After 3 days in the new F-150XLT Lariat Sport
By Gary Lewis
A review of the 2016 Ford F-150 Sport
It was time to get back in a Ford F-150 and the day the truck was ready for me was the day Bend, Oregon, got hit by a dump of snow. Steve Devere met me at the dealership. It was his day off but he came in anyway and spent most of an hour explaining the truck to me. I love that about Robberson Ford. Hometown service.
We settled on a 2016 F-150 XLT Lariat in the Sport edition with 46 miles on the odometer. White or black - either way was fine with me. We settled on white, because we're going to put our Frontier Unlimited logos on this truck and drive it on our TV shoots. And also because with a white truck, it doesn't show the dirt as bad. And this thing is going to get dirty.
What did I want from the truck? Four-wheel drive, of course, but also leather seats, the upgraded sound system, four doors, back seats, a place for the dog, a shorter box and torque. With good highway mileage. That was why we went with the 3.5-liter V6 Eco-boost turbo.
In the three days I've had it so far, I haven't been able to take it out of four-wheel drive. We have ice and snow everywhere. I can't say how fast it is, but it sure tracks well, up and down hill. Sure-footed.
This thing is loaded with features and I am going to figure out how everything works. Eventually.
One of the trick options is Active Park Assist which uses ultrasonic sensors to detect a parking space and automatically steers the vehicle into the space. We were at Jackson's Corner for dinner and there was a place along the curb. I didn't use Active Park Assist, because I CAN DO THIS MYSELF. Twelve inches from the curb, thank you very much. But I will try it later for sure.
The rear view camera is nice, but more than that, this truck has cameras all the way around it. The touch screen stitches the images together to help the driver in and out of tight spaces. It's a nice feature.
Heated seats, a heated steering wheel, LED mirror lights, 120-volt receptacles. Nice. But what I really like is how much room Ford builds into the cab. The console is huge and the back seat is built for Americans with separate climate zones for everyone.
The best way to figure out everything else this truck will do for me is to take it on a long trip. I'm thinking California. With a good rifle and some Nosler E-Tips. Wild boar. Yah, that sounds good. We'll get there fast, once we get south of this snow and ice.
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