Ford F-150 Limited 4x4 Supercrew review

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Trucks are the backbone of our country. I’ve never been a “truck guy”, but recognizing them for what they are is an acknowledgement and appreciation of them. How the heck does the rest of the world get by with little vans? And what do they tow their campers, boats and other recreational vehicles with?

Ford’s F-150, the bestselling vehicle in the United States, and staring price is just over $28,000. This 2019 Limited 4x4 Supercrew model starts at $67,135 and features the twin turbocharged 3.5 liter Ecoboost V-6 engine producing 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque, class leading among gas and diesel full-size pick-ups under 8,500 lbs. gross vehicle weight rating. It’s mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission and I’m writing to tell you that it sounds good, more V-8 sounding than V-6, confirmed outside the truck, and not just artificially piped into the cabin.

Performance is impressive to the point of being fun with putting the pedal to the metal. Looking at third party performance test results, Car and Driver did a 13.7 second quarter mile at 102mph, the second quickest pick-up they have ever tested, beating the Edge ST, the first SUV from Ford Performance recently reviewed. And the Raptor for that matter. Just as impressive, and equipped with the big 22” wheels with 275 series rubber, it stopped in just 168 feet. Honestly, that is spectacular for a vehicle over 5500lbs.

Despite the mileage rating of 15 city and 18 highway, the 26 gallon tank provides plenty of range, and there’s an optional 36 gallon tank. A 170 mile round trip, almost all highway, saw 18mpg with much of the time at 75-78mph during which showed 17mpg at that speed. One notable observation was the adaptive cruise control was nearly perfect. Maybe it’s due to the higher mounting point of the sensors, but it is smartly programmed, didn’t rush up on slower traffic, kept an acceptable following distance and sped up smartly when a gap opened from a car moving over.

Opening the one of the four doors reveals the automated floorboard appearing from underneath the truck which is really convenient. Just don’t walk into it shin first! When they retract, they make a satisfying and positive sound of engagement. I’d love to know what Ford did to assure their continued operation many years and miles down the road while subjected to the elements and road grime. Other automated features include remote start and tailgate release from the key fob.

Once the tailgate is opened, a center button releases a pull out and drop-down step along with the yellow tip of a rod that can be pulled out and stood upright to assist with accessing and leaving the bed of the pickup. Absolutely brilliant in its simplicity and execution. 

Entering the Limited edition, you’re greeted with two tone leather covered seats and leather dash with a well thought out gauge display and easily figured out infotainment system with various display options. The navigation has a funny quirk that this and the previous Ford had. When you drive right past the front door of your destination, Home Depot of course, it still doesn’t know you’ve arrived until a little later. Thank goodness the system overall is very easy to use because if you only have a vehicle for a week, a 400+ page owner’s manual can be a significant commitment in a short amount of time. Alternatively, the Apple Car Play is works great as it always should.

A huge, wide, two level center console offers a lot of storage space, maybe enough for a laptop. The seats are immensely comfortable for the long haul, but not hauling around a turn but that’s not unexpected in a pickup truck. The seats are also heated and ventilated, the term captain’s chair immediately comes to mind due to their size, presence and comfort. Oh, they have a massage function as well! The seats don't hide the shuddery, jittery ride but despite the movement being felt in the glutes, it's still very much a luxury vehicle. 

Besides the USB outlet, there is a 12 volt household style socket which the wife said is great for drying her hair on a road trip. How many Ford engineers considered that I wonder? There is also an outlet in back and a ton of legroom. Fitting your three big work crew members back there is a non-issue with the full-size rear doors. They only nitpick from the driver’s perspective is the location of the door lock and parking brake functions.

Exploring various features, the center section of the rear window is powered and offers a nice ventilation option. Or to yell at your kids playing in the bed while you’re driving…. The sprayed bed lined offers lights in the side besides the top of the cab, as well as cargo tie down mounts.

Loaded with technology and options, it is truly a luxury vehicle that happens to have full functionality. With a sharp red paint and chrome trim, it looks like it would be owned by a successful farmer, construction or manufacturing business owner, or executive of an outdoor product company. The problem with a truck is when you do truck stuff, it many times means you’re going to be busy with projects. Or in other cases, busy having fun.

Ford Edge ST review - the big sporty SUV

When family members started adding more to their crew, us empty nesters noticed rear facing seats for the newbies take up a lot rear seat space, so much so it forced the front seat to be adjusted. The the conveniences of ride and cargo loading height then had the desire for more space added to the requirements. With two little ones, and a weekend trip somewhere, cargo space needed a boost beyond the personal or couple-sized SUV. Okay that’s cool, there’s lots of choices, but what if the bad-ass in you still wants some go-power?

