Well I went to the local Ford dealership today, and drove both the 5.0 and the ecoboost. Both were very impressive.

First I drove the ecoboost. It was a Lariat 4x4 Supercab, with the 3.73 e-locker, chrome package with 18s in white platinum. Its msrp was about $43k. This truck was impressive, get up and go is amazing, very little turbo lag, if any at all. The only thing I noticed was throttle response was delayed when floored from a stop. The truck road amazing, and was very quiet. The ecoboost has seemless power that never seems to end. It pulls hard all the way to 6500 rpm. If it didn't have traction control, it would just roast the rear tires without a second thought. I loved the way the 6 speed trans felt in the ecoboost, I have never been a big fan of it in the 5.4, it was smooth and had perfect downshifts. The sound of the engine was very weird, and it never actually sounded like it was working hard. Overall impressions, it was an awesome engine and quiet the performer. We did a 0-60 time, and it was about 7.5 seconds.

Dislike: The front license plate bracket is off center to the right, for the intercooler to breath, looks very wierd..and tacky. Stupid front plate states.

Next was the 5.0. It was a platinum supercrew, with the 3.73 e-locker, 20s in ingot silver. MSRP was about $49k. This truck was equally impressive..especially the sound! It was intoxicating, I kept finding myself slowing down, just so I could punch it, to listen to the engine again. Again, the throttle response was delayed when floored from a stop. I was surprised by how much rougher the 20s made the truck ride, but it was still a very nice ride. Again this engine has no problems going to 6500 rpms, and loves reving, and I'm sure it to would be very capable of roasting the tires. The trans didn't feel quiet as nice as it did behind the ecoboost, shifts were a little harder, but far superior to it behind the 5.4. Overall impressions, again just an awesome awesome engine and its what I would buy if it was my money. The 0-60 time for this truck was about 7.8 seconds, and I think a lot of it was extra weight. I kept wondering if Ford isn't stating the lower numbers.

Dislike: Transmission wasn't as nice, as it was behind the ecoboost.

Overall impressions for the 2011 vs 2010: EPAS is awesome, light steering, but still provides good feedback and feel. The rear view camera is the mirror is bigger than last year, which is a welcome change. Also the LCD screen is awesome, so much info, very intuitive to use.

 

I just drove a Lariat Supercrew 6.5' bed, 4x4, 3.73 E-locker, off-road pkg EcoBoost. Loved it! The off-center front plate didn't bother me at all by the way. I haven't driven the 5.0 so can only compare to my 5.4. It was very smooth, quiet, refined, punchy down low, punchy up high, it was so responsive at any speed. It really made my truck seem like a dinosaur! Fuel economy, I was getting about 20+ on the interstate while doing about 75. The gauge was showing an average of 17 before i started driving it, so that's probably close to a real world average. The dealer said (yeah I know)... he said he sold an XLT with the same axle ratio, and the driver is reporting 24 mpg on the highway. Looking forward to hear some real world figures, but overall I was so happy with it. Didn't want to give the key back!

 

I'm sure that lag upon stomping is the traction control... I don't drive my truck like that though.

 

The slight lag is also most likely do to the Wire-Fire that FORD uses, even my 05' had that slight lag with the 5.4. 04' on up uses the Wire-Fire

 

I just finished driving one tonight. Nice truck, good pickup...

 

Yeah, we were thinking it was a combo of the throttle by wire and traction control. I don't drive my truck like that either, just the dealers.

 

You guys are giving me good ideas to ask the Ford guys when I get my ecoboost drive on the 3rd. This is great stuff guys, well done!

 

Ya , it's great to see that everyone is beating on somebody's new truck before it even has a oil change. I am amazed the salesman let that go on. ..........

 

I've been on test drives where the salesperson encouraged me to hammer it. I would suspect that they want you to be impressed with the vehicles responsiveness, power, etc. They want to make a sale; their concern is not taking care of the engine at that point.

 

X2
If you don't get a chance to test the trucks power/response you might as well sit in the passenger seat and let the salesman drive.I don't think a spirited little test drive is beating on a truck.It's not like your power braking it or running it on the rev limiter.

 

My 05 5.4 has zero throttle lag, it's instantaneous! I had once driven a 09 5.4 XLT 6/auto which did have that lag. I don't think it's from the drive-by-wire, but I also don't think it's because of the turbos. Anyhow, the slight lag didn't seem to bother me as much in the EcoBoost as it did in the 2009 5.4.

 

Its built FORD TOUGH. 'Nuff said. Oh and it also has a little warranty that comes with it so if something breaks Ford will fix it Have you seen the Ecoboost torture videos?

 

That is why I ordered one. I don't want every Tom, Dick and Harry ragging on my truck. In the old days that had a demo vehicle and that is the one that everyone drove. At least then only that vehicle got beat up on.

Sure, you need to accelerate to see how she works but at least warm it up first.

 

Pretty ignorant statement IMO. We are talking about brand new engines with tight clearances where there is zero wear in. What concerns me is long term longevity where a piston scuff or cylinder damage will take thousands of miles off the odometer. If a motor receives minor damage you will never know, and they will never warranty as it "meets specs". Myself, l want all the cylinder pressure that is possible for the longest period of time and will take a little care in my initial break-in. I can read a road test and dyno report and I don't need to do a standing still burn-out followed by a full throttle run through the gears pulling redline to get a idea of how the motor is going to respond. It amazes me that morons even consider treating what is going to be somebody's ELSE'S new vehicle like that.

 

Apparently you haven't seen the ecoboost torture test and tear down yet. This engine went from the crate to being abused for 165K miles and then torn down. She was fine.