New Ford F-150 to Feature EgoBoost
No, that's no typo in the headline. The best-selling vehicle in America is getting a major powertrain upgrade for the 2011 model year, with four new engine choices and a fresh six-speed automatic that will be standard across the lineup. Of course, the big news is that this will include one of Ford's high-efficiency EcoBoost engines, but now that the specs are out, it seems obvious that the focus here is more about boosting customers' self esteem than the fuel economy of the Ford F-150.
May the TwinForce be with You
Here's the deal: In addition to that EcoBoost mill, the Ford F-150 will also offer a base 3.7-liter V-6 that makes 302 hp and 278 lb.-ft. of torque, a 5.0-liter V-8 capable of 360 horses and 380 lb.-ft. of twist, and the big 6.2-liter V-8 that leverages its 411 hp and 434 lb.-ft. of torque to get top billing in the F-150 Raptor and Super Duty. It's the usual kind of "strong, stronger, strongest" approach that one would expect from any automaker.
But Ford then uses the new 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 to deliver some 365 hp and 420 lb.-ft. of torque, while also achieving a fuel-economy improvement of "up to 20 percent" as compared to the current F-150 when packing the Blue Oval's 5.4-liter V-8. At its most optimistic, the end result would a full-size pickup that attains a relatively amazing 17 mpg city/24 mpg highway'”a 2011 Honda Accord with a V-6 and six-speed manual transmission goes 17/26'”along with a best-in-class maximum trailer tow and payload ratings of 11,300 lbs. and 3,060 lbs., respectively.
In other words, you get exactly the kind of results you'd expect from an engine that was originally called the "TwinForce" powerplant before taking on its current, more environmentally friendly moniker.
The Case for a Fuel-Efficient F-150
Right now, the EcoBoost positioning is much like that of BMW's hybrids. It offers a way for drivers to enjoy ridiculous power numbers without feeling guilty about all the gasoline that's being sucked down in the process. Witness the EcoBoost Ford Flex. Yes, I'm sure drivers enjoy its 355 hp and 350 lb.-ft. of torque, and I bet they feel happy knowing it gets better fuel efficiency than it would with an old-school V-8, but the net result is still a woeful 16 mpg city/21 mpg highway.
But with the F-150, the company could tune that EcoBoost to deliver torque and horsepower closer to the low 300s, or even a tad under, then put its already impressive weight-reduction program into overdrive and end up with a truck that attains EPA ratings in the upper teens/upper 20s and still provides a fair amount of "real" pickup functionality.
Remember, those power numbers may seem low, but they are more than competitive at the low end of the full-size pickup segment: For example, GM offers a V-6 that's worth just 195 hp and 260 lb.-ft. on the starter Silverado, and the next engine size up reaches a mere 302 hp/305 lb.-ft. of torque. And as I just mentioned, the F-150 itself opens with a less robust V-6.
If the EcoBoost is supposed to be all about fuel efficiency, why not make the most of it?
A Four-Cylinder Full-Size Pickup?
It may seem like blasphemy at first, but there's nothing inherently wrong with the idea. The new Ford Explorer, recall, will holster an EcoBoost I4 capable of 237 hp (roughly 40 more horses than available on the entry Silverado) and 250 lb.-ft. of torque (just 10 fewer lb.-ft. than the base Bowtie rival). And the powerplant will be pulling around a vehicle that weighs north of 4,500 lbs. This is a few hundred less than the F-150 weighs, but that's where the curb weight cuts would come in.
Or, put it all together by reviving the Ford Explorer Sport Trac'”scheduled to get the axe along with the body-on-frame Explorer'”as a four-cylinder, unibody pickup-type vehicle. It would be a low-cost, low-risk proposition that makes exactly the same amount of sense as the new Explorer.
And likely get better gas mileage, too.