My Newbie Powerboost Observations

[wessermgm]

As many on here know, I am not new to the forum or 14th Gen. I am the proud new owner of a Powerboost after years of driving 3.5L EB and 5.0L. I am just about at the two month mark, and I have made some observations that maybe some of you grizzled vets of the platform can confirm or disabuse me of the notion:

1) Eco Mode is not as big a deal: I feel like with the EB, Eco mode really helped on MPG as it inhibited boost, which promoted fuel economy. Simple formula that worked (well, except for it was annoying slow if you needed to hit it). To me, the PB actually seems to get better mileage on Normal than Eco. Hear me out. In my limited experience, the mileage benefits come from electric mode more than inhibiting boost. You need to get to glide or cruising speed before you can stimulate electric mode. In Eco, it takes too long to accelerate to cruise/glide speed. I get there faster in Normal, and get to electric mode faster as well. That seems to be more of benefit for me in increasing MPG. I believe that Eco seems to help on the highway where you are not accelerating from a complete stop.

2) Sport Mode is Hell on Wheels: In EB Sport Mode was kinda fun, but I rarely used it. In the PB it seems way faster to me. You guys can tell me if I am hallucinating, but damn.

3) Cooler weather is helping the PB: In early July, Texas summer was typical - brutally hot. most days averaging between 98-103 degrees. I noticed that my MPG and electric idle times both went to crap. We have had about 8 straight days of unseasonably mild weather (ending soon) and the PB has recovered nicely. Now I am getting 23-25 mpg in town; about 21 on the highway. I basically idled without ICE about 20 minutes on Wednesday waiting for my kid. I look forward to seeing its performance this Fall.

4) I do feel the added weight. It is quite a bit heavier than my 2022 Platinum EB. I lost about 375 lbs of payload and it does feel like I am carrying a load in direct comparison to my old truck. I am used to it now, but it was noticeable for a few days after I picked it up.

I haven't needed to tow, but I assume it will make me smile when I do this fall hauling band trailers. I also haven't used the PPO yet. These are initial thoughts. Hopefully have more later!

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[Xman]

Thanks for the initial impressions. Keep posting as you go as it will help me. I'll get my new PB in about 2 months (fingers crossed). Regarding your first point, I think your reasoning is sound. I have no experience with the PB but I've done F-18 take-off comparisons with and without afterburner. The first jet would take-off without afterburner. A second jet would wait and take off in afterburner (50%+ more thrust, 2x or more fuel consumption) and catch the first jet. A fuel check showed the jet that didn't use afterburner actually consumed more fuel. That jet took too long to get through the high drag regions and into a more efficient cruise condition.

 

[HammaMan]

4) I do feel the added weight. It is quite a bit heavier than my 2022 Platinum EB. I lost about 375 lbs of payload and it does feel like I am carrying a load in direct comparison to my old truck.

It's certainly heavier. What tire pressure do you run? If you're at 38 cold, up the front to 40psi and see how that feels. If the sun has been cooking a tire it can read 2 psi higher so early morning or overnight garaged is when you should check them. Taking the fronts up to at least 40psi really helps to improve the feel of the front end.

The trick for around town mileage in the PB is to get the ICE to shut off when it's not needed. There's been several ABS/PCM updates that have changed its behavior. I'm a PCM version back as I'm tuned w/ the eboost and it's just running too nice to screw it up. Currently slightly engaging the brake is enough to get the ICE off so long as the HVB isn't low. You being a wise driver and getting it to shut off can really go a long way. Sometimes it's enough to just let off the gas for a few seconds, other times you just need to drag the brakes a little.

The down-low torque isn't imagined -- it's awesome.

 

[MBRecon]

I have had my 2024 XLT for 2 months now and have put about 4k on it so far with about 500 towing a MiniLite 2109s. So far only towed it around 5k lbs and still making hitch adjustments. Don't expect too much out of mpgs when towing. Handles very well but averaging about 10 mpg. Luckily I don't go very far (at least yet). I do tow in Tow/Haul and on a FB group some tow in Eco and get more but I have not seen that in my limited towing. They say you get better mileage after about 8-10k and some are tuning the hell out of the rides. I came from 2 Nissan Frontiers and only made the move because I was going to rag the engine or trans towing the trailer. Gave it my son, so he is happy!

