My - Completely Unbiased Test Drive Comparison Of F150 Xlt And 1500 Lt

[old-chevy-dude]

********First off, this is not a bashing thread, if it heads that direction I will ask for it to be closed********

 

I was invited by my dealer to participate in the GM- Mainstreet in Motion Test Drive in Los Angeles on 4.10.2011.

 

for those that don't know what this is here is the website: http://www.mainstreetinmotion.com/

 

 

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I am going to claim this as MY unbiased comparison because I currently own both Ford and GM products, and have owned both side by side for the past 25 years. I have no real loyalty to either brand, I buy what fits my needs and tastes..

 

 

GM had vehicles from most of their major competitors on-hand for side by side comparisons, as I understand it the competitor vehicles were supplied by the competitor, and they had representatives on-hand to answer questions on their platforms.

 

Dodge chose not to participate, so I have no info on the Dodge Rams Vs the GM's.

 

Ford provided 1 Truck, and F-150 XLT 5.0 V8 to compare to the Chevy Silverado 1500 LT 5.3L V8 (or GMC Sierra 1500 SLE).

 

Both were equipped for the MSRP of $31,500.

 

in that range the GM/chevy comes with Auto HVAC, GPS,USB, OnStar, Auto-Dim mirrors (these are the options that stood out to me), Dual Power Front Seats, Front, Side, Head Airbags.

 

the Ford came with Auto HVAC, USB, Turn Signal Towing Mirrors with blind spot mirror, Side Bed Steps, Rear Tail Gate Step, Power Driver, Manual Passenger Seat, Front and Side Airbags (no head).

 

 

 

I didn't take any pictures of the GM as we all know what they look like, I did take some specific pictures of some of the Ford options I would like to see GM offer..

 

Bed Side Steps, that slide under the truck to make access to the side of the bed easier..

 

 

Tail Gate step:

 

 

 

mirrors with build in blind spot mirror, (while I like design of the GM mirrors better, I like this option)

 

 

Dash Gauge Layout, I think this is far superior to the GM layout, I have to move left to right to see the fuel, oil, volt, temp gauges..

 

 

 

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Headroom:

 

 

Ford:

 

 

GM:

 

 

My daughter is 47" tall

 

as you can see, in the Ford my daughter was able to stand completely upright and still had room above her head, While in the GM she could not stand upright.

 

This is an area of irritation for me, I am 6'1" with the seat in the full down position my hair rubs the ceiling of my truck, in the Ford I can put both my hand atop my head and still not touch the ceiling.

 

 

REAR PASSENGER SPACE:

 

the Ford has a lot more space between the rear seat and front seats, the leg room is incredible, in my GM with the passenger seat all the way back, my 6 year old daughters feet touch the front seat, in the Ford she has over 8 inches between her feet and the front seat:

 

FORD:

 

GM:

 

 

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Ok now the good stuff..

 

 

Videos of the test drive, my Wife was holding the camera, the jiggling you see is us going over logs, ropes, rubber tires, etc on the road course..

 

 

FORD F150:

 

notice that in the Ford going over these things is very violent, to the point of PAINFUL to your spine from the jolt, The Ford suspension rebounds WAY too much. as a result, notice the cornering, I was forced to take the corners wide, the back end of the truck just would not trail, it felt like the truck was going to roll over and these turns were between 20 and 30 mph, any faster and the back end of the truck would not swing around, the Steering was very loose and sloppy..

 

Overall turning radius was horrible, the Truck CANNOT make a full circle within it's own length, what I mean by this is if you turn full lock and make a 360 degree circle, the truck is 18.5' long(223 inches), making a full circle the overall diameter of that circle is over 24" feet.

 

The truck labored, on cornering and acceleration, the added head room makes it feel top heavy , the box moves against the cab, making it feel squirmy in the softest of cornering..

