"Maxima Speed" (maximaspeed)
05/15/2018 at 22:58 • Filed to: None
3
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"Maxima Speed" (maximaspeed)
05/15/2018 at 22:58 • Filed to: None | 3
| 12 |
So, I was running around with one of my buddies (also my boss) today and we were supposed to be doing some work to get ready for a business meeting tomorrow but, my buddy just sold his truck today (rather sooner than he expected). We started talking about trucks and one thing lead to another, and we got distracted and decided to go truck shopping instead of working. Anyways, he test drove this particular example and, because he wanted to get the wife’s input on the truck, the salesman let my friend take it home and keep it overnight. Obviously I jumped at the opportunity to drive it a bit to give some feedback, (secretly so I would have something to write for Oppo). Mini-Review ahead. Also Turrrbooooooo!!!!
Exterior Styling: To be honest I’m not much of a truck guy, so looks do nothing for me, but that goes for all trucks newer than 1990 for me. I’m not a particular fan of this color and neither is my friend. The ideal color for him is Ruby Red but this exact truck in the right color sold two hours before we got there and was actually being prepped for the customer when we were looking around. It is nice that the wheels and tires actually seem like the right size for the vehicle something I can’t necessarily say for the Chevy’s but that’s personal preference.
Forgive the lack of good interior photos, I didn’t have time.
Interior: First of all, very spacious, huge amounts of head room and foot room in the front and back. The rear seats fold up flat against the rear bulkhead creating a very spacious stowage area (the rear door also opens wide enough you could potentially use all that space putting something large in there).
Up front the center console can be folded rearward revealing a quite spacious center seat. I feel confident in saying that six adults could be accommodated with out unreasonable discomfort for relatively short distances.
The interior appointments were quite lackluster considering the trim level and and what the original price point was. Vast expanses of hard gray plastic, while utilitarian, do not appeal to me. The cloth seats were ok, but not great. I didn’t NOT like he headrests, especially for the center front seat, as it was raked forward at a ridiculously uncomfortable angle. There were heated seats but we didn’t test them as it was already very hot out.
Tech: The touch screen was adequate but, other than a way to provide phone connectivity it had nothing over a good old button and knob radio set in any other car. The exception to that would be a backup camera which was quite handy, as it provided a good clear view of the rear and had lines showing projected trajectory (hmmm, is trajectory right? Who cares). Not sure if this is standard on touchscreen cars, but the screen brightness did not adjust based on ambient light level, this was annoying when we went to dinner and came back after dark.
Performance and Handling: He he he, *rubs hands in glee*. I saved the best for last. First let me preface this by saying, I have never rode in, or driven, a turbo charged vehicle so I may be somewhat biased here as his was an entirely new experience. This one was equipped with the 3.5 liter ecoboost. My buddy drives like he’s 80 and he would only half heartedly get on the gas when the salesman urged him to see what it had. When I drove it I had no such qualms. We took it a short ways out a country road and when we reached the straight I put the go pedal to the floor. My first reaction was “where is my instant throttle response” my second reaction (when the 6 speed auto downshifted and the turbo kicked in) was pure shock, “no truck has any right to be this quick!” I thought, but I was also grinning ear to ear and had to immediately do it again. The delay seems to be around 1-1.5 seconds from pedal down to go time, which seems like an eternity compared to an NA car. But it’s not bad considering it’s an automatic which takes it’s good old time deciding what it would like to do. The transmission did feel like a weak point in that it took to long to downshift, even on hills at slow speeds, and it held the gear far to long on throttle let up. Full throttle to zero throttle the current gear just hung there engine racing with a tad of engine braking for almost a full second. This was disco setting to me but, like I said, maybe its because it’s a turbo? I’d be interested if you all could educate me on that.
Braking was good and very easy to control, not like many newer vehicles which seem to have touchy brakes.
Cornering was........ not confidence inspiring. After the first corner I decided that handling was not its forte. While the rear is very planted (surpringly so for a pickup truck) the front end was floaty and seemed to want to push or of corners. While I didn’t go anywhere near the limit I had the distinct feeling that in low traction situations the Ford would understeer like a pig. Also there was ZERO road feel from the front.
I can’t make up my mind on star ratings as have mixed feelings about many aspects of the vehicle, however I could definitely say that if toyota didn’t exist, and I was in the market for a pickup truck I would buy a Ford. Also booooooost
Thanks for reading you’re the best
BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo
> Maxima Speed
05/15/2018 at 23:06 |
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My dad has a 2.7 EcoBoost SuperCrew.
What a fucking rocket.
60 in 5.7 IN A CREW CAB 2.7!!!!!!!
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Maxima Speed
> BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo
05/15/2018 at 23:12 |
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Yeah I was blown away by the acceleration. It did seem to lose all its torque at least 1500 to 2000 rpm before redline but on boost its was startlingly quick.
atfsgeoff
> Maxima Speed
05/15/2018 at 23:44 |
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needs moar bed
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Maxima Speed
> atfsgeoff
05/16/2018 at 00:01 |
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Yeah, this is the 5 1/2 ft bed. Needs to be the 6 and a half footer really.
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atfsgeoff
> Maxima Speed
05/16/2018 at 00:03 |
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6-1/2 is an improvement, but I really like trucks with the full 8 feet. I’m guessing they don’t offer the F-150 with a crew cab
and
long bed, though.
KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
> Maxima Speed
05/16/2018 at 00:08 |
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I thought the 2.7 Ecoboost was great at 325 HP & 375 TQ and then I checked out the 3.5 Ecoboost 365 HP & 420 TQ (Raptor’s 3.5L - 450 HP & 510 TQ)
Holy Shitballs!
CRider
> Maxima Speed
05/16/2018 at 02:45 |
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Anyone who buys a Tundra over this is insane. Brand new 5.7 Tundras get 14 MPG .
jimz
> Maxima Speed
05/16/2018 at 04:59 |
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I drove one of the 3.0 Powerstroke trucks today.
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jimz
> atfsgeoff
05/16/2018 at 09:02 |
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nope. have to go F250/350.
Hammerdown
> Maxima Speed
05/16/2018 at 09:31 |
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I have a 2013 F-150 crew cab with the 5.5 ft bed. Same layout as this one but the previous generation. That motor is nuts. My dad was giving me a hard time for buying a V6 until I had him drive it. When the turbos spool these things get after it.
I’m also averaging 19mpg hwy and 16mpg city without being overly conservative.
As for the comments about the 5.5 ft bed, the 6 1/2 ft beds use a 2 piece driveshaft. The carrier bearing between the two shafts is a weak point on these trucks (at least the 09-14's). Also, parking the 5.5 ft bed is a challenge enough in an urban area. I wouldn’t want another 12 inches of wheelbase and overall length.
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Maxima Speed
> CRider
05/16/2018 at 09:59 |
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Yeah but toyota reliability?
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CRider
> Maxima Speed
05/16/2018 at 18:12 |
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After 11 years in production it better be reliable. The current Tundra debuted the same year as the Jeep JK. When the current Tundra was introduced George W Bush was president. That was the year Google bought YouTube and Pluto lost planet status. If the Tundra could talk, it would tell you to get off its lawn and pull up your pants.