I've got the 40/60 split seats, and the darned things are as hard as rocks. No give to them at all...when I lean back, the seatback stays as firm and upright as it is when I'm not sitting in it. Other than that, I love the truck...fit and finish and ride are heads and tails above any prior versions. In a way, I think the improved quality of this years truck probably subtracts from the resale value of 03 and earlier. Once you've driven one of the new ones, the old ones seem really undesirable.

 

! have a 2004 f 150 2wd. I use my truck for work.I love the truck except it seems the cab is lower than my 2001 f 250 4x4.I have ladder racks and tools boxes.It seems I only have limited view out of the rear window with the crossoverbox.Besides that I think the seats have good support.

 

(In the style of David Letterman)

From the home office in San Jose California, here's tonight's Top 10 List for Things I Love Best about my New F150.

10. No longer having to answer the question `So when are you gettting your new truck?'
9. Smooth feel/control of HVAC and radio volume control.
8. How it turns on a dime, very tight turning radius.
7. Comfortable, reclining front seats.
6. Cup holders everywhere. My Scab has 8.
5. Chrome surround on air vents.
4. `Look at Me' size and styling.
3. The True Blue paint. It's blue, it's purple, it's black....it's awesome.
2. Power rear windows that go all the way down in Scab.

and the #1 thing....................

It's here, it's finally here. (well, as of Oct 15)

 

10. No longer having to answer the question `So when are you gettting your new truck?'


LOL. I am getting REALLY tired of answering that one too.

 

OMG, that drove me NUTS!!! Everyone in my shop asked EVERY SINGLE DAY, and every day I told them. Some people never listen. They finally started asking "Did you get your truck yet?" and I just replied with a "yes".....they finally stopped asking.

BTW, pa_wolf62................when are you getting your new truck? J/K!!

 

Well, I have been stressing about whether or not to trade in my 2002 FX4 for a new 2004 FX4 for months now. At first, I thought my indecision was over basic things like color selection and such, but something never seemed right. I guess it was bothering me that every time I went back to check out the truck (over and over again), I never got that warm, gotta have, feeling I usually get with vehicles I want.

So I finally brought my wife to take a yellow FX4 out for a drive. She just loved the color combo. We barely got going and she started commenting about the little things, like how loud but cheap the turn signals sounded. As we got onto the freeway, she commented on how "sluggish" it felt, although she agreed the tranny shifts were tremendously smooth. Then she said she wasn't as comfortable in the seats as my current one, and thought the console/shifter was too cheap looking. When we stopped, she looked around the truck and picked out some of the same things I thought didn't quite work, like lack of in cab storage, back vinyl seat, plastic gas cap door, no under hood light, uneven paint, bulky rear, etc. But she still loved the color.

We got back into my 2002 FX4, and as soon as we closed the doors, she commented how much better my "old" truck felt and that I should keep it. Damn, after months of stressing, she finally confirmed my nagging feelings that the "new" truck just isn't enough of an improvement to justify another investment. Guess I'll go use my X-Plan at Volvo and get that 5-second S60 R after all.

Anyway, thanks to all who shared info with me on this board, and good luck to everyone with their trucks. Still think the Fords are the best looking trucks out there. Hopefully Ford is listening to everyone on these threads for various improvements that still need to be made.


[IMG][/IMG]

 

I went directly from an 03 F150 XLT with the 5.4. My first impression of the 04 Supercrew 4x4 is that it is underpowered. First words out of my mouth, wow this feels sluggish compared to my 03 XLT 4x2. But now that I've got a little over 2k miles on the clock, it feels more powerful. It probably is loosening up a bit, but more than this I think is getting used to the bigger, heavier chassis. Also, the size of the truck often makes me think I'm going slower than I really am.

I've heard the seat complaint but I don't relate. My Lariat captain's chairs are pretty comfy to me. I love them heated, too. But then, I'm usually on a motorcycle, so my butt is not used to being pampered the way it is in the 04 Lariat.

Overall, I love the truck. It is extremely solid feeling, handles well for something so big, and man o man does it ever look good. People on the streets keep staring. A couple of times people have given me the ol' thumbs up. The truck gets favorable comments almost every time I stop in it.

 

How did you end up with 8 cup holders? My Lariat SCREW only has 4 (the door pockets look as though they could be cup holders as well, making it 6)...

 

That's interesting because my wife and I had the exact opposite experience. We drove an '03 looking to save a few bucks, and the '04 was nicer in every way except for one. The '03 definately gives more of a sensation of speed than the '04. From what I've heard though, the 04 finds some giddy up after a few miles, and is deceptively quick due to the quiet and smooth ride. I'm waiting weeks and paying a lot more for an '04 for all these reasons.

Have fun with your new Volvo, I'm sure that will will be a good choice for you.