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIl7vym0oX8

 

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GM

 

with the slightly bigger motor, the GM accelerates better, additionally the stiffer suspension kept the jolts to a minimum, the GM appeared to have a slightly higher stance that the Ford, though overall it is not as tall (less head room) the Ford comes in at 76.5 Inches tall the GM at 74 Inches. But due to the body design, the ford appears to have a lower stance.

 

The stiffer suspension results in less rebound and the ride over the obstacles was not nearly as jolting.. the rear of the Truck trails nicely and I was able to take the corners at 35 - 40 mph (compared to 20 -30 mph in the Ford) and the truck didn't labor in the turns, the steering was tight and controlled.

 

the GM is longer than the Ford, 227" vs the Fords 223" in a full circle turn the GM can turn in almost it's length, making the overall diameter of the turn @ 19.7 Feet, meaning lock to lock the GM turns tighter..

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl2quc-rzM8

 

 

 

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My overall opinion, I like the features and the interior space of the Ford over the GM, but it ends there, the Ford handles like a beached whale, I didn't feel safe driving it, and my Wife was physically scared during the test run, she said she felt as if she was going to fall out.. My daughter told me the bouncing over the logs made her back hurt..

 

 

 

Also though there wasn't an F-250 to compare too, I did get to drive the 2500HD and that is comparable to the interior space of the F150, I didn't realize that the interior of the 2500 was larger than the 1500, it is higher and has more rear leg room.

 

Handling, didn't even compare, the 2500 out performed both the Ford and the 1500 GMs, that diesel is a monster and it corners on rails.. makes me wish I had bought that in lue of the Avalanche..

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ob30qhvNk8

[old-chevy-dude]

I also test drove the following:

 

Cruz

Volt

Impala LTZ

Malibu LTZ

Camaro RS V6

Camaro SS V8

Corvette Grand Touring

Buick LaCrosse

Buick LaCerne

Buick Regal

Acura TL (to compare to the Buicks and Impala)

Ford Taurus Limited (to compare to the Buicks and Impala)

Acadia

Terrian

Tahoe

Suburban

Denali versions of all the Trucks and Suvs

 

 

we were there from 10am until 5pm.. was lots of fun and a great way to test all the GM vehicles.

 

I was a little disappointed that the Cadillac lines was not present, I really wanted to test the new CTS-V Coupe.

[Ianf]

Thanks, Nice article.

 

I currently have a rental 2010 F150 XLT Crew 4X4 for the week while my is in for body work. I agree that the Chevrolet handles way better and especially in turns. Surprisingly the road noise in the F150 was way louder than my LS crewcab even with my snows currently on. I have the 4.8L 4speed auto and i feel that it is faster and more responsive than the 5.0L.

 

A lot more room underhood in the chev and I do not like the way the ford grill is mounted and the fact the box constantly seems to be moving around in mirror behind me.

 

I really think the F150 dash layout is superior as well, but, the door panels on the F150 are hard plastic with little padding.

 

Cannot wait to get my 1500 LS back later this week.

[old-chevy-dude]

yeah IanF, that was one of the most noticable things on the Ford, the box moves A LOT and against the truck, almost fighting it in cornering.. it felt very sloppy to me..

[music]

Thanks for the review. According to their specs, the HD has about the same overall leg space as the 1500. Maybe different seat travel?

[old-chevy-dude]

Thanks for the review. According to their specs, the HD has about the same overall leg space as the 1500. Maybe different seat travel?

 

 

Ford = 43.5 rear leg room

 

Chevy/GM = 38. 7 rear leg room

 

 

 

that 5 inches makes a HUGE different, especially with a child, whose knees don't reach the edge of the bench so they are forced to have their legs stick out.

[music]

Ford = 43.5 rear leg room

 

Chevy/GM = 38. 7 rear leg room

 

that 5 inches makes a HUGE different, especially with a child, whose knees don't reach the edge of the bench so they are forced to have their legs stick out.

 

Yes, the F150 interior is larger. The Ford bed is smaller than the GM by a similar amount (3" shorter maybe?). Kinda a give and take, since they're about the same length overall. I was referring to the 2500HD crew interior being the same as the 1500 (you mentioned it being similar to the Ford, or I misunderstood?).

