I was getting the oil changed on the 02, found out they just got an 09 that the sales mgr was driving as a demo. Was told I could look at it; well, it turned into driving it. My impressions:
- it is huge! Both front and rear cabin seem much larger than 04-08. Visiblity is a LOT better with the longer front windows. Overall the truck just seems 10-15% larger. Maybe the visibility/openness contributes to this, maybe the fact you can see a lot of the hood also.
- exterior - paint was very nice, body gaps/panel alignment superior. Tail lights? Still don't like them, hopefully there will be aftermarket replacements.
- interior materials are very nice. Luxury car nice. Maybe too nice for a truck? Heated/air conditioned seats were extremely comfortable. Everything was within reach and very intuitive.
- drives awesome. Very solid, very quiet. Very little body roll - took some 25 mph curves at 50 like it was nothing. Power was definitely impressive compared to my 02. 1st gear is steep, very easy to turn the tires (even from a 10mph punch ).
Overall I am very impressed. I would really like to hook my boat up to one and see how much better it tows than my 02. I have always been looking to upgrade to an 06-08, but after driving and towing my boat, I've never seen much of a difference to justify the cost. Now with the 09, I think that may have changed.
Register today or sign-in to remove these ads!
__________________
2002 Screw XLT FX4 5.4 3.55LS Silver/Dark Grey
Superchip, K&N drop in
Man I'd love to have a new Lariat. What color was it?
Royal Red/Pueblo Gold. The Lariat is very nice; I'm kinda an XLT person myself, but after building and pricing out an XLT vs. Lariat, I'm thinking the Lariat is a no brainer...
I was getting the oil changed on the 02, found out they just got an 09 that the sales mgr was driving as a demo. Was told I could look at it; well, it turned into driving it. My impressions:
- it is huge! Both front and rear cabin seem much larger than 04-08. Visiblity is a LOT better with the longer front windows. Overall the truck just seems 10-15% larger. Maybe the visibility/openness contributes to this, maybe the fact you can see a lot of the hood also.
Did you attend the media day too!? LOL! This is what they KEPT driving home to us and, you're exactly right, it *is* huge. The extra 6" on the front doors REALLY opens the cab up and removes the B-pillar from being right there to cause a blind spot.
Quote:
- exterior - paint was very nice, body gaps/panel alignment superior. Tail lights? Still don't like them, hopefully there will be aftermarket replacements.
Can't say I disagree. Disappointed in those as well.
Quote:
- interior materials are very nice. Luxury car nice. Maybe too nice for a truck? Heated/air conditioned seats were extremely comfortable. Everything was within reach and very intuitive.
Right there with you! The H/AC seats were AwEsOmE and, versus that of my 2005 KR, the seats are MUCH MORE comfortable; supportive too.
Quote:
- drives awesome. Very solid, very quiet. Very little body roll - took some 25 mph curves at 50 like it was nothing. Power was definitely impressive compared to my 02. 1st gear is steep, very easy to turn the tires (even from a 10mph punch ).
They drove this home on numerous occasions as well. We saw, first hand, some of the materials that were going into EVERY cab going down the line in Dearborn... the materials are much more thick than they were previously. These sound-proofing materials are paying off big time, IMO.
Also, a tidbit that I found interesting was that, on the Platinum, the windshield is a 'special' one. It's laminated differently and was said to have thicker glass (windshield and side glass) than that of a Lariat to improve sound even more.
OP and RP, since I have yet to have a chance to drive an 09, any chance the seats can be put into the 04-08s? They look very nice and would love to have a H/AC seats
I have to tell you, I've kicked myself *numerous times* since returning from the Media Event -- I'm interested in potentially doing the same thing and I never really looked.
My gut feel is that they would NOT just bolt in without modifying the mounting brackets and such. Plus, the backseat seats, being that the floorboard there is totally flat, almost certainly wouldn't be 'plug and play'.
Im not really to keen on modifying the mounting bracket, accident happens something goes wrong, insurance sees that the seats arent OEM, i see a problem arising from that.
Besides that, I dont even think that the 09 plugs would fit the 04-08s. Looks like only solution is to take apart the seat and insert those cooling packs. I'll be waiting for your report on the outcome of that experiment.
OP and RP, since I have yet to have a chance to drive an 09, any chance the seats can be put into the 04-08s? They look very nice and would love to have a H/AC seats
Sorry, I don't have any idea, but sounds like a good reason to upgrade to an 09!
). 
Linear Mode
