Ford F-150 Limited Still Dominates Newer Competition, Says CNBC

Typically, newer vehicles hold a distinct advantage over older ones. But Ford’s F-150 still has no real competition.

Both the Chevrolet Silverado and Dodge Ram are brand new, top to bottom, for the 2019 model year. The Ford F-150, on the other hand, hasn’t received a major update since 2015. In the automotive world, this would typically place the F-150 at a major disadvantage. And yet, Ford’s cash cow continues to blow away the competition on the sales charts. Those of us that own F-Series pickups already know why, but it’s nice to receive a little confirmation from this recent review of the 2019 F-150 Limited by CNBC.

“In the hotly competitive full-size truck market, you’d expect the high-budget newcomers to massively upstage the older F-150. You’d be wrong,” our reviewer points out. And that simple fact seems like a major embarrassment for both Chevy and Dodge, not to mention their fans. Throw in the fact that the F-150 should receive a redesign in the next couple of years, and things aren’t looking too great for the future, either.

As CNBC points out, despite their many advancements, Chevy and Dodge still lag behind in several areas. This includes towing capacity and total output. Their F-150 Limited tester was equipped with the 3.5-liter Ecoboost V6, which remains the segment leader in both categories. And while many have praised the Ram’s new interior, CNBC isn’t so convinced. “Despite being a generation older, Ford’s interiors are still a step ahead of Chevy and GMC in terms of design and premium feeling.”

Surprisingly, they also found the competition’s technology features lagging in comparison to the F-150. Heck, the new Silverado doesn’t even have adaptive cruise control, a feature present in most higher trim level F-150s. And that gap figures to only widen in the near future. “Since the Ford matches or beats trucks from Ram, Chevy and GMC in terms of technology right now, we wouldn’t be surprised if Ford took a big step in front of the competition when it redesigns the F-150 in the next year or two,” CNBC pointed out.

Overall, CNBC only found a couple of niggling issues with the F-150 Limited. For one, it’s expensive – $74,595 as tested. Secondly, it’s slightly less comfortable inside than the Ram, and has more wind noise. But they’d solve the former problem by opting for a Lariat with the 802A package, which gives you most of the luxury and tech features at a much lower price – $57,890, to be exact.

This particular review only confirms what we already know about the F-150, of course. But at the same time, it has to be tough for GM, Dodge, and fans of those brands to know that their shiny new trucks are still playing catch up to a years-old F-150. For the foreseeable future, it sure looks like Ford’s dominance of the full-size pickup market will remain untested.

Photos: Ford Motor Company

Join the Ford Truck Enthusiasts forums now!

Brett Foote

Brett Foote has been covering the automotive industry for over five years and is a longtime contributor to Internet Brands’ Auto Group sites, including Chevrolet Forum, Rennlist, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts, among other popular sites.

He has been an automotive enthusiast since the day he came into this world and rode home from the hospital in a first-gen Mustang, and he's been wrenching on them nearly as long.

In addition to his expertise writing about cars, trucks, motorcycles, and every other type of automobile, Brett had spent several years running parts for local auto dealerships.

You can follow along with his builds and various automotive shenanigans on Instagram: @bfoote.