The F150 is currently on it’s 14th generation, which gives it a brilliant heritage. Which is no surprise since it comes from one of the greatest and best-selling pickup truck lines of all time.
The 2021 F-150 is an almost complete re-design, while still keeping the same old design language making this a new car but also recognisable.
We are reviewing the Lariat premium trim package on top of the newly designed F-150, which is more of an aesthetic upgrade on the solid base.
Lariat Styling
Exterior
The F-150 is quite a decent looking truck as it is. The 2021 updates in styling are not a major design shift, but more of a maturing of the familiar design.
WIth the Lariat styling package, there is quite a bit of chrome that has been added to the car and you are sure to love this look.
The Lariat also comes with the upgraded headlights that we loved. Suffice to say, this car is quite the looker.
F-150 Lariat Interiors
Trucks are not really known for their interior styling, but once again the F-150 Lariat is really very good. The truck is plenty spacious and feels like you can fit your family and a pony in the back seats. The spacious interiors are made with good materials overall, though in some areas the truck-ness breaks through and you are faced with that reminder.
Nevertheless, it is not a deal breaker as you probably have one of the plushest and most comfortable rides out there.
F-150 Lariat Drive
The F-150 comes with a 2.7L V6 engine, which is, you guessed it, Ecoboost. Now this comes with it’s pros and cons. The pro is that you get some insane fuel efficiency. We were getting about 12L/100km on this thing. Granted that’s not great, but given that the Lariat is a twin cab V6 pickup truck, that is actually pretty mind blowing.
We did feel like the F-150 did lack a bit oomph!
The biggest problem we felt was that gear changes were violent. The point where if you floor it, the car skips during gear shifts. I don’t mean with joy, I mean it lurches around and you hear the tyres squeal a bit. It is a bit shocking when you first experience it, but it doesn’t get any better over time.
The main saving grace is that the truck is extremely comfortable. Eating up the road, bumps, speed breakers etc like they were soft candy. You are on/in a spacious cloud with the F-150. It should be noted that this isn’t limited to the F-150, most trucks tend to be a bit softer with suspension making them comfortable.
You might be wondering, how does this thing “turn”. Well, it turns like a tank. Which means, surprisingly well for a big, heavy vehicle. You feel confident chucking it into corners.
The Tech
We could have included the “Tech” side of things in the interior, but honestly there were soo many things to talk about that we just had to make a separate section.
Let’s start with the engine. Deja vu? No, the fuel efficiency in this truck is so good, that we just have to mention it again, if you are using this car as a daily vehicle, it is a fuel champ. We have tested a few trucks and SUVs and honestly, this is no more thirsty than a mid-large size SUV. Which is a great accomplishment from Ford. We tip our hats to you.
One of the biggest barriers for truck owners is the daily running cost from fuel alone, with the F-150, this is not that much of a concern. Even though it does come with the shortcomings we mentioned earlier. We would take this any day.
The F-150 comes with a bunch of features, you get heated/cooled seats, heated steering, anti-fod sideview mirrors. You get all the driver aids with the potential of the CoPilot 360 update coming soon. A nearly autonomous experience. All works well, though why we would need heated-anything in the Middle East is a question that is answered by the words “mass production”.
A feature that I think is absolutely brilliant and extremely underrated are the climate controls. You get two knobs, one for the driver, one for the passenger. They have an inbuilt screen that shows you the temperature and you rotate them to adjust this. A beautiful self sustained and tactile interface. It is not unique to them, but this should become the norm and I am glad Ford has put this in the F-150. Sure you get a few other buttons, which you probably don’t need. But it sure beats having to jump into some on-screen options to use something so basic and frequent as climate controls. Good choice Ford. If any competitor truck doesn’t give you a similar “quick access” experience, just drop them from contention. This is a must have.
Infotainment
The screen inside the F-150 Lariat is amazing! Let’s put it this way, the screen is in proportion with the size of this car. So it’s huge. In-fact it’s so big that CarPlay and Android Auto run as a screen within the main screen. Giving you a smartphone sized window on the right where you can control/see other things. This might seem like overkill, but it’s a great idea. You can use CarPlay for navigation while using the side window for radio or trip stats or whatever.
But that’s not all, you also get the lovely screen in the speedometer, which has a bunch of information that is available to you.
One strange thing missing was the maps integration with this. Yes you have to use the native Ford Sync maps, but that still doesn’t really give you a proper map, it just shows you steps. This isn’t a rally.
Ford Sync and that screen is really good. Paired with some of the smart design/layout choices ford has made, this is one of the better mix of screens and buttons you can find today.
Did I mention that this car comes with Bang and Olufsen speakers? Yeah, it does.
Work and Off Roading
In terms of pure offrating, the F-150 is quite a capable beast as stock. The Lariat flavour doesn’t add anything much in the way of offroading.
If you do intend on going dune bashing, then the vehicle we got to test just wont cut it. You need some major modifications to take it to that level. Ford does have some off roading packages, which should fit the bill.
The main problems are the ground clearance and suspensions. They are not enough to handle what a dune does to a car. Some other elements you would need to add would be to with tyres, flags and other group offroading add-ons. Keep that in mind if this is what you plan on doing with it.
On the other hand, if you plan on using the F-150 for work. Then the Lariat is a great package. You get all the workhorse elements from the F-150. For long work drives or tough terrains, you get the luxury and comfort from the Lariat.
The tailgate is huge, and comes with some cool features. Not sure how relevant they are in the UAE. You get an inbuilt measuring ruler and even get vice clamp mounting points. The tailgate has an integrated stepping ladder, which I found cool until I realised it’s pretty standard in all F-150s now.
All in all, extremely capable.
Final Verdict
The F-150 Lariat is great to look at and comfortable to be in. The transmission is quite rough, but the comfortable ride and semi-plush interior soften that blow. The fuel efficiency is the cherry on top of a well rounded work-horse, weekend getaway vehicle. All with the road presence to boot, and isn’t that why you really came here to read this review ;).