The Ford F-150 full-size pickup truck has been offered with a hybrid engine option for a few years. Though a more eco-friendly solution to power than a V8, the engine-transmission combination was derided for a number of reasons, including poor shifting and an overall lack of torque.
For the next-generation F-150, Ford set out to fine-tune the powertrain, and believes it has. A quick one-hour drive of the truck, on city streets and highway surrounding Palm Springs, California, revealed that while better, the F-150 hybrid still has a lot of room for improvement.
Ford redesigned the F-150 for this new model year and the changes are far more than skin deep. A fresh face joins with a unique door-in-tailgate rear and enhanced hands-free driver assistance features to deliver the most technologically advanced F-150 to date.
Much of the equipment that F-150 customers love in their current model has been carried over into the 2025 truck including the a center console that opens to provide a flat meal/work surface, deeply reclining front seats, and an on-board generator.
The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker sells more hybrid trucks than any other automaker, claiming 77 percent of the market, when sales of F-150 regular duty and the Maverick small pickup truck are combined for consideration. Toyota is the only other brand to currently offer a hybrid truck for sale in the U.S.
For the 2024 model year, the hybrid engined F-150 is equipped with a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine (named PowerBoost) that delivers 430 horsepower and 570 pound-feet (lb-ft) of torque. The engine is paired with a 1.5-kilowatt-hour battery and 10-speed automatic transmission.
The truck has best-in-class towing and payload capability, with the ability to tow up to 13,500 pounds and carry up to 2,445 pounds, but not when equipped as a hybrid. With that, its capacities are lowered to 11,200-pound towing and 1,755-pound payload capacities.
It also has a smaller fuel tank than F-150s powered by gasoline engines, holding just 30.6 gallons at a time versus the 36 other models have.
All versions of the F-150 PowerBoost come with four-wheel drive (4WD).
Exiting the parking lot of the Hyatt Regency in Indian Wells, California, the XLT 4x4 version of the truck provided for testing rode smoothly and picked up speed with confidence. On the highway, the truck passed with ease, and was able to keep up with the Tesla Cybertruck that was merging into traffic at the same time.
The F-150's transmission is much smoother than the previous-generation setup, but the truck cannot seem to shake the feeling that the engine and battery aren't in unison.
It almost feels as if the battery and engine are working separately toward the same goal, but aren't able to get on the same page and work together. The disconnect is far removed from what you'll experience when you're behind the wheel of a Toyota hybrid.
The truck's braking is impacted by the hybrid system, which attempts to reclaim power upon stop, amounting to the feel of a set of dragging brakes rather than the traditional experience of the technology. This made it hard to modulate braking, with apologies frequently coming to the passenger for what wasn't meant to be as abrupt of a stop being quite quick in reality.
When compared to all the other Ford F-150s with 4WD, the hybrid version comes out on top in Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel economy ratings, achieving 23 miles per gallon (mpg) in combined driving situations. Most other 4WD F-150s get between 19 and 20, no matter if they're equipped with a six- or eight-cylinder engine.
Two of the test trucks had their check engine lights come on halfway through the test drive, under normal operation. Ford would not divulge the reason as to why the lights came on when the truck was turned back over to them for a reboot at the end of the day.
It is worth noting that the truck was test driven in 100-degree weather, and higher, in mid-day, putting maximum strain on the components.
Toyota's hybrid system has been lauded for its operational smoothness, efficiency, and power, giving Ford an engineering bar to meet. The 2024 F-150 is closer to that bar than the previous generation, but not close enough.
But, truck buyers aren't usually buying based purely on a powertrain. They also consider things like towing capacity, power, and niceties. And, they are among the most brand loyal customers under the sun.
Ford's hybrid revisions aren't enough to turn off customers from being Ford loyal, but it's not good enough to claim to be the best in the market.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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