Road Trip Feedback in '24 Lariat 5.0

[Dakar09]

Just got back from a whirlwind road trip down South. I was flying solo, so I could push the driving times and select the routes I wanted.

Boston to western SC via PA-Virginia-Bristol, TN-Asheville, NC...
Western SC to Jacksonville area
Jacksonville back to Boston via 95

Totals:
Mileage: 2726
Driving Time: 43 hours, 44 min over 4.5 days total
Avg MPG: 20.6

Road consisted of:
Interstates (usually 75-80 mph cruising speed)
Mountain passes (through the Blue Ridge Mountains, I think)
Twisty country roads (western Georgia)
Urban areas on East Coast

My thoughts after spending that much time with the 2024 F150

- Fuel range: The extended 36 gal tank was a HUGE bonus for this. At fill ups I was getting over 620 miles of range per tank at my avg MPG. Wish my bladder had that kind of range, but I digress.
- Fuel Cost: The ability to run 87 octane also helped. Would typically fill up 27 gallons between $90-97
- Engine: The 5.0L is an excellent highway cruiser. I kept my foot in it and didn't push for max MPG, but with the 3.73 I wasn't going to break any economy records anyway.
- Drivetrain: On the mountain passes and country roads, the pedal monster had to be engaged. That's where the transmission gets "indecisive" and throttle inputs become annoying in stock configuration. During normal cruising, I reverted to stock pedal response to save gas.
- Suspension: It rode really well over rough roads, was very comfortable on the highways, and handled surprisingly well on the country roads. But the Hankooks do suck overall. The treads near the sidewalls took a beating and one has a vibration at 80 mph, limiting my ability to cruise faster than that due to annoyance. I will go with better tires on new rims soon, probably stiffer shocks as well.
- Interior: Seats were very comfortable, though you could tell when it was getting near "break time" to get out and stretch. I'm not a big fella, but feel the Lariat seat cushions could use a bit more depth and better bolstering all around.
- Technology: This is where I have issues with this truck (or Ford in general):
1) Let me search my USB music drive while the truck is moving. Certain functions were locked out while the vehicle was moving with no one in the passenger seat.
2) GPS...same thing. I couldn't input new coordinates or destinations while moving. This was BY FAR the biggest issue I had, and dare I say even added significant time having to make extra stops to plan things. I was shooting from the hip a bit, and the need to stop the vehicle off the highway or in shopping centers, etc to make adjustments really started to annoy me. I tried putting my heavier cooler on the front seat to trick it, but it didn't work.

(Ford, if you're listening, there is no reason to be this "Safe" with your systems. It's idiotic, as most people can do two things at once.)

3) Adaptive cruise is excellent. I rarely use it locally, but on the highway the system worked very well. However, at night it seemed to get confused between brake lights or brighter LED tail lights/trailer lights from certain trucks.
4) Bluecruise...it worked on some roads, but I don't like it. Period. I do not like having my hands off the steering wheel. The few times I engaged it, I felt it could allow me to become complacent and distracted. Not for me.

Lastly, the exhaust note, but this one is on me. I have a muffler delete, so it's not exactly "tuned" sound. It was actually fine at highway speed but I think it compounded the indecisive 10 spd transmission and combined to get a little bit annoying at certain times. But it didn't drone at regular highway speed at all, so no complaints there.

Sponsored

 

[powerboatr]

cool write up
i have found using sync voice button underway to change routes works...then it does not , then it does
sync cant think as fast as we think and tends to get lost.
i have not tried to use phone to do it although
a command to ADD a way point or destination should be easy IMO?
you flat put the miles on

 

[Dakar09]

I've never had great luck with voice activation systems in cars (either Ford or my recent Jags). It tends to frustrate me and I eventually stop using it. I spent my first 27 years growing up in NY and then moved to Boston...my accent is ridiculous. I also despise Android Auto (not an iPhone guy at all), so that stays off, too.

