Alright y'all, I got hooked into the "Employee Pricin' Plan" deal and went shopping for a 2005 King to replace my beloved 2003 King. As some of y'all know, I have one of the rarer KR's on the market. 2003 Black (only year they made that color I believe).

I took the 2005 home on the popular "take it home, drive it around, see how much ya love it" deal. Well, I love it! I cannot get over, IMHO, how much nicer the new trucks are than the prior model. The better half put it this way..."your truck (2003) is more "cowboy" and this model is more (luxury)." I have contention with the statement, but I think see the point.

I know many of y'all have bought new Kings this year, havin' previously owned a King in the older body style (Rock Pick, I know for sure).

Can y'all provide with some objective feedback between your experiences between the two models? (including anyone that owned a 2000-2003 Screw 4x4).

Here are my earlier objective findings:

Likes
-rides way, way better than my 2003
-nicest, most luxurious truck I've ever been in
-quietest truck I've ever been in
-best ridin' truck I've ever been in
-love the Copper Canyon color, even more than my rare black 2003

Dislikes
-Don't like the 60/40 rear over rear Captain's which are in my 2003
-Not sure I like the grill on the new model. I like the honeycomb grill on the 2004-2005 Lariats better.
-a bit lower than my 2003
-(biggest) acceleration isn't quite there.

What are your opinions on acceleration? My 2003 has a definite "punch" when you nail the gas. This truck is more of a timed acceleration. Guess that makes for a nicer ride, but I sort of like the to thump it when I need to. Is it because of the increase in weight? The truck feels "heavy" as opposed to my current model?

 

Ahh, another bite. LOL! It's addictive and, unfortunately, you're sucked in to the vortex at this point...

Here's a few thoughts...

1. Your 03 is, indeed, a rare one. There weren't many black ones in the old body style in 03. The necessity to upgrade probably isn't there but, you sound a bit like me in that you've fallen in love with the feel of the new one. Not sure I can say/do much here to change that opinion... it's a lost cause. LOL!

2. Throttle lag. This is a VERY common complaint on the new truck and, like you, I noted it as well. I'm not a 'power guru' and thus, I really didn't pay a lot of attention to it honestly but, I can assure you that there are remedies for such an occurance. For example, I've modified slightly as I had a good opportunity to do so... when I did this, I added a catback exhaust system, intake, and had a custom tune done by the folks at Troyer Performance. Let's just say that the throttle lag is gone... big time. I now have a MUCH heavier foot and REALLY enjoy the power and pickup that a 3v, 300 hp motor should be doing... It's a HUGE improvement. In short, I'd recommend going with a custom tune and maybe another bolt-on or two like me. I'm definitely not sorry I did it.

3. Interior. You've seen it and been in it now. Nuff said. It's a pretty big step up from the older body styles. While they were nice and I really enjoyed it, they simply don't compare IMO to the new ones. Unlike you, I am a HUGE fan of the 60/40 in the back. My buckets in my 01 were unique but very useless for me. In fact, I wished that I had a bench back there on more than a few occasions... And you're right... it's VERY quiet and smooth (btw, you mentioned ride quality twice in your likes category... LOL!)

The interior has a bunch of plastic. I currently have a 05 XLT Screw as a company vehicle and I'm already starting to notice mystery rattles. Granted, I give that truck a bunch more than what I do the KR. A bunch more...

4. Exterior. I still dislike the billboard FORD logo on the tailgate as I've gone on record as saying SEVERAL times. Maybe one of these days I'll shave that but, probably not. I kind of like the grille. It is unique to the 05 KR and sets it apart just a bit more. The honeycomb is still back there...just has a bit more decoration around it. I wish the exterior had a bit more chrome but, there isn't much opportunity... if you'll note, it's ONLY around the grille. I'm not a huge fan of the dark copper color as it's just a bit too orange for my taste but, I know a lot of folks like it alot. I'm hoping that for 06 (like they've done for the super duty) that they add the 'navy blue' color. It looked VERY sharp IMO.

They did, however, cheapen several parts down. We don't have painted mirrors or handles any longer. This, to me, is a poor choice but, I understand the concept. I've been actively looking in to painting all of my handles (I have already removed, sanded, and painted my tailgate handle to match) but, the task of handles and mirrors is a bit more than what I want to tackle. I'll have it professionally done if I do it.

5. Ride quality. Like you, I'm going to mention this twice. There is NO comparison.

6. Bigger wheels. I think this helps out a bit on the ride but, it's also going to hurt a bit more when it comes time for new rubber in a few 10's of thousands of miles.

7. Common problems that I'm seeing within the 04/05 forum-- a few water leaks. Slow acceleration. Vibration at mutliple speeds (seemingly mainly highway though). A pronounced 'thunk' in the rear end on take offs. Other than that (and I think all of those are fairly minor in scope now... only an occasional mention of them...) they're very solid.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'd be happy to try to help out. All in all, if it were me, I'd do it again...