Now this 2019 Ford Edge ST is the first SUV from Ford Performance rolled sporting more power, bigger wheels and a suite of technology for the occupants. Roomy, the big 6’3” athlete friend fit just fine in back, and a large cargo area allows for strollers, golf clubs, luggage and stuff from big hardware stores. Horsepower is up 20 to 335hp and the torque figure increases by 30 to 380 lb-ft. from the 2.7 liter twin turbocharged V-6. Loaded with the tech and comfort essential Equipment Group 401 A, a really nice, white paint color called White Platinum Metallic, it has an MSRP of $52,225. Base price is $42.355.  

Add some 21” black wheels with meaty 265 width tires, black mesh grills, and red brake calipers and now you’ve got a more serious looking machine that looks like it will show its taillights to the other soccer moms and baseball dads and leave competitors in plastic and chrome merping along at quarter throttle while you activated your inner g-meter.

The stiffer suspension definitely is felt and heard on the bumps but head toss isn’t bad at all. It’s a more connected feel vs. dissociation. It’s tall and so is the seating position, very upright. The combination is definitely give more truck perception car. Outward visibility is good, but there’s a lot dashboard and sloping glass held in place by long A-pillars that widen at the bottom. With the transverse mounted engine, what the heck us under all the dashboard? Is this part of hybrid space planning? The new Explorer is back to a longitudinal mounted engine which allows for lower placement in relation due to the front drive shafts and lower hood line. However the wife felt so safe in the Edge she said if we ran into an object it would take four days to get to her. Now that is a secure feeling.

Past experience with a family owned, well-used 2007 Ford Edge SEL isn’t a comparison whatsoever. The 2019 is alien technology compared to the old one. The steering wheel has lots of controls, and has a sporty look and feel although surprisingly a bit thin in some spots of its contours. Steering feel has certain firmness for further driving confidence, but if you’re looking for that easy (yet improper) two finger effort while turning, this isn’t it.

Sport mode, a button in the center of the rotary shifter increases the engine and transmission responsiveness, and also increases the engine note but it sounds like it is from the front, hence piped in as opposed to the mufflers opening up. It was tested by Car & Driver to 60mph in 5.7 seconds and a 14.3 second quarter mile at 98mph. Not bad, quick for the street, but leave your helmet at home if you hit the dragstrip. In sport mode, a tiny virtual tachometer appears on the left side of the driver’s display and also shows what gear is engaged. In non-sport mode, the tiny bar graph tachometer next to the fuel gauge bar is nearly useless in size and it’s the same color as the fuel gauge bar.

The EPA rating is 19 city, 26 highway. In the suburban shopping jungle, some idling, and turning off the engine auto off/start, 14mpg was observed, and a trip from the ‘burbs to the city and back saw 23mpg. The auto shutoff works very smoothly and starts quite rapidly, even allowing for a “jack rabbit” start with minimal hesitation.

The seats are very comfortable, but oddly the power tilt and telescoping steering wheel doesn’t have an auto-up exit position. And the panoramic moonroof shade must be fully retracted to tilt the roof for ventilation which is annoying. If you plan on venting the car when it’s parked, get your sunroof tinted.

The Edge ST has all the parking assists you could want, including an automatic parking mode that I was too far from the parked cars to fully activate. Assuming it would need to make one turn, front first, I learned reading the manual, you need to be within three feet of parked cars, and the illustration shows that it backs the car into the perpendicular space. It also offers parallel parking assist and parallel space exit as well. Although it doesn’t have a 360 camera system, the front and rear sensors work fine, but only within a couple feet.

Quirks aside, the ST is certainly a capable SUV, fulfilling two-row family needs. Styling is properly sporty, and despite feeling tall it’s braking and cornering limits are respectively high which can translate to better emergency avoidance. It’s a very comfortable cruiser and a strong contender if you want the size and the power.

The Ford Mustang GT350 and GT350R review

It’s the exhaust system. It’s an eye widening, amazing mechanical roar, both exotic and muscular at the same time. And that is in the Sport mode. In the standard mode, it’s a quiet cruiser and an excellent grand tourer. Comparisons to the BMW M4 are immediate and inevitable, it is that dialed in. Ford took the already very good Mustang platform and enhanced the suspension and drivetrain, and based on past drives of the current the model, the some interior bits as well.

