I really don't get the PB hate.

[Samson16]

Bonus: If I keep it, and it’s job is no longer trailer pulling, then I can lift it, put some big ‘ole tires on it and get one of those tunes you hear so much about! Maybe even a loud whistling blow off valve! Something cool like that ?

Sponsored

 

[reefer]

I wonder how much Powerboost hate would be converted to love if Ford would quit sandbagging us?

So I see the Ford Ranger Hybrid specs are finally being reported and it has 75KW traction motor,...... DOUBLE the power of the Powerboost...... And a ~12 KWH battery..... EIGHT times the size of the battery in the Powerboost

Admittedly there's far more competition in the mid sized truck arena in Australia and other markets, compared to the USA. And I can even see why Ford is Slllloooowwwww to improve the Powerboost, since nobody has yet stepped into THIS market with even a whiff of competition.

Still, there's plenty of precedent for Ford to improve on a new platform after 3 or 4 years from introduction. (See 2025 Maverick)

I'll forgive if the SuperDuty Powerboost is officially revealed soon. Like tomorrow. ?

That's plug in hybrid though.

 

[Snakebitten]

That's plug in hybrid though.

That's kinda the point. Sandbagging big time. ?

A Hybrid becomes a plug-in Hybrid as soon as you add the external charger access to the HV battery.

Of course it's a silly proposition if the HV battery is teeny tiny like the Powerboost.
A 12KW battery in the Powerboost could be plug-in or not, and I would still be happy. Just need it to be big enough that the C-rate can be brought down enough for Ford to open up the operating range and not be afraid of the 8/100 factory warranty.

 

[reefer]

That's kinda the point. Sandbagging big time. ?

A Hybrid becomes a plug-in Hybrid as soon as you add the external charger access to the HV battery.

Of course it's a silly proposition if the HV battery is teeny tiny like the Powerboost.
A 12KW battery in the Powerboost could be plug-in or not, and I would still be happy. Just need it to be big enough that the C-rate can be brought down enough for Ford to open up the operating range and not be afraid of the 8/100 factory warranty.

Yeah it is tiny. I built a bigger lion battery than that for backup power at home.

I thought they operated differently though? You charge from external source and they run until the battery dies. Guess they have different modes. Never tried one.

 

[Snakebitten]

Yeah it is tiny. I built a bigger lion battery than that for backup power at home.

I thought they operated differently though? You charge from external source and they run until the battery dies. Guess they have different modes. Never tried one.

Hybrids and Plug in Hybrids, as far as I am aware, keep a portion of the battery off-limits for charging, as well as depleting. The consumer doesn't have any gauges that indicate the real capacity of the battery. They see Fuil/empty, maybe, but the gauge is for the available portion of the battery only.

A plug-in Hybrid just affords you to start your drive with an externally pre-charged battery, so that first EV run in the morning is "on the house" so to speak, before the ICE kicks in and the vehicle is just a regular Hybrid for the rest of the trip.

 

[Davexxxx]

I agree about the marketing. 3 of my friends, all long time Ford truck guys. Two, had never even heard of it and all, I've had to do demonstrations of the PPOB, with the ICE cycling, for them to really grasp the utility.

Then of course the stigma of hybrid = Prius (underpowered). Tell them the specs. They can't really believe it until I put them behind the wheel.

Then they bring up that stupid Consumer Reports thing, that blamed the PB, for non PB specific issues.

?‍

Another marketing failure.

Had friends over yesterday. Not necessarily a Ford guy but a truck guy.

Just in normal conversation, the subject came up about how the PB powers our camper's aircon and he started asking questions, in disbelief.

"It really does that? "You mean the engine shuts off and comes back on automatically?" "It ran how long on that little fuel?"

Then on to the day to day, "A full sized truck, with that much power, getting what MPG?"

The fact is, we've seen the results of Ford not really being ready to address some of the PB's problems at the dealership level, so maybe they had more sales than they could properly digest as it was but there can be no denying, that they really dropped the ball on getting the word out, about what a freakishly fantastic vehicle it is.

 

[Nassau]

I bought a 2024 PB Lariat last December. I drove a 5.0 and the PB and went with the PB. We drove to Florida and back from Toronto since then. The 5.0 was smoother in around town driving, with the PB hybrid mode kick in/out being a bit noticeable. I find the ECO mode makes it a bit better, at the expense of throttle response. In sport mode it’s a beast.