 

[Groovicles]

As many on here know, I am not new to the forum or 14th Gen. I am the proud new owner of a Powerboost after years of driving 3.5L EB and 5.0L. I am just about at the two month mark, and I have made some observations that maybe some of you grizzled vets of the platform can confirm or disabuse me of the notion:

1) Eco Mode is not as big a deal: I feel like with the EB, Eco mode really helped on MPG as it inhibited boost, which promoted fuel economy. Simple formula that worked (well, except for it was annoying slow if you needed to hit it). To me, the PB actually seems to get better mileage on Normal than Eco. Hear me out. In my limited experience, the mileage benefits come from electric mode more than inhibiting boost. You need to get to glide or cruising speed before you can stimulate electric mode. In Eco, it takes too long to accelerate to cruise/glide speed. I get there faster in Normal, and get to electric mode faster as well. That seems to be more of benefit for me in increasing MPG. I believe that Eco seems to help on the highway where you are not accelerating from a complete stop.

2) Sport Mode is Hell on Wheels: In EB Sport Mode was kinda fun, but I rarely used it. In the PB it seems way faster to me. You guys can tell me if I am hallucinating, but damn.

3) Cooler weather is helping the PB: In early July, Texas summer was typical - brutally hot. most days averaging between 98-103 degrees. I noticed that my MPG and electric idle times both went to crap. We have had about 8 straight days of unseasonably mild weather (ending soon) and the PB has recovered nicely. Now I am getting 23-25 mpg in town; about 21 on the highway. I basically idled without ICE about 20 minutes on Wednesday waiting for my kid. I look forward to seeing its performance this Fall.

4) I do feel the added weight. It is quite a bit heavier than my 2022 Platinum EB. I lost about 375 lbs of payload and it does feel like I am carrying a load in direct comparison to my old truck. I am used to it now, but it was noticeable for a few days after I picked it up.

I haven't needed to tow, but I assume it will make me smile when I do this fall hauling band trailers. I also haven't used the PPO yet. These are initial thoughts. Hopefully have more later!

Interesting observations and experiences! For me:
1. I have a 2022 from factory, so I've had this PB for a while. I have personally directly observed Eco giving me better mileage than normal. I wonder if your mix of highway/street driving is quite a bit different from mine.
2. TRUCK YEAH!!!!
3. I agree. I believe battery runs better in cooler temps anyways because it runs so hot.
4. Yup, she's a chunky lass

 

[fatBatman]

I am also in the DFW area and I have had very similar if not exactly the same results you have. I'm getting 22-25 MPG in the city and 20-22 HWY but have gotten 26 MPG in Colorado on the interstate. I stay in "normal" mode all the time because 1. the truck won't stay in Eco mode if I turn it off and 2. I feel the MPGs are better on normal for the reasons you mentioned (getting up to cruise speed). One trip to San Antonio and for no reason at all, I skipped the toll around Austin and chose to punish myself by driving through Austin on I-35. Although I hated it, the slower, stop/start traffic raised my trip MPG to mid-25.
As for "sport" mode, I am very pleased. It will certainly get out of it's own way...quickly despite feeling a little heavier than my '21 5.0. Speaking of heavier...is yours the FX4 or does it have the CCD? My '24 KR does "feel" heavier than my '21 5.0 Lariat but my KR has CCD, 22" wheels and a heavy glass roof that my '21 didn't have so I just figured that was it. My '21 also had 18" wheels and I loved those.

My impressions:
1. The heads up display is good but I think the displayed information/layout could use a bit of tweaking. I think GM does a better job here. Of course, this is extreme nit-picking but for the price that these things are, I feel its deserved.
2. The massage seats are gimmicky. They feel like I'm being poked in the back. Yeah, I'd rather have it and not use it than not (like everyone with a '23) but they are "meh" at best.
3. Separate but related to the massage seats is the overall comfort of the seats...A++. The seats in the KR are crazy comfortable and yes, there is a difference in how my butt feels in the KR seats compared to a Lariat. With the KR seats, I seem to have less "butt fatigue" than I did with my Lariat seats on longer highway trips.
4. I love the PowerBoost. It is better in almost every measurable way compared to the 5.0. It gets better MPGs on the highway and in the city (maybe not so much with towing), the PowerBoost is quicker and has a lot more power than the 5.0 and with the hybrid battery, there is no turbo lag. The PowerBoost also has the generator capability whereas the 5.0 doesn't BUT with all of that said, I still miss my 5.0. There is just something about that engine that is just amazing and if you know....you know.

