2018 Ford F-150 Long-Term Road Test - Introduction

Comments

• sneddren Member Posts: 14

  January 2018

  Has Edmunds ever had a truck with a bed longer than 5.5' in its long term fleet? I have owned lots of trucks over the years and have never had a short bed. It just seems that at some point y'all should have a full sized bed on a truck. It definitely will change the parking lot impressions.

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• emajor Member Posts: 332

  January 2018

  "We paid full sticker price because this was a custom order"
  
  And thus did Ford rejoice exceedingly. You probably gave them well over 5 figures in profit buying from a class of vehicle in which nearly 5 figures of discounts are baked into every one sitting on a dealer lot.
  
  With those off pavement pics and the intentional selection of the FX4 package, I'm hoping to see an off road comparison between this, the ZR2, and the re-shocked Tacoma.

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• actualsize Member Posts: 451

  January 2018

  sneddren said:

  Has Edmunds ever had a truck with a bed longer than 5.5' in its long term fleet? I have owned lots of trucks over the years and have never had a short bed. It just seems that at some point y'all should have a full sized bed on a truck. It definitely will change the parking lot impressions.

  I get it, believe me. I miss the crew cab dually I had when I lived in Az. Our thinking goes like this: 1) We assume nearly anyone can imagine what a 6.5-foot bed can do that a 5-foot bed cannot. 2) crew cab + 5.5-foot bed is the most common configuration sold. 3) subtle differences in 5-foot beds (or cargo management options) may be useful information for buyers who won't pair a 6.5-foot bed with a crew cab -- and that's most of them. 4) even if 2) and 3) were not true, we can't afford to pair a 6.5-foot bed with a crew cab because the extra wheelbase is simply something we cannot easily cope with. Our offices are in a dense part of town with miniature public parking space and parking aisle dimensions; at work we have to park in an underground garage; some of our editors have to park curbside in narrow neighborhoods. It just won't work.
  
  It's crew/short for us, and we figure that 5) the degree with which we struggle with a 5-foot bed (or don't) will help those who aren't sure which bed to buy. I don't think the reverse would be as true if we bought the 6.5-foot bed and always had an easy time of it.
  
  

  Twitter: @Edmunds_Test

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• sneddren Member Posts: 14

  January 2018

  actualsize said:

  sneddren said:

  Has Edmunds ever had a truck with a bed longer than 5.5' in its long term fleet? I have owned lots of trucks over the years and have never had a short bed. It just seems that at some point y'all should have a full sized bed on a truck. It definitely will change the parking lot impressions.

  I get it, believe me. I miss the crew cab dually I had when I lived in Az. Our thinking goes like this: 1) We assume nearly anyone can imagine what a 6.5-foot bed can do that a 5-foot bed cannot. 2) crew cab + 5.5-foot bed is the most common configuration sold. 3) subtle differences in 5-foot beds (or cargo management options) may be useful information for buyers who won't pair a 6.5-foot bed with a crew cab -- and that's most of them. 4) even if 2) and 3) were not true, we can't afford to pair a 6.5-foot bed with a crew cab because the extra wheelbase is simply something we cannot easily cope with. Our offices are in a dense part of town with miniature public parking space and parking aisle dimensions; at work we have to park in an underground garage; some of our editors have to park curbside in narrow neighborhoods. It just won't work.
  
  It's crew/short for us, and we figure that 5) the degree with which we struggle with a 5-foot bed (or don't) will help those who aren't sure which bed to buy. I don't think the reverse would be as true if we bought the 6.5-foot bed and always had an easy time of it.
  
  

  I was prepared to not want to hear an answer but this actually makes sense. It's why I bought a VW Rabbit for in town use and a full size pickup for hunting and hauling. Thanks for the context. I guess it also explains why there's never been one of those ridiculously long extended SUVs in the long term fleet.

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• actualsize Member Posts: 451

  January 2018

  emajor said:

  "We paid full sticker price because this was a custom order"
  
  And thus did Ford rejoice exceedingly. You probably gave them well over 5 figures in profit buying from a class of vehicle in which nearly 5 figures of discounts are baked into every one sitting on a dealer lot.

  I got my wires crossed. We didn't pay full fare. I confused this with another vehicle. We paid $54,129, which included a $750 rebate and a discount of nearly $3,000 from Galpin Ford.
  
  

  Twitter: @Edmunds_Test

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• uregina09 Member Posts: 1

  February 2018

  It's February 15 and still no update since the introduction? I was hoping this long-term test would help me decide whether to order my 2018 F150 with the 2.7 or 3.5 engine.
  

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