Ford’s F-150 Hybrid Will Be Better Than You Think
Not too long ago, we reported on the possibility of Ford making a hybrid version of the F-150 pickup truck. Not too long after that, Ford’s CEO Mark Fields confirmed that a hybrid F-150 was on the way. During both of these stories, y’all expressed concerns that you have with the company offering a hybrid version of a pickup truck. Here’s why I don’t believe you have anything to worry about, and that the hybrid version of the truck will be better than you think.
To get one thing out of the way at the start, the hybrid version of the F-150 isn’t going to be some off-road barnstormer of a pickup truck. It’s most likely going to take the form of a two-wheel drive version of the truck. Depending on where they end up storing the batteries, that could limit us to only a SuperCrew or SuperCab configuration, but the truck is nowhere near that point in the process.
Many of you cited the previous attempts by General Motors to make mild-hybrid versions of their trucks and SUVs, and mentioned how it didn’t really work out for them. Several of our Canadian readers suggested that when the going gets really cold, hybrid just doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Let’s address the Canadian concern first. It does get very, very cold in parts of Canada. It’s also true that many Canadians rely on trucks to get work done. Recently, Ford has shown us several different ways in which they cold weather test their other vehicles to make sure they’ll work in the coldest environments on the planet. Not only do they cold weather test, but they endurance cold weather test. They know people are going to want to use these trucks all over, and want to make sure they are “Built Ford Tough.”
While many of you pointed out the GM hybrids and their failures, it should be important to note several things here. First of all, that was several years ago and hybrid technology has evolved significantly since then, including the use of lithium-ion batteries. But secondly, it was GENERAL MOTORS. While GM isn’t in the business of making crappy stuff, they have their own way of doing things, and Ford has their own way. Don’t rule out one because another brand’s product wasn’t successful.
Also, Ford has a pretty solid history with hybrid vehicles and reliability. They haven’t had a single electric motor failure in production since they started doing hybrids so many years ago.
But lastly, I believe that Ford is setting the sights high for the hybrid F-150. It’ll be tested and broken and fixed and tested again in environments where the actual truck will never go. It’ll be like that watch you wear that’s good for up to 1,000 feet underwater. You’ll never go diving with it, but you like to know it’ll handle getting wet. Besides, many half-ton truck buyers don’t use their trucks to the limits of what they’re capable of. But rest assured, the hybrid F-150 will have high limits.
What do you think? Let us know over in the forums!