Would these things have helped? Maybe

You're right about way points. Adding one that is along my route or within the field of view of the nav screen is no issue. But if I'm looking for something that is way off the current map, I still have to "take my eyes off the road" to scroll the map around, then zoom in to where I'm looking, and then find the waypoint to pin and add to the map. Sort of defeats the purpose of not being distracted, lol!

But for my way of road tripping where I shoot from hip on unplanned stops, detours/shortcuts, sudden points of interest, etc., I need a GPS that allows me to enter addresses on the move. With a passenger this is a non-issue, and my wife is usually with me anyway.

 

[powerboatr]

I've never had great luck with voice activation systems in cars (either Ford or my recent Jags). It tends to frustrate me and I eventually stop using it. I spent my first 27 years growing up in NY and then moved to Boston...my accent is ridiculous. I also despise Android Auto (not an iPhone guy at all), so that stays off, too.

Would these things have helped? Maybe

You're right about way points. Adding one that is along my route or within the field of view of the nav screen is no issue. But if I'm looking for something that is way off the current map, I still have to "take my eyes off the road" to scroll the map around, then zoom in to where I'm looking, and then find the waypoint to pin and add to the map. Sort of defeats the purpose of not being distracted, lol!

But for my way of road tripping where I shoot from hip on unplanned stops, detours/shortcuts, sudden points of interest, etc., I need a GPS that allows me to enter addresses on the move. With a passenger this is a non-issue, and my wife is usually with me anyway.

Agree 100 %
My long long texas to south Florida, solo
My nav redirected me around some serious wrecks on I 10
I had no idea where it was sending me and could not see the whole re route , in detail
77 mph made it real hard to play with screen. Wondered at time why the re route did not give option to show new way, even for a minute to give the brain a chance to catch up
Funny thing is afterwards that re route became my preferred route , shorter and no insane long causeway elevated death trap highway

 

[NavyChief]

I've never had great luck with voice activation systems in cars (either Ford or my recent Jags). It tends to frustrate me and I eventually stop using it. I spent my first 27 years growing up in NY and then moved to Boston...my accent is ridiculous. I also despise Android Auto (not an iPhone guy at all), so that stays off, too..

Reading this made me think of this scene from BBT

 

[PaulGrun]

Very nice review - well written and helpful.

“Ford, if you're listening, there is no reason to be this "Safe" with your systems. It's idiotic, as most people can do two things at once.)”

with deep respect, I strongly disagree. Most people “think” they can do two things at once, but actual studies clearly show that most people VASTLY overestimate their ability to do so.
Inputting new data into the GPS while moving strikes me as being at least as dangerous as texting while driving.
Check out the research on distracted driving conducted at the University of Utah (I think … it’s been a year or two since I reviewed their research. The results are truly disturbing.

 

[Dakar09]

with deep respect, I strongly disagree. Most people “think” they can do two things at once, but actual studies clearly show that most people VASTLY overestimate their ability to do so.
Inputting new data into the GPS while moving strikes me as being at least as dangerous as texting while driving.

I disagree but it depends on the GPS unit being utilized. This giant screen is more conducive to using the GPS, or even looking through my tunes on the USB drive, IMO. This nanny state "we don't trust you" nonsense is getting ridiculous, if you ask me.

While I think most people drive like $h!t, more people have their phones in their faces (either in their hands or on the windshield) and mess with them constantly. Those small screens are dangerous regardless of where the phone is mounted (or not). And their driving when they AREN'T looking at their phones is just as bad.

 

[PaulGrun]

I disagree but it depends on the GPS unit being utilized. This giant screen is more conducive to using the GPS, or even looking through my tunes on the USB drive, IMO. This nanny state "we don't trust you" nonsense is getting ridiculous, if you ask me.

While I think most people drive like $h!t, more people have their phones in their faces (either in their hands or on the windshield) and mess with them constantly. Those small screens are dangerous regardless of where the phone is mounted (or not). And their driving when they AREN'T looking at their phones is just as bad.