[Superperv23]

Good write up, the look on your daughters face is hilarious, not hard to tell which interior she liked more haha

 

I found the F150 kind of gimmicky when I looked at it, like that tailgate you show, it seems you pay more for stuff you will rarely use compared to stuff you will use everyday.

[MikeNH]

Good review but both Ford and GM have the same exact airbag configurations. The normal front ones, seatback mounted torso bags and then curtain bags that deploy from the headliner. This is the first place I've heard the 5.0 described as sluggish though, and from the videos I've seen it should school a 5.3 in a race. Maybe it had something stupid like 3.08 gears killing it though.

[old-chevy-dude]

Ford = 43.5 rear leg room

 

Chevy/GM = 38. 7 rear leg room

 

that 5 inches makes a HUGE different, especially with a child, whose knees don't reach the edge of the bench so they are forced to have their legs stick out.

 

Yes, the F150 interior is larger. The Ford bed is smaller than the GM by a similar amount (3" shorter maybe?). Kinda a give and take, since they're about the same length overall. I was referring to the 2500HD crew interior being the same as the 1500 (you mentioned it being similar to the Ford, or I misunderstood?).

 

 

 

yeah sorry I mis-understood..

 

 

rear seat may have same specs 1500 to 2500 but the cab of the 2500 is taller, the interior of the cab is higher, my daughter was able to stand up fully in the 2500 like the F150, but not in the 1500..

[old-chevy-dude]

Good review but both Ford and GM have the same exact airbag configurations. The normal front ones, seatback mounted torso bags and then curtain bags that deploy from the headliner. This is the first place I've heard the 5.0 described as sluggish though, and from the videos I've seen it should school a 5.3 in a race. Maybe it had something stupid like 3.08 gears killing it though.

 

 

quite possible it was a gearing issue, it wasn't sluggish, it was laboring, i.e. High RPMs and not going anywhere..

[05GMCZ71]

No. That is typical of Ford engineering, revs like crazy but lacks the performance.

[P71_CrownVic]

GMs don't need the stair cases to access the bed...because they are normal sized.

 

Which brings me to this question...why is the bed of an F-150 so un-Godly deep...but on Ford's real work truck (Super Dutys) the bed is normal height? I can reach over the side rails of a Super Duty and touch the bottom of the bed. I cannot do that with the F-150.

 

Good review but both Ford and GM have the same exact airbag configurations. The normal front ones, seatback mounted torso bags and then curtain bags that deploy from the headliner. This is the first place I've heard the 5.0 described as sluggish though, and from the videos I've seen it should school a 5.3 in a race. Maybe it had something stupid like 3.08 gears killing it though.

 

Highest you can go with a 5.0 is 3.31.

[marine_devildog801]

Good review. So good, I just went to their site and reserved a spot in August when they come to me.

 

What kind of "test" did they let you do in the Camaro? That is what I already can't wait for.

[MikeNH]

GMs don't need the stair cases to access the bed...because they are normal sized.

 

Which brings me to this question...why is the bed of an F-150 so un-Godly deep...but on Ford's real work truck (Super Dutys) the bed is normal height? I can reach over the side rails of a Super Duty and touch the bottom of the bed. I cannot do that with the F-150.

 

Good review but both Ford and GM have the same exact airbag configurations. The normal front ones, seatback mounted torso bags and then curtain bags that deploy from the headliner. This is the first place I've heard the 5.0 described as sluggish though, and from the videos I've seen it should school a 5.3 in a race. Maybe it had something stupid like 3.08 gears killing it though.

 

Highest you can go with a 5.0 is 3.31.

 

The GMs aren't much better, I'm just over 6' tall and I can just barely touch the bed floor from the side. Regarding the bed step, i wonder what the measurment is from ground to a lowered tailgate on both. I am on the phone right now so i cant easily search. As for the gearing, the 3.08 was just an example. I don't really care what the tallest gear ratio is as I'd never buy a truck configured like that.