For a daily driver with very rare towing (5-6 times/year), I went with the F150 XLT 5.4 3.73 4x2 in 2005. I test drove the Chevy when the new models came out. On the highway, my F150 was MUCH quieter and seemed to have a little more solid feel (smaller back end on the Chevy??)

I understand the Chevy gets better gas milage, but not too much. I also understand that different areas have different gas blends, so that may vary based on where you live.

My XLT with the tow package had a lot of features that were above & beyond the Chevy tow package (bigger alternator, transmission cooler, 7 pin, etc).

At the end of the day, I still prefer the exterior & interior looks of the F150.

 

Have you ever seen the rear axle on a TITAN??? Nothing TITAN about it .....tiny titan axle.....weak in my opinion.......

 

The original poster of this tread asked for opinions about F-150 to compare them to Silverado. He didn't ask for anyones opinion about a Nissan Titan.

Can we please take the Titan argument somewhere else? Thank you!

 

i like a lot of the features of the new gm pickups, a good friend of mine bought one recently, and it's nice

i also drove a 1992 chevy short wide pickup with a 350 in it for 11 years and 150,000 before it was stolen...i really loved that pickup and that engine--still got 20 mpg highway when i lost it!

that being said, i bought an '06 avalanche with the 5.3L in it, thinking i'd really like it, but over the course of ownership, i began to feel that the 5.3 lacked low-end torque, and the stock 3.42 gears were too tall--i exaggerate but only slightly when i say that it couldn't pull a headwind! the slightest breeze or grade would necessitate the trans shift down at highway speeds in order to get the rpms up high enough to produce enough power for cruising

i got 15 / 17.5 in the avalanche

i get 16 / 19 in my ford with the 5.4L, both are comparable in terms of curb weight, and i've never felt it to lack power, mine's always been very responsive to the throttle

i hear mixed reviews on the fuel economy of the gmt900 with the AFM, but those whom i've spoken with that have actually calculated it out on paper aren't seeing any better mpg than i'm getting with the ford

overall, they're probably both great pickups--i know lots of people with both who are happy with the performance, just keep in mind that hp is a measure of torque multiplied by rpms and be cognizant of what rpm range the torque is produced (if you get that far into it!)

welcome to the forum

 

Base trucks still cannot outdo Ford in hauling and towing. GM bests Ford in some parts, but Ford has the new F-150 coming right around the corner.

 

They are both decent trucks. The chevy has a much newer design and for that reason it stands out quite a bit more. Now they are both capable of great mileage depending on how you drive. What do you want in a truck? If you want power I don't care what these guys say, I've got $1000's in bolt-ons and I'm still not impressed. But don't get me wrong, I am not unhappy, just not impressed. The truck has never exceeded my expectations in this category. Now as far as styling, the interior is top notch on the F-150 Lariats. Don't go for anything less.

Back to power, it definitely holds it's own but if I put the amount of money into a GM I've put into this Ford I think I'd have impressive power. These opinions are even from stock height. If you like to use your 4wd, I would also be worried. These hubs are a joke. But you can be sure your 9.75 rear end will never be shot =]

 

The only joke seems to be the way you beat on your truck, treat it like crap and put 37 inch monster tires on it and claim it doesn't impress you enough. You should have bought a beater truck instead of wasting all of that money running a brand new truck into the ground. This random comment from a poster on youtube pretty much sums up the way I feel about GM vs Ford.

"BRENTHENRY1989 (2 months ago)
What GMC stands for, God's Mechanical Curse, Garage Man's Companion, Greatest Mistake Created. Now what chevy really means, Crap Hasn't Evolved Yet, Cheapest Heap Ever Visualized Yet. And all you Dodge boys this is what Dodge is, Doesn't only die, gets eaten, Darn Old Dirty Gas Eater.
Ford builds the best truck in the world and always has and always will!!! Truck sales prove it poor losers!!! Built Ford Tough, for life!!!"

 

Now you can listen to these loyal fanboys like Kashi above, whom by the way EVERY thread they create is about how the F150's insignificant Bolt Size is bigger than the competition, or how the Tundra is getting recalled. But there are those of us who have "ran our brand new trucks into the ground" and know how they hold up.

If you read my above post, I clearly state these observations were made prior to the lift. I did all my performance mods before the lift, but it was a good effort at manipulating my post Kashi.

Lets count the number of damaged hub threads together Kashi...but before we start how high can you count? But I guess everyone is running MONSTER (lol) tires or is running their trucks into the ground.

Once again, I do not dislike my truck at all. I'm very proud and stand by the F-150 even this early built model, but I'd have been better suited in a Powerstroke. Nonetheless a beautiful creation from Ford. No matter how great of a manufacturer they may be, every vehicle has it's weakness and I won't hide behind the blue oval and pretend they don't exist. You want to know the truth, ask guys like me...nobody owns us.

 

kashi you seem to consistently criticize a lot of people on this forum. You never give any other truck maker any credit for anything, and if there is ever something wrong with someones truck on this forum, you blame it on them. Do you think offroading is wrong or something? Should we not do it? Oh heaven forbid we take our 4x4s off the pavement .

Ive never seen a pic of your truck kashi, got any?

 

The truth is, that both trucks will do what your asking them to do, so it comes down to what you [I]like[I] the most.

Since you want opinions....

The Ford F-150 has been the best selling automobile for about 23 years, and the best selling truck for 30, thats pretty hard to argue with in my opinion. I'm currently driving my fifth Ford truck, i've owned a 69 highboy, that i wish i still had, a 76 that my dad still drives, a 90, 97, and an 02 the only major problem i ever had was the cruise control recall on the 97 that burned it up. You wont need to worry abou that though......sorry about the longness of this but it really is "Built Ford Tough"

 

I have 2 friends that have 2005 Silverado's, both have had no issues. With any truck IMO, seems to be a mixed bag depending how many people you know or talk to driving trucks. If I was in the market for a new truck like you, I would do what you are doing, getting information on both, test driving, and making a sound decision. No matter what Manufacturer you choose its all good.
I have had ALOT of problems with my F-150 but attribute that to the early build date. (which really does not make it justifiable).
Good luck with your choice.

 

Go to a body shop and ask the manager which truck he would rather be in with his family, in a head on collision. Buy that one!

BTW.....My best friend owns a large body shop.....Me and him both drive FORD trucks, both our wives have FORD suv's, and my travel vehicle is a FORD Mustang GT.....

nuff said!

 

I like my 150 it performs all of the tasks, I need it to. Yes, it is under powered but a tuner, exhaust, and intake get it to an acceptable level for me(It's not a race car, its a TRUCK). My advice would be to drive both, look at crash tests, and one thing I always do is slide underneath the truck and see how open things are for servicing.

The FX4 and Lariat interiors are by far my favorites, and the look of the exterior is very nice in my opinion.

I have driven a new GMC here at my work and the exterior styling is good, I think the interior looks like a car, and when I was driving down the highway it seemed like I had less visabilty looking out of the cab. Also the cab made me feel like I was closed in smaller space.

Just pick the one that makes you happy, that is all that matters in the long run.

 

Keep in mind too that this is the first year on the new chevy. THe '04 ford guys have had more problems than the '05 ones. I would personally wait until ford brings out their new truck. If you dont like it you would be just in time to get the chevy without the first year bugs.

 

I will see if I can get some interior pictures of it tomorrow. It is the LT model, basically I got every option available except for the locking tailgate. I got GMS pricing on it, and a $2k cash rebate... I wrote the check for right at $25,800 for it not including sales tax...

I like the truck a lot, but I like driving my Ford as well... I still couldn't tell the original poster what to buy honestly...