ArcaMax

Bed is too tall - even for tall people (a problem in all current 1500 pick-ups). "PIllarless" doors require the front doors be opened first before you can open the rear doors.

UNDER THE HOOD

Ford sees little - if any - future for the V8. Not as a mass-market engine. And not because truck buyers don't want them (they do, very much so) but because the federal government is systematically making it economically not-viable - via "gas guzzler" fines - to offer them for sale as other than very low-volume (and very high-priced) curiosities. When the 35.5 MPG CAFE standard kicks in next year, GM and Dodge buyers may be looking at paying more for their trucks because those trucks won't make the CAFE cut.

But here's a Weird Fact: Ford's new family of small-displacement - and turbocharged - V6 engines don't use much less gas than the V8s in rivals trucks. The base V6 offered in the F-truck displaces 3.5 liters and makes 283 hp and 255 ft-lbs. of torque. It delivers 18 city, 25 highway (2WD versions).

The Chevy Silverado's base V6 is a larger 4.3 liter mill that makes 285 hp and (here's the one to watch) 305 ft-lbs. oif torque. It rates 18 city, 24 highway (2WD) a difference without a distinction. The Dodge Ram 1500 comes standard with a 3.6 liter V6 that makes 305 hp and 269 ft.-lbs. of torque. Mileage is 17 city, 25 highway (2WD) - another difference without a distinction. But now things get really interesting.

The F-truck's first upgrade engine is a tiny V6 - just 2.7 liters. This is the smallest V6 engine you'll find in any 1500 truck or for that matter, any current passenger car. The 2.7 liter six is about the same size as most current fours. But - with its twin turbochargers force-feeding it air - the power it produces is in V8 territory: 325 hp and a very impressive 375 ft.-lbs. of torque.

However, gas mileage is something of a letdown - given all this effort: Just 19 city, 26 highway. These are good numbers for a big truck. But nothing spectacular when compared with other big trucks - powered by much bigger V8s.

The Silverado's next-up engine, for instance, is a 5.3 liter V8 that makes 355 hp and 383 ft.-lbs. of torque. EPA gives it a 16 city, 23 highway rating (2WD versions; with 4x4, the number dips to 16 city, 22 highway).

The "EcoBoost" 2.7 liter-equipped F-truck does a little better. But three MPGs is not by any measure an epic improvement. The Chevy 5.3 V8 might drink a bit more fuel, but it's not gonna break the bank. And you get 20 more hp (and 8 ft.-lbs. more torque) as part of the deal.

The Ram 1500 steps up with a 395 hp 5.7 liter "Hemi" V8 that also makes the most torque - by far: 410 ft.-lbs. And the Hemi's gas mileage is - again - not all that much worse than the much less powerful 2.7 liter Ford's: 14 city, 20 highway (2WD).

...continued