Upgrade In 2025, Or Be Patient?

[UGADawg96]

That is beyond fugly. Did they hire the Prius designer to come up that shitshow.

Sponsored

 

[BILDOZER]

Well My two cents here YMMV! I traded my 21 Lariat 502A 2.7 in for the 2025 King Ranch Powerboost last week and overall I am very happy with a few caviats!

What I love on the King Ranch that was an upgrade from the Lariat.

-Much softer leather.
-Heads up display.
-BlueCruise
-Unleashed audio.
-Massage seats.
-Way more power!
-7.2 Propower.
-ProAccess tailgate.
-Slight dash modificatiion in place of the pod layout.
-Fold flat storage.
-Hill decent control.
-Hybrid engine.

What I miss from the Lariat (decontented).

-Missing LED accent lights in cupholdder and rear doors and phone carger storage area!
-Cup holder spring tensioners in the upper rearmost console cupholders.
-No LED light indicator on the new keyfob for remote start.
-No door entry keypad.
-Bed tie down cleats.
-Bed camera from camera options.

I am sure i am missing some items but come on Ford! in some ways the older Lariat was better. On a positive note... The 21 Lariat accesories fit the King Ranch so I used the bed mat, splash guards and wheel well liners as well as the Console Vault. That was a bonus that it all fit perfectly.

 

[MoosePhukr]

Good List. I am similar... i went from a 23 xlt to a 25 Lariat 502a Powerboost.

Im surprised and saddened on the 25 they don't have the lower LED DRL's! That was a shock. For sure miss the keypad, may need to have that installed...

Love the power, fuel efficiency... the vegan pleather seats are actually quite comfortable!

I actually have a Platinum on order, on the train as I type. But I pulled the trigger on this 502a a few days ago. I just couldn't stomache spending $105 CAD (and that was WITH a 14k discount!). I saved 20k and all I'm missing is real leather, massage seats and deployable running boards (and bottom DRL's, I guess!)

Well My two cents here YMMV! I traded my 21 Lariat 502A 2.7 in for the 2025 King Ranch Powerboost last week and overall I am very happy with a few caviats!

What I love on the King Ranch that was an upgrade from the Lariat.

-Much softer leather.
-Heads up display.
-BlueCruise
-Unleashed audio.
-Massage seats.
-Way more power!
-7.2 Propower.
-ProAccess tailgate.
-Slight dash modificatiion in place of the pod layout.
-Fold flat storage.
-Hill decent control.
-Hybrid engine.

What I miss from the Lariat (decontented).

-Missing LED accent lights in cupholdder and rear doors and phone carger storage area!
-Cup holder spring tensioners in the upper rearmost console cupholders.
-No LED light indicator on the new keyfob for remote start.
-No door entry keypad.
-Bed tie down cleats.
-Bed camera from camera options.

I am sure i am missing some items but come on Ford! in some ways the older Lariat was better. On a positive note... The 21 Lariat accesories fit the King Ranch so I used the bed mat, splash guards and wheel well liners as well as the Console Vault. That was a bonus that it all fit perfectly.

 

[PPEng15]

For the reasons mentioned above, less for more $$, I will be holding off until the next generation. The 22's got most of the stuff from the 21's and ever year since has seemed to have less. My 2017 even had features that Ford has since deleted.

HUD would be nice, but I cannot see it well with polarized sunglasses and is not worth the jump.

Maybe the first and second year of the next gen Ford will get its act together.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Did you read the CR reports? It was typical F150 issues, not PB specific. The PB wasn't even a clean sheet design. Just about the entire hybrid system was used in the 2020 explorer. Some of the parts date back to the escape hybrid. The 23s showed up with a software issue that took them 5 months to patch but not before generating a lot of complaints. Had they differentiated hybrid specific issues vs calling issues with sync PB related, it would have told a different story. GIGO.

Ford's new release was pushed back to 2027 because they wasted a lot of time and resources pretending like they were going to have some big EV demand. Major facepalm on that one. They've squandered their PB lead they had on the market. Now their next major release will be in 2027 though we may see a 2026 interior refresh with parts from the expedition on certain halo trims. I really hope they don't take the F150 down this road because it's neither attractive nor practical. I'm prepared to be disappointed though.

I was in a focus group hosted by Ford about a year ago and it was specifically on the interior design of the next gen F150. There was one layout not too dissimilar to this one in the VR demo. One thing I can say about it is all the people in the group pretty much all had similar distaste for the various layouts like this. Most were too minimalist in nature or too much like EV's with no tactile buttons and didn't feel/look like a truck's interior. Several comments were made along the lines that if they wanted something like this one they'd just go buy a Tesla.

