100 Mile Lariat ER Avalanche Review

[lightspeed]

[UPDATED 12/4/22]

Picked up a Lariat ER a few days ago. So far, it's nearly perfect, but I thought I'd take a minute to do a review of the truck from an initial quality perspective.

[PROS]
- no major issues, all the usual review stuff is true, fast, handles well for a truck, comfortable, etc.
- paint looks good, panel gaps look good, door alignment good, lightbar alignment good, no scratches or other cosmetic issues
- no issue with running board delamination and the center speaker panel is mostly flat
- no weird drivetrain noises, no clicking CV axles, no interior rattles
- rubber trim around the pani-roof is perfect [pictured]

[QUALITY NITPICKS]
- there is a window trim manufacturing error [pictured], not critical but needs to be fixed
- there were a few bolts sitting in the rear door storage pocket, where did these come from? [picture]
- when I raise the rear seat, the middle seatbelt housing makes a popping sound as something seems to catch against it and then release, not a big deal but seems like it should be smoother
- when I first press the brake before starting the car, you can hear a motor of some sort doing something near the brake, sometimes I also hear an odd mechanical click which sounds like something is not clearing something else, not a big deal but curious what it is

[OTHER OBSERVATIONS]
- didn't come with the lockable folding storage!? I thought this was standard on the Lariat 511A package. I prefer it without it anyway.
- no heated mirrors! but no discount from Ford and no mention of it being deleted! Turns out that it DOES have heated mirrors and they are attached to the rear defrost button.
- not as quiet at speeds >60 as I expected from reviews, wind and outside noises are present, still quieter than a lot of cars, but not S-class levels of noise at 70mph
- the sound system is mediocre and very front-center biased like everyone says
- Infotainment is a bit slow sometimes, but I can live with it (FordPass needs work, just copy Tesla)

So the only thing that needs to get fixed is the window trim and overall I'm happy with the initial quality of the truck. The little details aren't as nice as BMW (for example), but for a truck that's really designed around a 50K price point, it does pretty well.

 

[Lime Green]

No heated mirrors and no foldable storage under rear seat? Honestly, I'd probably refuse my truck if it shows up missing these on top of everything else they've already pulled. Unless the dealership can install them. Especially since they're supposed to be there and no mention of them being deleted. These are features I regularly use, so I'm about done with this crap. Was already going to walk over the heated steering wheel removal, but dealership was going to retrofit it. Now it's a wait and see, since Ford say's they'll have a retrofit option for it sometime next year.

That '22 mannequin I can probably grab here in about 10 days is really looking attractive. Sure, it's been sitting, has 250 miles on it and everyone and their kids have climbed around inside of it. Only known issue, according to sales manager, is PAAK doesn't work and Ford keeps promising an update that never comes for these earlier builds to fix it.

 

[lightspeed]

Yeah, it's annoying to not get stuff that you were supposed to get.

The '22 sounds good as long as it all still looks new. You get all the features plus the tax rebate.

 

[Replika]

- not as quiet as freeway speeds as I was led to believe from reviews, wind and outside noises are present, still quieter than a lot of cars, but not S-class levels of noise at 70mph

I think this is caused in part by using decibels as the sole measure of acoustic comfort in a vehicle cabin. Decibels are simply a measure of volume, whereas the quality of the sound is also very important. I know C&D wrote that and I think they should be a little more careful. There is an extreme amount of work done by the S-Class sound team to ensure supreme acoustic comfort, even if other vehicles measure similarly on an SPL meter.

Is there anything in particular that stands out to you as annoying or loud? I have only driven Lightnings on two occasions, for about 40 minutes in total. The trucks seemed exceptionally comfortable noise-wise, but I would need to take a road trip to know for sure.

 

[SilverBrewer]

I would also be upset about those additional deletes that were included, especially the heated mirror - thats a joke on an 88k vehicle

 

[bmwhitetx]

[OTHER OBSERVATIONS]
- didn't come with the lockable folding storage!? I thought this was standard on the Lariat. I prefer it without it anyway.
- no heated mirrors! but no discount from Ford and no mention of it being deleted!
- dealer delivered without installing front plate holder (weird), not sure where I want it but CA requires it.

