Ford F-150 XLT 2024 Tow Test

The 2024 Ford F-150 are available in two trim levels (XLT or Lariat), each offering a choice of short or long wheelbase (which adds 300mm in wheelbase and subsequently overall length).

The base model tested, the F-150 XLT SWB, is priced from $106,950 plus on-road costs with metallic paint the only option at $700, totalling $107,650 plus ORCs.

While this not exactly a cheap ute, it is less costly than the other big trailer haulers in the market such as the Chevrolet Silverado?(from $124,000 plus ORCs) and RAM 1500?(from $119,950 plus ORCs). Mind you, to step up from XLT to the F-150 Lariat trim level costs another $31,000 or so, a steep jump for the safety and tech incorporated in the Lariat.

The 2024 Ford F-150 XLT leaves the dealer showroom fitted with powered driver’s seat, powered front passenger seat (base only), adjustable pedals, remote fob entry and a rather quaint, 1980s-style keypad PIN entry, keyless start, a flip-over centre front bin lid, cruise control and dual-zone climate control. Seats are cloth, and the rear seat base folds up to present a decent interior load space if required.

The exterior is treated to 20-inch alloy wheels, side steps, a pop-out tailgate step and grab handle, a tailgate work surface, spray-in bedliner and adjustable tray tie-down points.

Trailer towing is well covered with integrated electric trailer brake, towbar and 70mm tow ball, dynamic hitch assist, pro trailer back-up assist, automated trailer light checking, sat-nav route mapping for trailers and smartphone unhitching notification.

Under the Ford Australia umbrella, the F-150 comes with Ford’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty for commercial and private use.

The F-150 needs a service every 15,000km/12 months while Ford’s capped price service offer for F-150 is currently $429 per service for the first four years or 60,000km.

The 2024 Ford F-150 has autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and blind spot monitoring, and an emergency assist system that can automatically contact emergency services in the event of a crash.

A rear-view camera and rear-parking sensors are standard, while features you might expect for this kind of money are missing – no LED lights, just halogens, no active cruise control, and no front parking sensors or 360-degree camera view. There’s no lane-keeping assist or lane departure warning either, although the upper-spec Lariat does offer active cruise with stop-and-go, lane centring, evasive steering assist, speed sign recognition and a 360-degree camera.

The F-150 has six airbags – that is, dual front, front side, and side curtain airbags

Meanwhile there is no crash test undertaken by independent crash-test authority ANCAP, and with the low volumes expected for the F-150, it’s unlikely that will occur. To get any crash result, you have to go to the USA, where the?Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has tested the US-market left-hand drive F-150, but the results are not necessarily meaningful here in Australia for right-hand drive, and where ANCAP uses different protocols.

The 2024 Ford F-150 has an 8.0-inch infotainment screen using the latest Ford SYNC 4 operating system and USB-A and USB-C ports are standard in the front and rear, as are 12v accessory ports. The central screen incorporates Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay, and there’s a basic seven-speaker sound system.

Meanwhile, FordPass Connect, which allows remote connectivity via a smartphone app permits remote monitoring of vehicle information such as fuel level and vehicle location, and remote locking and unlocking.

The 2024 Ford F-150 XLT does not use an old-school pushrod iron V8 as you might expect – it has a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol developing 298kW and 678Nm of torque. Running these outputs through a 10-speed automatic, the XLT is part-time, dual-range 4WD. With these output numbers being translated though 10 ratios and pushing along a relatively light aluminium body (the F-150 XLT only weighs about 150kg more than the Ranger) the result is one very quick ute.

This powertrain might be a disappointment to ol’ US truck traditionalists expecting a V8, but if you rev it, it does sound good – admittedly there’s some speaker sorcery going on there, with the audio being used to emulate engine sound. But any way you cut it, this V6 sounds good and is very responsive. It can be driven gently, easily, but if you put your foot down It has performance car acceleration (unladen), it’s impressive how quickly, for example, the F-150 can wind-in tarmac when overtaking in the country. It just gives instant response, and lashings of it. It makes for a relaxing, quick country tourer.

Although the 2024 Ford F-150 has a claimed average combined fuel use (city/highway) of 12.5L/100km (and it can use 91RON unleaded) we saw a 9.1L/100km average on a Sydney-Canberra return run with two occupants and a small load in the tray. On the various ring roads around Sydney, travelling at 80km/h to 90km/h consumption dropped to as little as 7.5L/100km – but does not remain there once you hit traffic or up the speed and then the F-150’s bluff body shape takes its toll on economy.

