Well the 04 has finally arrived at my local dealer (Jerry Ford). Was there too early yesterday to see sales guys around and had too much else to do to bother taking one for a drive. Finally though I have seen one for real! Made my Saturday. 2 Lariats and 2 XLT, all ex-cab/4x4. Nice truck, as to be expected. I thought pricey (haven't looked at a new truck in awhile) until I went over to chev and discovered theirs sticker out about the same. $40+ for an XLT? Yikes! About the only dissapointment, and mentioned before, is yes a truck at that price should come with better tires. I didn't even mind the tailgate emblem as I thought. It seems a big truck upon first glance, but is it actually any bigger than the 03 model?

 

I looked at the same ones tonight, at Jerry Ford. First time I got to see one in person. Very impressive.

Mirrors stick out a lot, may be hard to get that bad boy through my garage door. Height wise I think my 2000 is taller. The XLT's I looked at had the captains chairs and centre console, not my style. The tailgate is so huge the big emblem looks right at home on there, and the torsion bar in it sure is nice.

I am eagerly awaiting a drive.

 

I drove one on the weekend. I drove a FX4 Ext cab, Lariat and the XLT at the Ford Driver Challenge. It was a lot of fun!. I am going to order a Ext cab Lariat 4X4. For sure. I didn;t care that much for the FX4 interior. It had leather in it but it didn't work for me. Found out I can get X-plan as well.

 

I'm sure the captain's chairs / console must be an option. I didn't even think to try the tailgate with that new assist. And even forgot to look in the interior for the overhead rail thing. Maybe that was it, with the mirrors being so wide (not to mention the noticeably taller box) it seems a much larger truck. Now I'm really wondering if going and taking a drive in one would be such a bad idea? Surely it couldn't feel that much better than my current truck to convince me I need a new one...

How was the ride&drive? I mean to go, but the one in Edmonton is the weekend I have to go to Calgary, while the one the next weekend is in Calgary. Switch the 2 weeks around and I could go to both. As it is, I'll not be able to go to either. Was it worth it? Or could you get the same experience with a dealership testdrive?

 

I have visited the Ford lots in the Windsor area this past weekend. Fully loaded Supercrew 4X4 Lariat is $51000 I had an 01 Supercrew 4X4 Lariat with all options in it (except for the two tone paint) and it listed out at $43000 and change. That's a price hike of some 7-8 thousand dollars in 3 years. YIKES It seems as though the 04 extended cabs are roughly the price of a similarly equipped 03 Supercrew.

 

Yeah, the super crew is over priced. I found that the super crew isn't that much smaller then the super crew for cab space. I did want a super crew till I saw the price! Now I'm going for the Ext cab Lariat.

The Ford Drivers Challenge was kinda cool but you can get the same experience doing a dealer test drive. Atleast you can test out the competiton aswell as the 2004 F150 (plus the Dodge Hemi, Chevy). It was about an hour long. You can buy the truck on the 26th and take it home.

 

I saw some more last night at Team Ford in Edmonton, so they're starting to roll in here. Still waiting for a call from DK Ford in Leduc to say the one I ordered is here.

 

Down here in the Hat they have a bunch at both dealers now.
I've sat in them but not driven one yet!!
The interior on the Lariat is nice,have not seen an FX4 yet,and the XLT interiors don't do anything for me.All the XLT's had the split bench.
Is it just me or do the 255/70/17 tires look a little wimpy on these trucks or what??
The high box seems a little out of wack with the front of the truck.
Overall I don't hate them but I don't love them either.

 

Yeah the tires do seem a bit small, I think due to the massive sheetmetal above them: the side of that big box.

Overall I like the big box, I just imagine how much more firewood I can pile in there. It'll be harder to see over in your rear-view mirror, but I ordered the reverse sensor system so I'm not too worried about that now.

Well, as long as DK Ford and I can agree on a lease price, I should be driving one home shortly it seems. September 26 is only a week and a half away. Waiting is harder now that I see them while driving though.

 

Hey Artic Cat...

I knew you were going to the test drive (you mentioned it last week) and I was waiting to hear you talk more on this.

So? How does it stack up against the Hemi and the others?

 

Cayuga Speedway is where it was at. I went Saturday around 1:00 (Cayuga is just outside Hamilton). They Had a XLT (Blue and grey) a FX4 Ext cab (Black and grey) & a Lariat 2WD (Tan).

Ford had set out a course so the suspension can be tested, then there is a 0-60 test (as if you were pulling out on the 401) then a test to deterine grip and handling (looked like rope laid out?) after that you take the truck through the cones and judge the handling.

I tried the Hemi first (it was the quad cab). It did shake the kidneys up through the suspension test. It did great in the 0-60 test then a hard brake to simulate a emergency braking. The Dodge did pretty good! It being so tall it leaned a lot through the cones. But on to the good stuff. The FX4 did well through all tests. I liked the XLT, plain jane but looked good. Handled basically the same as the FX4. The Lariat is just the truck to behold! It just looks good all around. I love the interior. It being a 2wd handled the best great 0-60 and good braking. (there were no times for the 0-60) When you hit 60 on the speedo hit the brakes hard. The Chevy was okay but it has a lot of catching up to do now.

There is another test this weekend at the Toronto Congress Centre 1:00 to 2:00. It starts every hour.

It was a lot fun. You should go.

 

Im from the Hamilton area originally. I know Cayuga well... especially the May two-four rock-n-race weekend (with all of the old Courtcliffe Park crowd) Im not sure if your in the age range to remember what Courtcliff was...

I would love so much to go, but I have too much at work.

Its bad enough that I eat lunch at my desk.. they least they could do it let me surf the web for a few minutes...

I have been eyeballing the new ones at the dealer and he offered up a test drive... but its not the same. You just cant beat the snot out of a dealer demo unit (well you could possibly if they werent in the truck with you)

 

I think that was before my time. I used to race my snowmbile there in the summer (it was set up to run on pavement). I won't be going to the Toronto test drive. (Going duck hunting).

Chances right now of doing a test drive at a dealer is slim to none. I have been humming and thinking about bailing out of my lease, right now I only have 5 months to go. I think the smart economical thing to do is ride my lease out. I hate putting a new vehicle through one of our winters.

 

Well mine arrived today (Sep 19) at the dealer. I get to drive it home tomorrow morning!

...er, assuming we come to an agreement on a lease price. Anyone leasing their '04 know what the lease rate in Canada is?

This dealer (DK Ford) never let me down in the past so I'm sure it will work out.

 

Well I picked it up today. It is AWESOME. Every bit as good as the reviews.