My only critique/complaint to Ford is, I wish they would have put in a 7.5 kWh battery instead of a 1.5 kWh. With a 7.5, we could have all gotten the federal tax saving of $7500 off which would pay for the larger battery and we could all be in battery mode longer in the city. I'd bet you could get 30+ MPG in the city easily with a larger battery pack. I would even be okay with sacrificing 5 gallons of my gas tank to make room for a larger battery and go back to the older 25 gallon tank.

 

[Samson16]

I

2) Sport Mode is Hell on Wheels

Preach on brother!

 

[wessermgm]

I am also in the DFW area and I have had very similar if not exactly the same results you have. I'm getting 22-25 MPG in the city and 20-22 HWY but have gotten 26 MPG in Colorado on the interstate. I stay in "normal" mode all the time because 1. the truck won't stay in Eco mode if I turn it off and 2. I feel the MPGs are better on normal for the reasons you mentioned (getting up to cruise speed). One trip to San Antonio and for no reason at all, I skipped the toll around Austin and chose to punish myself by driving through Austin on I-35. Although I hated it, the slower, stop/start traffic raised my trip MPG to mid-25.
As for "sport" mode, I am very pleased. It will certainly get out of it's own way...quickly despite feeling a little heavier than my '21 5.0. Speaking of heavier...is yours the FX4 or does it have the CCD? My '24 KR does "feel" heavier than my '21 5.0 Lariat but my KR has CCD, 22" wheels and a heavy glass roof that my '21 didn't have so I just figured that was it. My '21 also had 18" wheels and I loved those.

My impressions:
1. The heads up display is good but I think the displayed information/layout could use a bit of tweaking. I think GM does a better job here. Of course, this is extreme nit-picking but for the price that these things are, I feel its deserved.
2. The massage seats are gimmicky. They feel like I'm being poked in the back. Yeah, I'd rather have it and not use it than not (like everyone with a '23) but they are "meh" at best.
3. Separate but related to the massage seats is the overall comfort of the seats...A++. The seats in the KR are crazy comfortable and yes, there is a difference in how my butt feels in the KR seats compared to a Lariat. With the KR seats, I seem to have less "butt fatigue" than I did with my Lariat seats on longer highway trips.
4. I love the PowerBoost. It is better in almost every measurable way compared to the 5.0. It gets better MPGs on the highway and in the city (maybe not so much with towing), the PowerBoost is quicker and has a lot more power than the 5.0 and with the hybrid battery, there is no turbo lag. The PowerBoost also has the generator capability whereas the 5.0 doesn't BUT with all of that said, I still miss my 5.0. There is just something about that engine that is just amazing and if you know....you know.

My only critique/complaint to Ford is, I wish they would have put in a 7.5 kWh battery instead of a 1.5 kWh. With a 7.5, we could have all gotten the federal tax saving of $7500 off which would pay for the larger battery and we could all be in battery mode longer in the city. I'd bet you could get 30+ MPG in the city easily with a larger battery pack. I would even be okay with sacrificing 5 gallons of my gas tank to make room for a larger battery and go back to the older 25 gallon tank.

I do have the CCD. Didn't think about the moonroof being a source of additional weight, but you are right that it is. The seats are the best seats I have ever had in any vehicle. Ever. My 2022 Platinum seats were good. These are fantastic. No one could own a KR and switch to a GM. Going to those brick-ass seats would be torture after these.

I do like the massage function on long trips. I only stopped twice between Traverse City, MI and Dallas (Tuscola, IL and Little Rock, AR). MY bladder has always been OK for that length of time, but my back was not. The massage seats kept my back and butt from fatigue really well. Don't use them much otherwise, but I have found value in them in that usage for certain.

 

[wessermgm]

It's certainly heavier. What tire pressure do you run? If you're at 38 cold, up the front to 40psi and see how that feels. If the sun has been cooking a tire it can read 2 psi higher so early morning or overnight garaged is when you should check them. Taking the fronts up to at least 40psi really helps to improve the feel of the front end.

The trick for around town mileage in the PB is to get the ICE to shut off when it's not needed. There's been several ABS/PCM updates that have changed its behavior. I'm a PCM version back as I'm tuned w/ the eboost and it's just running too nice to screw it up. Currently slightly engaging the brake is enough to get the ICE off so long as the HVB isn't low. You being a wise driver and getting it to shut off can really go a long way. Sometimes it's enough to just let off the gas for a few seconds, other times you just need to drag the brakes a little.