It has nothing to do with a “nanny state”, and it has nothing to do with which GPS or the screen size.

Research shows VERY CLEARLY and unambiguously, that you cannot do those two things at once.

if you try to do so, you are putting other people at severe risk.

Think that you can do two things at once? Again, research shows clearly that almost everyone over estimates his ability to do so…by a lot.

Again, this is not about a nanny state … it’s about the way your brain works.

 

[PaulGrun]

It has nothing to do with a “nanny state”, and it has nothing to do with which GPS or the screen size.

Research shows VERY CLEARLY and unambiguously, that you cannot do those two things at once.

if you try to do so, you are putting other people at severe risk.

Think that you can do two things at once? Again, research shows clearly that almost everyone over estimates his ability to do so…by a lot.

Again, this is not about a nanny state … it’s about the way your brain works.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/...d by David,minute after the distraction ended.

Here’s more on multitasking:

“While some research suggests certain people’s brains are readily wired for multitasking, that research pegs the number of these super-brains at only roughly 2% of the population worldwide. For everyone else?
…
(Think you’re in the special 2%? You may want to think again: Sanbonmatsu’s team has also found an inverse relationship between perceived multitasking ability and actual multitasking ability. In other words, the better you think you are at multitasking, the more likely it is that you aren’t so hot.)”

 

[Dakar09]

This is where I drop the obligatory "agree to disagree" comment. I can, and will continue to do, those two things at once. Everyone is wired differently, though I agree many people can't truly multi-task. But alternating between two tasks rapidly (ie: scanning the road and using the nav screen) is perfectly doable. I'm not knitting a sweater while I'm driving. I believe your references are flawed:

Not to get into conspiracy or rabbit hole delving, but "research" has shown many things that aren't true or are biased and/or agenda driven. There's almost always a driving force behind the research, be it implementing new tech, medicines, laws, or swaying of public opinion, so take it all with a grain of salt. I know firsthand...I'm in pharmaceutical research and it shames to me to admit some of the things I've seen and read.

To your reference:
1) 18 year olds have VASTLY different driving experiences than 58 year olds, along with the incredible variability in all the ages in between those two extremes
2) Where you learned do your regular driving also affects that ability
3) These are not "real world" tests, and often test subjects experience "analysis paralysis" in trying to do things correctly, and panic
4) Being in a "study" automatically puts people in a different state of mind. We see it with placebo effect in patients on our clinical trials.

So while your reference is interesting and applies to many people on the road, the ability to move from one task to another...NOT DO TWO THINGS AT ONCE is what's more important here.

Where do you focus when you drive? Car in front of you or 1/4 mile ahead?
Are you able to see a small screen with your normal glasses (or base vision) vs what you need to drive with?
What exactly are you looking at on the device? Something that requires a lot of mental capacity to process, or are you engaged in an emotional phone call that takes you "out of the moment"?

So many variables, the study didn't touch the surface.

I think we're off topic....

 

[Pmen08]

What a great trip for you!. I did Daytona to Virginia Beach over Thanksgiving in our new F150 XLT 5.0. Even lifted on 35s we averaged 16-2 mpg for the entire trip. That, to me was pretty amazing. Most interesting part was stopping at Bucky's. What an adventure!

 

[Dakar09]

The Buc-ee's sign looming over the trees is funny!

These are pretty good road trip vehicles, aren't they?

 

[jkosh22]

I have a 21 Larait 5.0 with the 6’5 box. Me the wife and my 3 kids, all in car seats still, took a trip from MT from MN. Was a wonderful trip and scenery was fantastic. Averaged 18.7mpg with a truck bed full of luggage and bikes. I’ve taken many road trips and this one was the most comfortable. Seats were good, mileage was great. 5.0 didn’t miss a beat, even at altitude with 87. Made a trip through Yellowstone and got some awesome shots. Drove about 180 miles inside the park. Looking forward to more adventures in the truck!

Sponsored