1994 Ford F-150 Review (continued)
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Driving Impressions

full-size Ford pickups are solidly built, and that's the way they ride solidly. Our F-150 continued the tradition. Ford spends a lot of time and money proclaiming the ride and handling advantages of its Twin I-Beam front suspension. We can only say that it seems to work well. In 4x4 Ford pickups, it's called Twin Traction Beam, which means that each front wheel is supported by an axle arm and coil spring and reacts to road surfaces independently. Gas-pressurized shocks are mounted at all four wheels.

The braking system is a power front disc/rear drum system with a computer-controlled anti-locking feature on the rear brakes. This has become standard full-size and midsize pickup braking. It works well, with no appreciable fade or shudder.

Power on our test truck was the 5.8-liter 210-hp V8, the latest version of the very popular 351 CID truck engine. It has multi-port electronic fuel injection, a computer-controlled fuel/air mixture feeding the engine for optimal performance under a wide range of climate, driving and load conditions. The transmission was a very smooth four-speed automatic with electronic shifting. The 4WD system had a two-speed transfer case with electronic shifting, an option available only on the F-150. Our test truck had the peculiar combination of this shift-on-the-fly system and manual locking front hubs. We are basically lazy and convenience-minded and thus would opt for the auto locking hubs, but 4WD purists like the ability to decide when to lock the hubs. And many 4WD purists buy Fords, hence the manual locking hub choice.

Our test truck made us feel like road gods. As a 4x4, it sat up high. The expanse of glass and the elevated seating enabled us to look down at traffic from a serene, quiet environment. A word about the quiet: Only when we put our right foot down hard did we notice any intrusions low growl as the engine spooled up rpms. Performance was great; this engine has ample power for cruising with a load in the bed or a decent-sized trailer on the back. Towing capacity on this particular rig was 7,300 pounds.