The 2016 Ford Mustang GT350 is Ford’s flat plane crankshaft V-8 answer to the Camaro Z/28 but is absolutely street friendly and less expensive. The non-R version has a starting MSRP $47,995. It features a 5.2 liter V-8 rated at 524hp at 7500 rpm and a healthy 429 lb-ft. torque at 4,750 rpm. The 8000rpm redline makes for a long, hard pull to redline. With the exhaust in the quiet mode, and 80mph cruise is as silent as the BMW 3-series.

Styling takes the great lines of the current GT and adds more aggressive touches without overtly showing off, besides the stripes, of course. Two sets of twin exhaust tips are on either side of the rear fascia. The rear spoiler highlights the rear fascia and which had brilliant styling already. The front end slopes downward more than the standard GT. It’s subtle and very well done.

This particular one is owned by an avid collector and track day enthusiast, who also happens to have a GT350R as well. The R is reportedly the most track focused of the street legal factory track oriented versions of various cars he has experienced. The exhaust is louder (if you can believe it!) due to the lack of an intermediate resonator.  His opinion is that the GT350R was an
extreme choice for daily driving, and offered a quite different driving experience than the wonderful non-R GT350 changed when it was discovered the shipping blocks in the springs weren't removed.  However the Pilot Sport Cup 2s are temperature sensitive in case you want immediate fun. He knows what he’s talking about, with plenty of wheel time in nonstreet legal factory race cars.

There are no complaints about the car. It noticeably comes into the power band at 3500rpm, even to a passenger and is fully exploitable. The GT350 and R have been clocked running low 12s in the high teens in the quarter mile. A very similar trap speed to the BMW M4 and Corvette C7 manual.

The seats are excellent and the available features and amenities include a navigation system, rearview back-up camera and heated and air conditioned seats with the Technology package. MagneRide magnetic shocks are included in both the Technology and Track packages make for a firm, not harsh and nearly perfect for a performance car on the roads that were driven. A standard feature, and unheard of in street legal production cars until now, Electronic Line-Lock. It keeps the front brakes engaged while power can be applied to the rear wheels to spin the tires and warm them up for an ideal launch at the dragstrip.

Fortuitously the opportunity to hot lap a GT350R and quite a few others at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca presented itself shortly after the GT350 ride. And the R was simply fantastic. Everything about it was dialed in and despite a somewhat high hood line (not as bad as a Camaro SS), the only other two vehicles that have made such an immediately impression were the Audi R8 and Ferrari 458 despite having radically different layouts. It’s that good. The new Camaro SS, far better than the Gen. 5 from last year has the potential in Z/28 form but still will have detrimental sight lines. The ATS-V with its odd gearing, severe turbo lag and terrible Cue system isn’t even a contender. The BMW M4 is close, but the soundtrack isn't engaging and the limits aren't as brutal. Considering it further, it is reminiscent of the CLK63 and C63 Black Series cars on the track. Simply brilliant considering the weight and front engine layout.

Although dynamically different than the mid-engine exotics, the GT350R is supremely driver oriented with supportive seats, an excellent shifter, great turn-in, and a confidence inspiring level grip with no body roll and extreme traction that made one feel like a hero on the track. The engine sound with the windows open was awesome and the engine revs so high, one instinctively shifts early at 7,000 rpm. It is at that high rpm can the vibration from the engine can be felt in the shifter but that was only at full throttle. Makes one wonder how much vibration can be felt in other cars at high rpm when hiding vibration isn't a priority.

Torque was abundant on the track, following in a supercharged Cadillac CTS-V, the R would accelerate out of the turns quite nicely. Its performance level limits are seemingly immediately obtainable and not as intimidating as the Viper ACR. In a head-to-head comparison versus the amazingly capable Camaro Z/28, both driven by pro driver Randy Pobst, the R
was over a second quicker on the track. The only thing missing is a rev-match feature for downshifting. Note to Ford if ever offered: Don't put redundant buttons behind the steering wheel, the worst possible location.

Factoring in price, it truly deserved the Road & Track Performance Car of the Year. It doesn’t compromise, it is practical, has a quality feel, it's engaging and an excellent choice for a do-anything performance car. If you can give up the rear seats and plan on tracking it, get the R. It is simply a supreme track monster.

Update: Randy Pobst clocked a stunning 1:36.11 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in the GT350R. An absolutely amazing time!

Photos here:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.917600731677972.1073741881.378354382269279&type=1&l=b3ef041c3b