2015 Ford F-150

absolutely! AUTO REVIEW | By Steve Kursar –

The all-new 2015 Ford F-150 is the reigning Truck of Texas as voted on by the Texas Auto Writers Association. That’s an honor for which  truck makers vie annually, and this new Ford truck won it by a wide margin. It may not look like it from the outside, but this pickup is a revolutionary step in truck design, one that will pay off with fewer trips to the gas station for its smart owner.

Back in the 1970s after the Arab Oil Embargo, Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards were enacted by the United States Congress, forcing carmakers to engineer more fuel efficient vehicles. Family sedans that used to get 15 miles per gallon (mpg) now regularly get closer to 40 mpg. Since those standards also apply to
light-duty pickups, Ford took a radical approach to squeezing more mpg by making this latest generation F-Series truck much lighter, in fact, 700 pounds lighter. They did this through the extensive use of military grade aluminum in the truck’s body and incorporating more high-strength steel in the full-boxed frame.

But Ford doesn’t just stop at weight reduction to save fuel. They offer four fuel efficient engines choices to deliver trucks that fit your needs. The base engine option is a normally aspirated 283 hp, 3.5 liter V6 engine that’s rated at 18 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway. The next step up is actually a smaller engine, the 325 hp, 2.7 liter V6 EcoBoost that will surprise even die-hard V8 fanatics, because it outperforms the 5.4 liter V8 that powered F-150 just five years ago. What’s more, that little engine gets fuel economy numbers of 19 mpg city and 26 mpg highway. The 365 hp, 3.5 liter V6 EcoBoost is next up the engine lineup (17 mpg city/24 mpg highway), and the last option is the only V8 offered, a normally aspirated 385 hp, 5.0 liter (15 mpg city and 22 mpg highway).

You can get yourself a highly capable albeit bare-bones F-150 starting with an MSRP of $26,030. But if you feel the need to step it way up, Ford is ready to swathe you in Texas-style luxury with the iconic King Ranch edition. Don’t worry; there are plenty of trims in between those two to make it work for you. There is just no settling when it comes to the revolutionary new 2015 Ford F-150.

Follow Steve Kursar at KursarOnCars.blogspot.com.