‘Older’ Ford F-150 Impresses Auto Guide Over New Chevy
The F-150 may be older than the Silverado ‘by a presidential term,’ but that means the Ford’s more refined.
There’s a reason why the F-150 is not only the best-selling truck in the United States, but the best-selling vehicle in North America. It went with an aluminum body while everyone else was making beer can jokes at its expense, and yet, years later, everyone’s catching up. It also combined turbos and fuel economy in a cool package, long before Chevy decided to do the same years later, but with two less cylinders.
Today, the F-150 still stands strong, even with the all-new Chevy Silverado rolling up to try to knock the king of its throne. Hartford City, Indiana newspaper Hartford City News Times (via Auto Guide), has the tale of the tape between the unwavering Ford and the young gun with the silly bow tie.
“If you know anything about trucks, you likely know practically everything about these two, and that’s because the Chevrolet Silverado and Ford F-150 are two of the best-selling vehicles in America,” said Craig Cole. “Fresh off a complete redesign, the Silverado is newer than its crosstown opponent by an entire presidential term; remember, the F-150 was last overhauled in 2015, when it gained an all-aluminum body and bed. But newer doesn’t always mean better.”
The tale of the tape between the F-150 and the Chevy is that both have 2.7-liter turbocharged engines, though Ford’s EcoBoost is a V6, while the Bow Tie makes do with just four. Both are paired with automatics to ferry the power to the rear or all corners when needed, and while the Chevy may have a bigger bed, the Ford has a bigger cab for all of your friends.
“This here is the F-150’s powerful and smooth-running 2.7-liter twin-turbo V6,” said Cole. “This thing has both port and direct fuel injection, an ultra-durable compacted graphite iron block, piston-cooling jets, a variable displacement oil pump, and even more technology.”
All of that comes together to give the F-150 325 horses and 400 lb-ft of torque, plus 21 mpg combined, which works “just fine on regular grade gasoline.” The Chevy’s 2.7-liter turbo-four, meanwhile, can only muster up 310 ponies and a measly 348 lb-ft of sapling-pulling torque. And worse yet, the turbo-four somehow gets less mpg than the Ford’s EcoBoost, coming at an average of 20 mpg. Looks like all of that tech got Chevy a lot of nothing.
The Chevy does have the F-150 beat on payload capacity out of the box (1,893 pounds vs 1,690 pounds), though the Ford’s capacity can be boosted to 1,950 pounds with a special package. It’s no contest as far as towing goes, though. The F-150 can pull 7,600 pounds of whatever you got, while the Chevy falls a bit flat at 6,893 pounds.
“The first thing I notice about sitting in the Ford here is just how much better these front seats are,” said Cole. “They’re plush but supportive, and really just about perfect for my body, at least. As for the rest of this truck’s interior, I think it’s just a touch nicer and friendlier, more inviting than the cabin of the Chevy.”
The F-150 also offers “miles of backseat legroom,” and the flat floor is perfect for sliding tool boxes and other things that need more security into the cab with the rear seats folded up. We’re not sure why anyone would still pick a Chevy after that assessment, but we do hope they figure it out sooner or later.
“Swapping trucks, it’s immediately apparent just how much softer and gentler this F-150 feels than the Silverado,” Cole said during the publication’s 100-mile test loop of the two trucks. “The steering ratio seems slower, and there’s a bit more body roll, and of course, the ride is just a touch more compliant, as well. Oddly enough, I think the gauges are a little bit easier to read, too.”
And of course, the EcoBoost V6 provides plenty of torque throughout the rev range, per Cole. The 10-speed transmission shifts as smooth as butter, too, compared to the neck-snapping eight-speed auto used by the Chevy, which makes its rough interior just too much to take for sane people to want to ride in.
“At this point, I think you can probably guess which truck wins,” said Cole. “Even though it’s years older, the F-150 just impressed me in more ways than the much fresher Silverado.”
Photos: Screencaps
