I went and sat in an XLT and Lariat for the first time and...

[fitek]

I've owned a Transit XLT since 2016 but was never interested in the F150. Just want an EV that can actually haul stuff and this is the first one that can do that so here I am. Since ordering is happening soon, I went and sat in an XLT and Lariat gas F150 (well, Lariat was a PowerBoost hybrid).

Observations:
1) XLT is totally functional, but Lariat feels like a luxury vehicle. Has stuff that my wife's Porsche Macan S has, but none of my cars have ever had (like ventilated seats, heated steering wheel).
2) The 12" infotainment system is totally sufficient. I've test driven a Mach E and the big screen is nice (even if you hate the look of it on the dash), but having knobs in the 12" format is nice also. Toss up for me. I can't imagine the 12" feeling too small in a few years either. My Transit has a small screen and I knew from day 1 it would be stupid small in a couple years but what can you do... not getting easier as my close in eyesight isn't improving w/ age either.
3) Somehow the Lariat seats felt better, I wonder if they are different in some way other than material? Erg, I was really hoping the XLT wouldn't disappoint me.
4) For one night car camping trips, I wondered whether you could get away with just folding the regular seats all the way down. At 5'11, yeah the back seat is so roomy we could totally do that. We have an 8 year old and he even fit across the rear seats with our seats down as far as they go.
5) One thing that worried me going from van to pickup was bike storage. We can go ride Whistler or something like that, throw the bikes in the van, then go get dinner without worrying about locks and theft too much (bikes are super expensive these days!). Well, I think we could definitely take wheels off and just chuck them in the back seat with the bench folded up. Cover with some sleeping bags and you're good. My son's bike will probably fit in the frunk with wheels off at least for a few more years.
6) My wife definitely preferred the Lariat. I would take the XLT, but hope the Lariat pricing isn't out of reach.
7) I wonder about the adjustment to that big hood vs the Transit, where you're very near the front and have a really commanding view. The 360 cam definitely would help the wife out in tight quarters. I've driven enough big vehicles I don't care, but have made a couple expensive mistakes parking in my life... definitely wasn't worth skipping the then optional backup cameras after the body shops got paid.
8) Why the standard shifter? Why the motor to fold it down and all that when you could just have a knob like the Maverick? Mind boggling, just another thing to break, probably in the down position.
9) I dig the red color. Even when it's grey and rainy and it looks kinda dull.
10) The Maverick is a neat truck, but too small for us.

 

[sbi]

I love floor shifter, can't see myself drive without it. Certainly prefers manual shifting on a floor shifter (-/+ button) than steering wheels paddles.

Agree with you on the motorized folding of the shifter. A mechanical release knob would be perfectly fine, perhaps even better.

 

[sotek2345]

I love floor shifter, can't see myself drive without it. Certainly prefers manual shifting on a floor shifter (-/+ button) than steering wheels paddles.

Agree with you on the motorized folding of the shifter. A mechanical release knob would be perfectly fine, perhaps even better.

Personally I prefer column shifters on truck (have one on my 2016). Very old school and satisfying to use.

 

[ptr0687]

I test drove an XLT and almost bought a RAM instead as the XLT was not comfortable. Test drove a Lariat. Ordered the Lariat and it’s one of the top 5 best decisions I have ever made in my life.

 

[Nick Gerteis]

Re: shifter—not sure why they don’t just stick a dial on the dash? Or EVen make it a app for your phone? It’s not like there’s still a mechanical connection between physical shifter and, um, “transmission “. Form is supposed to follow function, and while there used to be a reason for the shifter to be *there*, that’s history. Like fake wood grain exteriors on 80s cars. Just a friendly suggestion!

 

[Garbone]

Re: shifter—not sure why they don’t just stick a dial on the dash? Or EVen make it a app for your phone? It’s not like there’s still a mechanical connection between physical shifter and, um, “transmission “. Form is supposed to follow function, and while there used to be a reason for the shifter to be *there*, that’s history. Like fake wood grain exteriors on 80s cars. Just a friendly suggestion!

Hopefully by 2023 they will give us a dial or column shift. My 62 C10 has 3 on the tree and a bench seat. I would like the option of jamming a 3rd person in the front row like my old 97 F150 with a column shift and fold down armrest.

 

[RonTCat]

Re: shifter—not sure why they don’t just stick a dial on the dash? Or EVen make it a app for your phone? It’s not like there’s still a mechanical connection between physical shifter and, um, “transmission “. Form is supposed to follow function, and while there used to be a reason for the shifter to be *there*, that’s history. Like fake wood grain exteriors on 80s cars. Just a friendly suggestion!

Because it's carryover F-Series... any other design would have cost more $$$. And it's proven.

 

[fitek]

Because it's carryover F-Series... any other design would have cost more $$$. And it's proven.

Now the XLT had a column shifter on it, which had me do a double take since I haven't seen one since 1998. I don't mind it and would also prefer it to something that gets charging cables tangled around it, gets in the way of putting something down in the center... the whole fold out work space is a gimmick only cuz that shifter is in the way...