As for towing a trailer, here the F-150 was on the thirsty side, with our average of 24.5L/100km when towing a caravan that came in at 3100kg as towed.

The F-150 does have a large 136-litre fuel tank, which should see you get more than 500kg range even when towing a heavy trailer.

The 2024 Ford F-150 is not a small vehicle, that much is obvious. Parking in the local shopping carpark, it was clear that the likes of the Ford’s nearly six metre body length was not in the minds of town planners. So, I abandoned any further inner-city shopping expeditions. But that said, carving though inner-city Sydney suburbs was not the terrifying mirror-snapping experience it could have been.

While it’s not a breeze to drive on narrow city streets, neither is it intimidating - if you take it carefully. However, if you get out on more open roads, the F-150 starts to make a lot more sense. This is an inter-city express cruiser - very comfortable to lope along for country mile after mile. The suspension can feel like a curious mix; it is firm and even feels fussy and truck-like over rippled surfaces but the bigger bumps it just seems to soak up without drama.

We hitched up a caravan weighing 3100kg from Jayco Sydney in St Marys North, NSW. The Jayco made hardly any difference to the Ford’s stance, the front lifting barely 5mm and the rear dropping just 10mm (a rise or fall of more than about 30mm is considered a concern for weight distribution).

While we were not able to use the Pro Trailer back-up assist as it requires a fitting on the trailer to work, the trailer lights check and trailer measurement input for blind-spot accuracy (to allow for trailer length) are great features.

The rear-view camera is clear and easy to use. The standard mirrors were wide enough to see around the Jayco Silverline we towed, so we didn’t feel the need to add towing mirrors.

What became very clear was just how easily the F-150 took on the load of a relatively large and heavy trailer - as we headed for the freeway, it was as if it wasn’t even there.

On the freeway onramp, it was possible to reach 100km/h and have to back off about halfway along the ramp’s length, where many rigs we’ve tested need most of the road up to the freeway to get up to speed.

Similarly, climbing the 90km/h test hill was no effort. In fifth gear and with the engine spinning at around 3000rpm, the F-150 pegged the 90km/h climb speed with about one-third throttle input.

Downhill, engine braking was also impressive, with a speed creep from 70km/h to 74km/h – not bad for a petrol engine.

You would think with the size, weight, and wheelbase of the F-150 that it would not feel the weight of the caravan, but it didn’t work out that way. While it was not swaying, there was a sense of the caravan pushing the ute around a little. Ride quality was also on the firm side with the caravan hitched up.

With dual-range part-time 4WD the F-150 is mechanically set up for more technical or difficult off-road work but its clearance, and ramp-over angle in particular, is not ideal for rugged off-roading.

The 2024 Ford F-150 XLT SWB can tow up to 4500kg, with a tow ball mass of up to 450kg.

With a kerb mass of 2451kg, GVM of 3220kg and GCM at 7720kg, towing and payload compromise is okay rather than spectacular but almost all tow vehicles must compromise on how much they can carry in the vehicle when towing to capacity.

With a 769kg payload (on the low side for even the mid-size utes) it becomes 319kg payload with a 450kg tow ball download, or 419kg with 350kg tow ball download.

If you’re towing right up to the 4500kg limit, you can also carry the GVM maximum (3320kg) at the same time.

So obviously the main restriction here is on how much payload you can legally carry when towing.

With acres of space front and rear, there is no issue for five adults to sit comfortably in the 2024 Ford F-150. The front seats, have a good amount of support for long distance touring.

The pluses here are the many storage options, easy-to-operate controls and more than adequate comfort. However, it just doesn’t feel as though you’ve spent a six-figure sum of money inside, with cloth seats and a ute’s worth of hard plastics. While it doesn’t feel cheap, what you’re paying for does not include a lush cabin.

For its intended purpose, of carrying and towing heavy things around the country, the 2024 Ford F-150 makes sense. It is comfortable and spacious, has fantastic performance and has a great touring range, even when towing. Having just about everything you need to start towing as standard is also a good thing. Yet towing economy is heavier than expected, while towing stability and ride are not quite as resolved as we hoped it might be.

2024 Ford F-150 XLT SWB at a glance:
Price:?$106,950(plus on-road costs)
Available:?Now
Engine:?3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol
Output:?298kW/678Nm
Transmission:?10-speed automatic
Fuel:?12.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2:?290g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating:?Not tested

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