 speed.
Any gas truck would be a short term fix though. I really want electric long term. I may be willing to go gas for a little bit because we want to buy a travel trailer and need to tow it, and the Silverado EV is way expensive. But eventually electrics are going to improve and that's what it's going to be.
I don't mind a good CVT. At least its smooth. 