I am just below 20mpg lifetime (6,000 miles so far), running at about 80mph or higher on the trip south (“average” was 64 on the computer over those two trips, which includes all the stops and slower traffic spots). Around town I get about 23mpg. I use 87 octane.

So far I am loving the PB. Lots of power when I want it, and decent fuel economy. I moved from an Acura MDX, which was a great SUV, but not a truck. I get a bit worse fuel economy now, but the MDX required premium fuel, so my fuel cost actually has gone DOWN.

 

[Samson16]

A plug-in Hybrid just affords you to start your drive with an externally pre-charged battery, so that first EV run in the morning is "on the house" so to speak, before the ICE kicks in and the vehicle is just a regular Hybrid for the rest of the trip.

I don’t understand why they have to be separate? Is it because the battery is too large to be charged by the ICE? Once the pre-charged battery runs out is it just dead weight for the remainder of the trip?

 

[Forumlurker24]

I don’t understand why they have to be separate? Is it because the battery is too large to be charged by the ICE? Once the pre-charged battery runs out is it just dead weight for the remainder of the trip?

Depending on the configuration it can be charged by the ICE, but to get the most out of it youd wanna top off the battery when at home or in a parking lot.

The plug in ranger has 4 modes for managing the battery which is pretty neat. I wish it would make it's way to the US sooner rather than later

 

[2Lazy2P]

Agreed- got mine used with 15k miles - great deal- had some gremlins to conquer in the first couple of months but since then been flawless. Gets great mileage puttering around town (but not so great in cold weather) and can rip a 600+ mile road trip effortlessly on one tank of gas. Still working on getting transfer switch installed for house back up power. Great truck but can be finicky with all those modules having to work together...

Me, too with the 36-gallon tank which is dependent on type of driving. Peddle to the metal, baby.?

 

[Davexxxx]

Re the HV batt and elec. motor size ... I might be dreaming but I'm hopeful that some time in the ownership of this truck a larger batt and motor can be reasonably retrofitted.

The motor might be a stretch but battery tech, including physical size requirements, has significantly improved in just the last few yrs.

 

[Samson16]

The plug in ranger has 4 modes for managing the battery which is pretty neat

My concern is if the battery is too large for the ICE to charge then it’s just a payload hit after the external charge is expended. I think it’s why the RamCharger is taking time to find the sweet spot. We complain about the PB payload already with its tiny battery and traction motor.

 

[HammaMan]

My concern is if the battery is too large for the ICE to charge then it’s just a payload hit after the external charge is expended. I think it’s why the RamCharger is taking time to find the sweet spot. We complain about the PB payload already with its tiny battery and traction motor.

No such thing, the ICE can always charge the batt, it just doesn't make sense to as there's always going to be a conversion loss. So long as the battery is able to regen brake and put the energy back into acceleration that's the best case for efficiency and it will always trump the perceived mass hit.

Rotational energy > 3 phase motor > inverter (3 phase to DC, loss in both 3 phase wiring and DC battery wiring, and inverter efficiency loss) > battery (heat loss again) > inverter > motor (plus wiring impedance losses again). That's a good 10-15% loss of energy to heat best case. Only regen braking makes sense at that point as braking is 100% heat loss.

 

[Samson16]

and it will always trump the perceived mass hit.

I think the mass hit is real, but I can’t find a good direct comparison of a full hybrid version of a vehicle vs a PHEV version. Full hybrid non plug-ins are not that common. Mild hybrids and PHEV are easier to compare but not what I’m talking about.

and then the Sahara 4xe is 800lbs heavier than the gas only 2.0 turbo so it definitely is real going all the way down to gas only. Full hybrid to PHEV I don’t know.

 

[Forumlurker24]

My concern is if the battery is too large for the ICE to charge then it’s just a payload hit after the external charge is expended. I think it’s why the RamCharger is taking time to find the sweet spot. We complain about the PB payload already with its tiny battery and traction motor.

If I'm not mistaken the ranger hybrid does have a mode to recharge the battery while driving on ice. As for the payload hit, I think we all know ford is more than capable of upping their numbers, but they need to protect their holy grail of overpriced HD trucks

Sponsored