I admit it, I'm a 460 fan, not a fan of the V-10. I shake my head at the balance shaft and other devices used to eliminate harmonics when it wasn't necessary. Chrysler got it right, why Ford didn't I'll never know. The 5 cylinder Audi/VW has been around for decades, so at the very least, one can say the V-10 was over engineered.
I don't buy into the smaller displacement arguments either. If one thinks of the engine as an air pump, which it is, which one do you think pumps more air: 7.5L@3000RPM, or 6.8@4400RPM? The way I see it, Ford's V-10 is a small block with two more cylinders...