The down-low torque isn't imagined -- it's awesome.

My pressure was at 37 PSI cold. I'll up it to 40.

 

[Shooter56]

2021 Lariat PB in Colorado. 50,000 miles, 11,000 miles towing a 21ft 30 amp travel trailer; empty weight 3760lbs. I agree with just about everything you said. I don’t ever use eco mode, so I don’t know much about that. The biggest feature for us is the PPoB. Plug and play, unlimited power for our trips. AC, coffee maker, toaster, microwave, no gas smell, no noise, no worries. Perfect for dispersed camping, daily driving, highway trips, and playing around in sport mode. Most versatile truck out there.

Enjoy yours! We love ours.

 

[mwf5888]

I just returned my 2021 KR PowerBoost and have 300 miles on my 2024 KR PowerBoost.

2021 KR FX4 PowerBoost 20" Pirelli (Antimatter Blue - 22K miles)

I run in Eco mode most of the time. Even though we can use the highway to travel around the city I get better mileage driving through the city, which ranges between 27 - 29 mpg. The highway is 22 - 24.5 mpg depending on topography and winds. When I turned this one in two weeks ago the Trip 2 average was 21.9 which hasn't been reset since I got the truck. This includes all the remote starts in the winter and 90+ summer temperatures.

We drove to Key West, FL from Fort Wayne, IN (~1475 miles). I got the best mileage from South of Miami to Key West @ 31.4 mpg. It's all the two-lane road, stop lights, and 35 - 50 mph speed limits. I did 60% electric.

Sport mode is a beast and will put you in the seat. I use the 7.2Kw every week when I take my compressor and speakers to the weekly city Trek the Trails ride. I air up anyone's tires.

I had to drive home from FL in December 2023, visiting my daughter and new grandson, and my wife was hit and totaled her 2019 Escape Titanium. I drove from the Treasure Coast and having messaging seats and BlueCruise is the only reason I left at 2 pm and was home by 8 am the next morning.

2024 KR FX4 PowerBoost 20" Pirelli & CCD (Rapid Red Metallic - 300 miles)

It has taken a week to get the truck used to my Eco mode driving style but I am now getting the same electric mode in the same places. One thing I really LOVE is the electric mode moves the truck slowly just like letting of the brake in gas mode. I can slowly inch within 6 inches of the garage wall so the garage door will close. With my 2021, I had to pump the brake to "jump" forward a 1/2" at a time.

I have always run 35psi in all four tires. I have always had good tire wear with Goodyear or Pirelli tires. I noticed the electric mode noise is different. It still has the dang 'dunk dunk' back-up noise. I have also noticed I can accelerate from a stop in electric mode and get to 35 mph before the gas engine engages. This works on the streets with stop-and-go lights.

I am enjoying the large heads-up display with all kinds of information. Makes my wife's 2024 Escape heads-up look like a smartphone compared to a tablet in my F150.

The PAT is something that I am quickly warming up to having vs. the integrated tailgate step. When we have the mountain bike hitch on I can access the bed. Easier to throw a bag of fertilizer in using the PAT door.

My only complaint is the 2024 has no RPM number just the lines around the perimeter of the gauge so you don't know the real RPMs.

 

[2BigDogs]

2023 Limited PB vs 2018 3.5 EB... no comparison at all... 2023 very sluggish unless you're in Sport. 2018 very peppy, and a monster in Sport. 2018 was 2 mpg better than the 2023. Why, oh why, did I trade in my 2018??? Guess it was that the wife liked the seats in the 2023 better and was tired of hard acceleration in the 2018.

 

[FaaWrenchBndr]

My only complaint is the 2024 has no RPM number just the lines around the perimeter of the gauge so you don't know the real RPMs.

That’s weird……here’s my 24. The tach shows numbers……

 

[mwf5888]

That’s weird……here’s my 24. The tach shows numbers……

@FaaWrenchBndr But it doesn't show the RPM like the speedometer. My 2021 and my wife's 2024 Escape show a live RPM number in the middle of the circle. A big number in the middle.

 

[FaaWrenchBndr]

Ok…..I understand. You want the digital readout of RPMs

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