 

I've only had my screw for about 50 miles, but i love it. Captain's chairs are comfy, handling is great, turns tighter than my mustang, interior looks awesome. Everything seems real sturdy. The 5.4l has plenty of power. Shifts smooth. It catches quite a few looks.

The bad? None really. Okay, if I look between the driver seat and the console I can see a large bundle of cables clearly. They could be tucked away. No big whoop. If I had to do it all over again I would get the same thing.

 

On my XLT, I've got 8 cup holders as well.

2 in the front doors.
2 behind the middle front seat.
2 on top of the middle seat (when it's down)
2 that pop out of the dash.

 

I think you're right about maybe that the truck needs to loosen up. I have been reading other people's threads about their new F150's pullling away from Chevy Z71's and such, which I have a hard time believing from my limited experience with the new truck. The truck my wife and I drove only had 32 miles on it, so maybe that was part of the problem. We still couldn't overcome the obvious cost cutting measures that we thought cheapened the truck overall, but it is still an improvement over my current 02, especially from an engineering perspective. I guess I was hoping for more from Ford for something as important as the F150. All I can say is that I think a lot of people are still on the fence as we have a number of dealers here in my area that are just not moving the new trucks. I travel a lot, and have seen the same in Phoenix, Dallas, and other areas where the lots have the same trucks sit for quite some time as people get used to it. It sure isn't the run away hit I think Ford has envisioned. Even the rare yellow FX4s are sitting on the lots, and fully loaded Lariats 4x4s or base XLTs are not going very fast either, but you can't find a Dodge Hemi Quad Sport 4x4 anywhere...go figure. Anyway, I am still a big fan of Ford trucks. What I am really hoping for is the renewal of the Ford Bronco on the new F150 platform.....I be trading in my Volvo for that one!

 

Hmmm you should work for Ford. Your Bronco idea is a great one.

About trucks sitting on lots, I've noticed the same thing. I tried to buy a truck on the D plan 4 weeks ago from a local dealer. He denied me saying that it was the "dealers decision" whether to offer employee discounts on 04 F150's. He only had 3 at the time, so I went to another dealer and ended up ordering there. A month later he still has that truck I was willing to take off his hands, and fifteen more taking up space on the lot. What a dumbass.......
I'm sure there are lots of reasons why 04's aren't selling like some people expected. A lot of it has to do with incentives on 03's. The vast majority of people would take a loaded Lariat over a stripped XLT any day. Ford knows what they're doing on this one. Once the Titan comes out, people that are holding out for an 04 will start making decisions. I'm betting Ford will beat off competition from Nissan. Remember when the Tundra came out? Every other contractor went out and bought one. Don't see many new Tundras these days......I'm predicting the same fate for Nissan.

 

hehe...been daydreaming about my Bronco idea. Probably could design one with some sort of rear access door like the extended cabs or minivans for better rear seat access. With a shorter wheel base with F150 underpinnings, front end styling, and interior design, I would think Ford would have one hot seller. People still scramble around trying to find low mileage Broncos and 2-door Tahoes.

Yeah, that dealer you went to wasn't playing it smart. So far, every single dealer I have been to in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Phoenix, Dallas, Colorado Springs, etc. tell me "no problem" for X-Plan. They need to start moving the trucks, and production is just going to be increasing. I am not sure how much impact the new Nissan Titan is going to have. On one hand, it's a Japanese brand. Not that is a bad thing of course, but most people will have a hard time associating a full size truck with Nissan (same thing that happened to Toyota as you pointed out). Secondly, it's butt ugly (IMHO). But man, you have to drive this thing....it absolutely hauls butt, has interior storage space galor, and has very similar interior treatment with additional features Ford doesn't provide. It's hard to argue with a truck that has slightly bigger dimensions than the F150 but hits 60 mph right at 7 seconds....ouch! Personally, I think a lot of people are expecting a lot from car/truck manufactures anymore because of the relatively high price of these machines (I know I do). I mean, fully loaded Fords and Chevys at $40,000 plus? You bet people are going to look around. And based on all the ugly new cars driving around, I bet they compromise some exterior styling for interior comfort and features and overall value and quality (back to my Ford complaint).

Anyway, I don't think folks can go too wrong with all the brands out there (possibly with the exception of Dodge, at least until Mercedes gets more involved on the quality end). Even though I opted not to go with the new F150, I sure understand why people on this board did and are very excited about it.

 

I'm really enjoying my new Yellow '04 STX. I originally wanted a white one but with none available at the time I settled for a color I never thought I'd like.
If you will notice most all of the colors are so common that it's hard to sopt yours in a large parking lot.
The yellow color on the new '04 STX acually is a pretty sharp truck.
I think I would have liked a white one better but I am very satisfied with it so far. It sure does get a lot of attention and is very easy to find at the Walmart Super Center parking lot.

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...w.cfm?num=4901