TFL Truck Tests Tow Capacities of Ford F-150 PowerBoost & Chevy Silverado
TFL Truck offers insights into the towing performance of Ford’s first-ever hybrid F-150, which also takes on the Ike Gauntlet.
For the first time in the history of the F-150 nameplate, Ford has introduced a hybrid version of the iconic pickup truck. The Ford F-150 PowerBoost is exploring new frontiers of the pickup truck segment, and YouTube channel The Fast Lane Truck recently compared the towing capability of the all-new hybrid pickup against its arch-nemesis- the Chevrolet Silverado.
Andre Smirnov from TFL Truck hitched the F-150 PowerBoost to a trailer with 9200 lbs of payload and drove the pickup to take on the Ike Gauntlet. This is not an easy test as Andre explains, “We are pushing the Ford near its limit.” He further adds, “the exact trailer weight is about 9240 lbs, and yes it’s not 11000 lbs basically near the maximum, but we’re basically maxed-out on the payload on this truck with me in the truck and a few other things.”
For this challenge, Andre asked Mr. Truck (Kent) to drive both Chevy Silverado Trail Boss and F-150 hybrid downhill. Then Andre swapped places with Mr. Truck and drove both offerings back uphill, which allowed the presenters to compare data.
Chevrolet Silverado boasts of a 1685 lbs payload capacity and can tow up to 9500 lbs. Ford f-150 hybrid’s payload capacity is rated at 1350 lbs, which is 335 lbs less than that of the Silverado but Ford’s pickup can tow up to 11000 lbs, which is 1500 LBS more than the Trail Boss.
The 5.3-liter engine in the Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss produces 355 HP of power and 383 lb-ft of peak torque. The PowerBoost motor in the F-150 outshines the performance figures of the Silverado and producers 430 HP of power and 570 lb-ft of torque. The powerplant in the Trail Boss and the F-150 PowerBoost come mated to 10-speed automatic transmissions, but Ford’s hybrid drivetrain features an electric motor that is positioned between the gearbox and the engine.
Mr. Truck reported six brake applications in the Chevrolet Silverado, and the truck returned a fuel economy of 3.4 MPG during its uphill run, which was completed in 8 minutes 5 seconds. While driving the Ford F-150 downhill, Mr. Truck recorded 8 brake applications. The hybrid pickup completed its uphill journey in 7 minutes 49 seconds and returned a fuel economy of 3.5 MPH.
Both presenters were quite impressed by F-150’s performance in the end, as Andre explained, “The Silverado had a slightly harder time on the way up.” He further adds, “The new F-150 hybrid has so much power, you can never slow it down, no matter how you load it.”
Image Source: TFL Trucks
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