 

[DadBald]

I like the center console shifter. Really dislike column shifter. IMO column shifter is vague on selection points and gets in the way of dash controls. Console shifter gives me a place to put my hand, more visible where selection points are, and way more intuitive.

The whole point of folding it down is to get it out of the way, and to allow the work surface, lol. Which, BTW, is a must-have for me, especially on the lightning: if I'm going to be making 30-minute charging stops, this will be tremendously useful. Despite being essentially an electronic switch, Ford kept the console shifter because that's most people's preference.

Have you seen the hate the Ram dial gets? LOL, no way Ford is putting that in their trucks. If anything they have to have something different to market at least.

All preference, for sure. But I like their choices for the lightning

 

[Tones]

I owned a 2017 f250 xlt. I bought it used with 14k miles on it. It did not have side steps so the original owner was sliding out all the time. The seat was already worn and needing replacement.

 

[sotek2345]

I owned a 2017 f250 xlt. I bought it used with 14k miles on it. It did not have side steps so the original owner was sliding out all the time. The seat was already worn and needing replacement.

Yeah - I had to fix the seat in my 2016 XLT (bought used) and it has side steps. Actually may need to have it fixed again.

 

[Sgt Beavis]

Re: shifter—not sure why they don’t just stick a dial on the dash? Or EVen make it a app for your phone? It’s not like there’s still a mechanical connection between physical shifter and, um, “transmission “. Form is supposed to follow function, and while there used to be a reason for the shifter to be *there*, that’s history. Like fake wood grain exteriors on 80s cars. Just a friendly suggestion!

Honestly, its because that’s the gear selector most customers want. If they went with a dial on the dash, everyone would be complaining that they were copying Ram.

I do like the dial on the dash. I had a 2015 Ram with that and I loved the massive amount of storage you got when they did that. That said, there is just something appealing about a console mounted gear selector. I find myself resting my hand on it all the time. I guess it comes down to my sub conscience desire for a stick shift.

 

[fitek]

The whole point of folding it down is to get it out of the way, and to allow the work surface, lol.

Yeah but they only need it to fold down because they went with a console shifter. The car has NO transmission, which is what the shifter controls. Some engineers had to sit there and figure out a way to translate ye olde shifter into controlling a car that has no transmission at all, then how to make ye olde shifter fold down and design the plastics for the fold out work space. All for a vestigial shifter. I'm not going to give them props for a self made problem. I get this is a gas truck made electric so it's going to have some amount of stupid in the design. The Cybertruck has 10x more stupid just in the exterior styling than the shifter can muster.

I make this analogy at work because I see a lot of "new" technology just photocopying the old stuff and totally missing the point. It's like when gas engines were invented, what if folks made gas powered steel horses to pull their buggies instead of just plopping an engine in the buggy? You'd say, what morons.

Go sit in a Maverick, they put a dial in that truck. I guess that's not a pickup for avg pickup folks so maybe there's some hate on the dial. The Transit really needs a dial, when I get up from the driver seat to go to the back I hit my knee in that one really sensitive spot on the corner of the shifter housing.

Anyway, enough about the shifter...

 

[sotek2345]

Yeah but they only need it to fold down because they went with a console shifter. The car has NO transmission, which is what the shifter controls. Some engineers had to sit there and figure out a way to translate ye olde shifter into controlling a car that has no transmission at all, then how to make ye olde shifter fold down and design the plastics for the fold out work space. All for a vestigial shifter. I'm not going to give them props for a self made problem. I get this is a gas truck made electric so it's going to have some amount of stupid in the design. The Cybertruck has 10x more stupid just in the exterior styling than the shifter can muster.

I make this analogy at work because I see a lot of "new" technology just photocopying the old stuff and totally missing the point. It's like when gas engines were invented, what if folks made gas powered steel horses to pull their buggies instead of just plopping an engine in the buggy? You'd say, what morons.

Go sit in a Maverick, they put a dial in that truck. I guess that's not a pickup for avg pickup folks so maybe there's some hate on the dial. The Transit really needs a dial, when I get up from the driver seat to go to the back I hit my knee in that one really sensitive spot on the corner of the shifter housing.

Anyway, enough about the shifter...

You kind of mention it, but it is worth noting that Zero engineering went into the shifter for the Lighting. The entire center console setup is straight from the 2021 ICE F150, so by reusing it for the Lightning they save engineering costs and get economy of scale on parts purchases. Yes, they could have engineered something simplier, but that would have cost money and required parts that would be purchased in much lower volumes. It would probably have cost more for the Gen 1 Lightning but even if not, they would never recover the engineering costs.

 

[Tones]

Yeah - I had to fix the seat in my 2016 XLT (bought used) and it has side steps. Actually may need to have it fixed again.

They are very easy to replace your self.
The thing i just kept thinking about was some nor report about how Ford had tested their cushions for 200k+ slide outs to make it the strongest they could. Probably where talking about the lariat maybe.

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