As mentioned, the 2005 model year brings a choice of three engines to the Ford F-150 lineup: a 4.2-liter V6 rated at 202 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque; a 4.6-liter V8 rated at 231 horsepower and 293 pound-feet of torque; and a 5.4-liter V8 rated at 300 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque.We found the 5.4-liter engine smooth and quiet. It delivers quicker acceleration than previous-generation F-150s, but doesn't seem as responsive as, say, the Nissan Titan. The 5.4-liter Triton V8 is an overhead-cam engine with three valves per cylinder (as opposed to the two-valve 4.6-liter). Ford says it offers the best fuel consumption of any V8 engine it has ever built with an EPA-rated 15/19 mpg City/Highway with two-wheel drive. The new 4R75E high-capacity four-speed automatic transmission that comes with it is smooth and responsive, downshifting quickly and crisply when you punch it, and shifting almost seamlessly when cruising.
The 4.6-liter V8 is an overhead cam engine with aluminum heads. Ninety percent of its torque is available at just 2000 rpm for strong towing performance and solid acceleration when hauling heavy loads. It's rated 15/19 mpg.
The 4.2-liter V6 is an attractive option for work trucks. It's a nice, smooth engine and we liked the 2005 XL model we drove with it, though performance is sluggish by modern standards. A V6 two-wheel drive automatic rates 16/20 mpg.
The power rack-and-pinion steering in the F-150 is exemplary. It's responsive, without hesitation or delay without being darty or overly quick or nervous. The truck tracks like a laser beam, turns in quickly, and recovers very quickly even with no load in the bed.
The brakes are smooth and responsive. They start slowing the truck just a little way into the pedal travel, and the more you push the pedal, the more acute the braking becomes; the absence of dead space in the pedal travel is a welcome relief from typical truck practice. All F-150s come with four-wheel vented disc brakes with ABS.
The F-150 rides smooth and firm, more like a Lincoln LS sports sedan than a truck, with a minimum of body roll in the corners, and a nice, plush ride over cobbled pavement, rutted dirt roads, and freeway slabs. We found this to be true in all the models we drove. Among them: an XLT SuperCab 4X4, a Lariat SuperCab 4X2 Styleside with a 6.5-foot bed, an XL with a standard cab, and an FX4 SuperCrew. We were delighted by the ride of the FX4. It seems smoother than most off-road pickups. It offered a firm but comfortable ride around Los Angeles even with no weight in the bed to smooth out the rear suspension.
The F-150's excellent ride and handling are benefits of its fully boxed, partially hydroformed frame, stronger, stiffer and heavier than any previous Ford pickup frame. It's the seven-crossmember skeleton onto which everything else bolts, and accounts for quite a bit of the nearly 675 pounds more weight of the new F-150 compared to the old truck. The frame is nine times more resistant to twisting and 50 percent more resistant to bending than the old C-shaped frame.
The front suspension is a completely new double-wishbone style for both 2WD and 4WD versions. The rear suspension now has outboard, rather than inboard, shock absorbers to control the rear end of the truck better in quick maneuvers, along with wider, heavier three-inch leaf springs. The shock position also provides better control on washboard surfaces, reducing the tendency to skate around in bumpy corners. Liquid-filled motor mounts and other a long list of other measures keeps vibration and noise to a bare minimum.
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