I just looked over the sales brochure on the new F150. I could not find curb weight, but looking at the max weight (I think it was GVW) minus payload capacity led me to about 5000 lbs for the basic 2wd F150 with a 5.4 V8. A comparable F250 came out to around 5100 lbs. Not much of a difference. As nice as the new F150 is, if I were in the market for a new light pickup, I'd be buying a SuperDuty. I like the styling better, can get a manual transmission, and with it weighing little more, it should be nearly as economical to drive. One thing nice about the new F150 is it is one heavy duty half ton, but what will be missing is the true half ton, but I suppose the Ranger will fill that gap now.

 

I think 5,000 pounds is about right - Edmunds lists 4,908 pounds as the base curb weight for a 2wd regular-cab XL with the 8' box - and that's with the smaller 4.6L V8. However, for the base-model F250 2wd they list 5,411 pounds - which is a bit heavier than your estimate of 5,100 pounds. I double-checked the numbers on carpoint, and they list 5,356 pounds for the F250 with a manual tranny.

Having driven both the Super duties and the '04 F150 (and I finally found a regular-cab '04 last night), I think the decision really depends on what you want out of a truck. If you use your truck like a car, the F150 is definitely the better choice - it handles and rides far better, is much quieter, and would probably return 1-2 more mpg on average. The F150 would also be faster, even with the automatic - the manual can't make up for 400 more pounds and 40 less horsepower.

However, if you want something that you'd actually use like a truck on a regular basis, the F250 is the better choice - and is quite a bit cheaper (at least for now). Plus, being able to get the manual tranny is a huge selling point...though I prefer the older 5-speed over the new 6-speed. I also think the styling is better on the F250, but that's a matter of opinion.

Personally, if I was buying a regular-cab I'd get the Superduty - after spending some time with the regular-cab '04 F150 last night, I decided I *really* don't like the 4-door setup. It creates additional blind spots, looks odd, and makes it harder to get in and out of the cab (when they added the small back doors they made the 'normal' doors shorter). Plus, it doesn't really make it all that much easier to get behind the seats, which was the whole point in the first place. The only time I see them being useful is when hauling heavy/bulky items from behind the seat - for example, I sometimes haul 50-pound bags of feed behind the passenger's seat in my truck (4 bags can fit with the seat all the way ahead), and they'd probably be a little easier to get out of the new-style F150. However, I think a better way to do it would have been to extend the front doors a couple inches longer, and then mount the front seats on longer tracks so you can slide them all the way up to the dash when you're removing items.

LK

 

Good comments LK. Given the greater weight difference it is a bit hard for me to justify the F250 as I rarely haul stuff, and one really nice feature of the new F150 is the longer cab on the standard cab, which I would probably prefer over the supercab. Ah, but this is all academic for me as I plan to hang on to my 300 I6 for a long time. By then there probably will be many nice used '05 F150's (I heard somewhere the '05 would have a manual tranny), or maybe I will get a restored '65 F100 .

 

F-250
The 250 has the better HD rear diff, it has the oil burner/V-10, priced better (currently), will tow more stuff, and chicks like it. As soon as they announce a rebate on a 250, I will get one.