The lockable foldable storage was included on 2022 511A. For 2023 it was broken out into a separate option for $225. This is well documented in the 2023 order guide and this forum. It was listed as an option in the Build and Price tool you used. I think a lot of folks did not want that option so they broke it out. There is even a thread on how to remove it.

There was a memo sent to dealers with an acknowledgement form mentioning items being deleted that you should have been asked to sign. Finance guy may have run it by you real fast or just didn't show it all.

Most dealers know not to put the front license plate on unless the customer asks. Even though required many foks don't want it. In CA I think you might have a decal option.

 

[cwstnsko]

My bet is that the heated mirrors are controlled by the same module as the heated wheel and they will be restored when the heated wheel is

 

[SilverBrewer]

I think the issue is that fords website is still suspect.... I just grabbed this 2 seconds ago.

Not a big one for me as I don't use it lol

In fact its still showing front and center:

S

Suppose visiting the dealer would have been a better idea than trying to figure out everything online.

 

[bmwhitetx]

I think the issue is that fords website is still suspect.... I just grabbed this 2 seconds ago.

Not a big one for me as I don't use it lol

Agree. A lot of descriptions and pictures were not updated. But I believe it still shows as an option even after you choose ER.

 

[SilverBrewer]

Agree. A lot of descriptions and pictures were not updated. But I believe it still shows as an option even after you choose ER.

You are 100% correct there is an add button with 225 shown - just a bit confusing.

 

[metroshot]

Can I ask why in California you would need heated mirrors ?

I don't use my heated steering and never thought about heated mirrors in my '22 Lariat as temps don't go below 50.

 

[lightspeed]

I think this is caused in part by using decibels as the sole measure of acoustic comfort in a vehicle cabin. Decibels are simply a measure of volume, whereas the quality of the sound is also very important. I know C&D wrote that and I think they should be a little more careful. There is an extreme amount of work done by the S-Class sound team to ensure supreme acoustic comfort, even if other vehicles measure similarly on an SPL meter.

Is there anything in particular that stands out to you as annoying or loud? I have only driven Lightnings on two occasions, for about 40 minutes in total. The trucks seemed exceptionally comfortable noise-wise, but I would need to take a road trip to know for sure.

I would say it's very quiet below 50mph-ish, but as you get towards 70mph the wind noise becomes significant and more than you would get in an S-class type vehicle. I'm not sure if the Platinum trims are somehow even more quiet.

I'm not bothered by it though. Overall, it's pretty quiet, which is a relief for those long trips.

 

[lightspeed]

Can I ask why in California you would need heated mirrors ?

I don't use my heated steering and never thought about heated mirrors in my '22 Lariat as temps don't go below 50.

"Need" is a strong word. I don't need much, but they were included when I ordered the truck and they just disappeared without notice or compensation.

Side mirrors often frost over night in Northern CA, so having the heated defrost is nice. Plus, I spend time in Tahoe during snow season where both the heated steering wheel and heated mirrors would have been nice.

[UPDATE -- the truck does have heated side mirrors]

 

[ExCivilian]

At 50F, which Southern CA sees often overnight in winter, the mirrors will fog over while the temps outside climb. Nothing that a 10 minute defrost on the mirrors and a quick up/down on the windows won't clear but annoying in a full size pickup to fly blind until you hit the freeway onramps.

 

[lightspeed]

You are 100% correct there is an add button with 225 shown - just a bit confusing.

Yes it's confusing because it is supposed to be part of the package. It might even be if you hit the check box that it would be included at no extra charge if you already have the 511A package. Not sure.

Either way, I didn't want it originally, so I'm ok with it being gone, just surprised. An aftermarket (lockable) drawer system is much better than having to raise the rear seats to get at stuff for me.

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