RP

 

RP, thank you so much for your time, man. That was a thorough response and just the type of objectivity I was beggin' for. Reading more about the throttle lag, I see what you mean; its pretty common. I thought I heard it was a problem on the 04 that Ford fixed in 05. Thanks for the info on Troyer; I've been very tempted to get the products from them to get my 03 runnin' and soundin' more aggressive.

Big thumbs up to you, RP.

 

Well...he's got the time you see !!!

(Brad....That's just in case you missed my sarcastic reply on the General discussion board when someone mentioned how much time is wasted each working day by workers, state by state.

Did you see it ?!
Did you choose to ignore it...and my comment !!

By now you will have realised if you didn't see it which State wasted the most time....

It began with K and ended with Y !!)

Sorry !!

 

Didn't see it...

Averaging 54 billable hours and 64 total hours per week though... I don't think I slack all that much...

 

Have to agree with RP on his views of the 05 vs older model KR's.

The 60/40 rear seat is a plus after having the captain chairs in im 01. Just not practical. Looks good, but not functional.

The ride between the two is night and day. The 05 is SO GOOD.

Dislike.......the rear seat doesn't fold down, folds up instead. With Audiophile there is very little level floor in the back with the seats, up.
Also, no storage bins behind the rear seats.

 

Aw....c'mon....I was only joshing !!!

 

After reading all the posts of folks who have bought new 05 KR's, it becomes more and more difficult not to go out and take the plunge. Especially when you talk about the "night and day" difference between the older models (like my 02) and the new 05's. I have to admit, I have been looking. Every weekend I check out inventory on line and then I'm out cruising car lots looking at the actual vehicles. I think the condition of my 02 combined with the extremely low mileage (14,350) would probably get me a good trade in but I just can't seem to find one that trips my trigger.

I'd really like to have a new KR but as I said earlier in the year, I'm not thrilled with the color choices. There's one dealer in the area that has six white ones, another dealer has three white one, and there's a spattering of copper, green, and dark stone. There isn't a single black one on a dealer's lot anywhere in the area. And that's the only color I'd buy right now. But considering it's getting late in the model year, it's not likely the dealers will be getting many more new 05s.

I may wind up holding out for the new 06's but when the new model year comes in, the current incentives will go out. At least for the time being. Guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens. Congrats to all the new KR owners.

 

I know... I know....

 

I, too, got the bug for a 2005 KR when Ford presented a great offer. I was *really* close to making the jump when I took another look at my Black/AB 2003. I have only 8000 miles on it. Showroom condition. Well maintained. Quad buckets. Then there are all my mods. This puppy is almost just the way I want it. I finally decided to keep my 2003. Maybe I'll rethink things when the *next* new body style comes along. For now, I'm keeping my heritage body style...

 

Well, I took the new King back after they slaughtered me on negative equity v. trade in. Seems as if all these new trucks at incredibly good prices have negatively impacted the market for young preowned 150s??? So I walked out on the "financin' manager" and am intent on keeping my 03 lovely King. Got the "call back" this afternoon with promises of the "deal o' the century...bank did the manager a favor...can't pass this up..." blah blah blah. God stealerships are so predictable. They have come a long way toward meeting my rather impulsive goals in shoppin' for the new model though. Maybe another week'll sweeten the deal even more.

Thank you all for your thoughts! Such an awesome forum. If I don't my the new King, i think I'm gonna go mad on the mods to the "old" 03 King. Brad, your photo galleries gave me so many ideas. Thanks for all the help you provide us!

 

No problem man. Your 03 is awesome and I know you're going to continue to enjoy it!

RP

 

Negative equity on a 03 should easily be offset by the "family Plan" pricing currently offered. Couple that with low financing and the deal should be good; however I agree that by waiting a week or so the deal will get better.

Acceleration issues are easily resolved with a programer...in my case a Troyer tuned Xcal 2...seems the 04-05's have a fly-by-wire accelerator that dampens the throttle responnse. This limitation can be overcome by a programer

 

the deals vary greatly. i traded my 04 lariat with 23k miles for an 05 KR. it was 9k out the door, tax license etc. this was after a month of waiting. i also had an offer of 12k at one dealer and 13k at another. both dealers after telling me that was the best they could do called me and said to come in and talk again. (that pi$$es me of when they do that. iask for the best price and then they lie. maybe they justify it as negotiating but i call it lying)

i wonder what this is going to do for sales when the 06's come out. they are dumping a bunch of new trucks on the street to clear the lots. this is depressing the value of 02 03 and 04's. now when some one goes in to buy an 06 with no incentives and a tradein truck that is worh 6k less than it was before the family plan will they buy? i kinda doubt it. that was my main motivation for doing it now. plus i thought the KR was pretty sharp.

 

That's some interesting discussion, projetmech. I am thinking along the same lines. Still haven't totally said "no" yet. Stealership calls daily.