Passes the Tough Mudder Test, Sort of. - 2015 Ford F-150 Long-Term Road Test

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  geezermike Member Posts: 22

  April 2016

  Exactly the write up I like the most: evaluation, perception, and comparison to help put it all into perspective and give me a point of reference in my own experiences.
  
  Love the Ram ride and the EcoDiesel. No other ride even comes close empty or towing. But the 2.7 as an $800 option (vs. like $4000 for EcoDiesel engine with its mandatory options) is a lot easier to live with. If Ford could only get the MPG up to 20+, I would live with the seats and ride.

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  g35buf Member Posts: 89

  April 2016 edited April 2016

  I haven't found many luxury cars I've owned or driven that match my RAM 1500 Laramie EcoD for comfort and quiet on road trips. It has taken over as the 'must drive' for anything over a 50 mile run in our household, The seat cooling in the RAM is top notch as well...Although not sure I'd want Tough Mudder competitors sitting directly on the black perforated leather without a FULL clean up...Also, hard to get below 20 mpg no matter where and how you drive and pretty hard to get below 24 mpg on a true road trip.

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  bohio Member Posts: 59

  April 2016

  Ditto the sentiments above. It's why I ultimately bought a RAM (2016 4WD ED Bighorn CC 6'4"), and it's comfier for hauling people than my wife's BMW X3 (2016) and hauls huge amounts of stuff. In my last fill-up, I pulled a trailer for 150 of the 550 miles, weighing 2,300 lbs on the way out and 4,000 lbs on the way back. Fuel economy on that tank dropped from the typical 24.X MPG to 23.3 MPG. But the big RAM is oh-so-comfy. The only "con" so far is parking it, but we live in central NH and big spots abound, especially if you don't mind walking a bit to the store, etc. I would never want to drive this beast in Boston traffic or the North End... I thought real hard about buying the F150, but cannot condone Ford's inability to get their claimed EPA fuel economy. The RAM ride as 'geezermike' put it is a significant benefit in our truck, and considering the BMW prefers a diet of premium gasoline, the RAM is more economical to run even on prolonged road trips. Kudos to Edmunds for publishing their LTR content and reviews in general. It helps us (consumers) make better decisions vs. taking a chance after a 20 minute test drive of X, Y, and Z.

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  allthingshonda Member Posts: 878

  April 2016

  I'm no engineer but I think the weak spot in the Ford's ride quality is the light weight aluminum body. All trucks ride better when they're is a load in the bed. Solid axle with leaf springs and most of the weight up front makes for a jittery ride unloaded. Ford made this worst with the light weight aluminum bed. There is now even less weight in the rear.
  
  The Ram is the exception with it's rear coil springs which rides better than most cars. However there is always a trade off. Rams when loaded similarly to a Chevy or Ford will squat considerably more and the ride will suffer more than in the Chevy or Ford and they can't haul as much in the bed. Rams top out at 1,700lbs, Chevy 2,200lbs and Ford an impressive 3,000lbs.

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