The only one we all agreed on was similar to the current design but with some very decent looking updates made to it. Afterwards I spoke with the team running it and they said overall they had fairly similar results from other groups on the interior design as ours had. Hopefully there's enough of us that felt the same way that Ford will go with what we liked vs what we didn't.

 

[HDT05]

I'd be cautious. Moving from my 21 Lariat to the 24 lariat has me so disappointed I wish I had just got a base level truck. Huge price increase with so many item removed. Glare free. Gone. Worse lane centering with a trailer. Less ambient lighting. No box lights. No full size spare tire. No bed camera. On and on. Thankfully only on a 24 month lease.

I'm actually a little different...

I essentially ordered exactly the same truck except I went from a '21 501A to a '24 502A but otherwise identical (moonroof, coyote etc)... and apart from the wheel design, I love it. My only regret is not changing the color...

For me the trim had a lot of subtle upgrades that were quite noticeable eg I like the wood look or whatever it is on the upper glove box as compared to my '21 (and it actually closes and STAYS closed).... I LOVE the HUD and for the first time used the heated steering wheel recently during the cold snaps (must be getting soft)...

RE the original post/question, I would say go for it now. I (except for the '21) always buy updates to a new model as it gives the manufacturer time to iron out the bugs. My '21 with carplay was a constant annoyance whereas now it's been an issue only 2 or 3 times in over a year of ownership. Otherwise the truck has run without fault or issue at all.

You can argue it up or down... do you miss out a tech option that may or may not appear vs 80k mileage resale vs 100k mileage resale or Ford may even drop a bunch of things in the newer models.

As to the engine, I stayed with a Coyote instead of one of those little 6 cylinder thingy's as although it's not as fast, it's still pretty reliable.... lol....

Good luck.

 

[HDT05]

HUD would be nice, but I cannot see it well with polarized sunglasses and is not worth the jump.

Is it the type you have? I wear polarized prescription sunnies and can see the HUD easily..

I love it and for me it was a must have (pretty cool to have it on a 'truck') after having had it on multiple other vehicles over the years....

 

[PPEng15]

Is it the type you have? I wear polarized prescription sunnies and can see the HUD easily..

I love it and for me it was a must have (pretty cool to have it on a 'truck') after having had it on multiple other vehicles over the years....

I do not know, I wear Costas. I am using our 25 Aviator for reference. I assume it would be similar to the F150s. I can see it if Iook directly at it, but it is easy to miss, even with the brightness turned all the way up.
It is still better than a Q8 that I test drove when they first came out. Could not see that one at all.

Love it after dark and will be glad to get it one day, but I can forgo it for now.

For the OP's question, I have a '22 and will wait for a '28 or '29.

 

[dochawk]

one thought on aftermarket polarized things . . . I put a modern stereo unit into what had been my father's '98 F-150--the original had to be disabled due to a short that was brutally vampiring the battery.

Even though it was a major brand, the idiots managed to polarize the screen at 45 degrees off!

So to read it through polarized lenses required a serious head tilt! (which left the road ahead not so clear).

 

[FaaWrenchBndr]

2026 models are gonna have that exhaust particulate filter, yay more missions, bullshit

I believe I heard a rumor that a redesign is supposed to happen in 2027

I’ve actually been thinking about going backwards. Thinking about buying an older 70s or 80s truck and redoing it and adding some modern features to it. However, then you have a truck that you have five times more money than it’s worth

 

[JCsTruck]

Only the 3.5 ecoboost and powerboost get the GPF for 2026.

 

[Davidwnuc]

2026 models are gonna have that exhaust particulate filter, yay more missions, bullshit

I believe I heard a rumor that a redesign is supposed to happen in 2027

I’ve actually been thinking about going backwards. Thinking about buying an older 70s or 80s truck and redoing it and adding some modern features to it. However, then you have a truck that you have five times more money than it’s worth

Agreed. If anything, im going backwards on my next truck.

 

[redline]

I went from a 22 to 25. The tranny is smoother , it gets better gas mileage, I do not like the leather downgrade, and tow haul mode works better. I don’t miss fx4 nor the unleashed stereo.

i would like the hud , the PAT cost 75 lbs of payload so not worth it for me …

 

[JCsTruck]

2024-2025 seem to be the best years for the current generation 14 with 2024 having the most options with the least issues. model 2026 is okay if you get the 2.7 or 5.0 but if you get the 3.5 or powerboost then you’ll have to deal with that gasoline particulate filter which adds another layer of complexity and things to worry about. The 3.5 in the Tremor is not effected yet because it is a low volume truck. If Ford redesigns the F-150 for 2027 then I would steer clear of it for at least two years if you plan to keep it past warranty, maybe three years as new designs from any car manufacturer are usually troublesome for the first year or two but because it is a Ford it adds another layer of things that can go wrong so add another year to the average for Ford.

Sponsored