Saw a Lariat just hit the dealer lot and decided to go swing by to give it a whirl - dealership was *packed* (as was the freeway) so I got about 5 minutes behind the wheel for a whopping total of 3 miles.

The truck was riding on 20" wheels, 3.73 electronically locking diff, 6-speed Torqshift G, FX4, & Lariat Value

Some initial impressions:

• The mirrors w/ integrated convex are outstanding; The truck was parallel parked in between a lot of other F150s and I was able to get it out pretty much by myself (salesperson spotted up front b/c there was no front camera)

• The backup camera wheel guidelines are hard to see because they're faint & white but they get more pronounced as steering angle increases. The focus is where the hitch is going to be (dynamic black dotted line) versus where the tires or bumper corners are going to be - it would be nice to see all 3 very clearly in a vehicle of this size

• Throttle response was pretty good - the truck moves really well for its weight but the tranny almost always ran the engine up to redline if I gave it 50% throttle; didn't get enough seat time to test more moderate acceleration

• Ride quality was surprisingly good. It was marginally firmer than my oh so soft, coil-sprung light duty I used to get to the dealership

• Noise was pretty good; more engine noise than I expected, especially over 3K RPMs

• Engine note was very "industrial" (as opposed to badass American Iron V8) overall and somewhat disappointing

• Rear seat legroom is outstanding (no surprise; identical to F150) & the flat floor is awesome

• Rear seat angle feels a little uncomfortable (knees too far above hips; was a problem in F150 also)

I would like to get some more seat time in the near future, preferably on a Lariat Ultimate w/o FX4 & 20" wheels. Some scenarios I need to try before moving forward:

- The (retarded) twisty, undulating toll roads in the area
- 80mph cruise (speed limits here are 75mph)
- Pax maxed, empty bed, unprotected, uphill left turn in wet conditions
- Towing & Hauling (this should be interesting to test)

That said, the thing I liked the least was the transmission. It wasn't a bad tranny by any means but it just felt antediluvian for a $60K vehicle in 2016; I do realize that competition are all still rocking 6-speeds in the 250* segment. I still would like to see the 10-speed adapted to Super Duty (gas engines) - there was just too much space between gears and while gear changes were good, driveability suffered as a result.

TL;DR:
- Pretty AF IRL
- Good first impression
- Willing to drive more
- Don't like that the tranny only has 6 speeds

 

It's impossible to fit the ideal trans to suit all the various ways people will use these trucks.

My impression, based upon using 4 SD's across 2 different power trains, is that they try to program the shift strategy for economy first, responsiveness generally ignored. The big caveat here is that you had the exclusive trans for the gas F250. It's different and it sounds like they set it up to make use of the engines power at high rpm which is a very good thing if you ever load it down, which of course is what they're engineered to do.

My suggestion to anyone that gets irritated by the trans, put it in M and use the gears however you would like. My truck handles the road and load much much better when I'm shifting it. For example, my diesel accelerates much faster when the torque converter is locked up than when it's not. So, the key to satisfying power is to learn the torque converter strategy and go from there.

You touched a nerve with me and I'm way in the minority. I like M, all the time. I hate just pulling my load with a open torque converter all the way up to 65mph. Drives me bonkers. Always has and when ford gave us the M in 2011 I was a happy happy camper.

 

- Don't like that the tranny only has 6 speeds[/QUOTE]
Maybe I am a luddite, but I want to hear the engine work some of its range. Otherwise, would it sound like one of those shameful CVTs? If I can still buy an awesome American V8, I don't want it to have to tuck its nuts and wee wee between its legs and drone along at a constant RPM.

 

Don't forget, the transmission is adaptive so if the 4 previous people (yes, including the rail and truck driver folks) drove it different than you, the truck / transmission with act completely different for you, never mind on top of that it's new, not broke-in yet.

 

I'm with you, bring on the 10 speeds. Even my Duramax could use another couple of over drive gears. It does 2,000rpm at 85mph. Peak torque is at 1,600rpm, so it could have a 7th there, and an 8th to bring it down to 1,200rpm and bring the fuel economy up. On a gas engine, more gears would be suited to fill in the gaps between 1st and 2nd, and 2nd and 3rd. Anyone suggesting more gears will make it drive or feel like like a CVT has no idea what they are talking about. Constant rpm, and more frequent shift points with less dramatic drops and increases in rpms are not even close to the same thing.

 

Yeah, I could see it with a diesel with limited RPM range. Not sure about gas though. I've been living with a 2003 5.4 with 4-speed for two years now and have never thought about needing more gears. Going to the 6-speed will get me a 50% increase!

 

I said the exact same thing going from my 2005 F150 5.4. The 4R trannies have a big gap between 3rd and 4th. They chug away alright when they are empty, they don't offer brisk acceleration at partial throttle. 6 speed feels ok on a gas 3/4 ton when it's empty, but when you start towing up hills, you start wishing there were a couple more gears so it didn't have to kickdown to 2nd and 1st close to redline to gain speed.

 

What is this "industrial " engine noise you mention? The 6.2 has always sounded great. It starts up with a deep growl thanks to the large diameter exhaust, and has a nice sound at full throttle. Did the sound change?

 

Thanks, great review.
I was hoping the new tranny was better suited for the 6.2.
I agree compleatly with you regarding the 10 speed.
This was the perfect time to introduce it.

 

Anyone else notice the tire inflation values? Didn't they always use to be 65 front / 80 rear? Or maybe that is just the F-350?

3,000lbs payload is a pretty decent rating for a 250 Lariat, I think.

 

The tire inflation game continues!
My 250 is 65/65.

 

T, the 250's were previously 65 at all 4 corners as Todd said. Only the SRW 350's go up to 80 in the rear... I see that the fronts on the SRW 350's and all 4 on 250's are now 60. I bet that works with their load inflation chart and affords the trucks a slightly better ride.

 

Thanks Rodney. So it is only the 350's. But look at the 250 sticker that AZFordLover posted - it is still 65 in the rear for the 250's.

 

I wonder if that varies by 18 AT vs. 18 AS? Or perhaps it's the new 250 with high capacity vs. the standard 250?

 

Or, some of the 18" trucks have 275x65x18 vs 275x70x18. Maybe the 70 series tires have more capacity.