I was recently in the market for a newer used truck. My 2008 f150 fx4 was a great truck, a little underpowered and i had some issues with it when it was under warranty but overall i was happy with it.

The first truck i drove was a 2011 f150 xlt with a 5.0 and 23k on it. The gauges on the dash were awesome and the overall ride was great. The 5.0 on the other hand just didnt deliver the way i expected it to. I dont know what gears it had but it just didnt deliver the oomph i thought it would.

The next truck i drove was a 2010 f150 xlt with 36k on it and the old 5.4 with 3.55 gears. The second i drove it i thought it had more power than the 5.0. I pushed both trucks and still thought the 5.4 had more giddy up. Call me nuts but i loved the 2010, i passed on the 2011 because it had some dents in it the dealership wouldnt fix. Both trucks were xcab with the chrome package.

Overall i love this 2010, feels like a completely different truck than the 2008 i had. ON a site note, i dont think the rear window defroster is working, it doesnt even get rid of a little dew on the back window and i cant feel it getting warm at all. The light on the dash comes on and i cant find the fuse in the book to see if its bad.

Thoughts on both engines and my overall impressions and any input on my rear window defroster would be appreciated.

 

The 5.4L will pull hard as it makes it power at a lower RPM than the 5.0L. I'm really shocked that you didn't find the 5.0L to be a bit more inspiring.

For me, the difference in the gauges alone would make me want a 2011 or newer truck. As for the window defroster, I can't be of assistance here.

 

My guess is that the 6 speed auto has something to do with this, I always thought my 06 fx4 with the 5.4 was hobbled by the 4rw75 trans. the 5.4 has good torque with a wide flat power band, but gearing in the older trucks left so much on the table, it also affected fuel mileage negatively.

 

The fuse box is on the passenger side below the dash. Just pull out the side panel

 

I thought the same for the gauge cluster from the 08 to 09-10. I obviously got the '10 but have a little dash envy for the '11

 

Do a search on the rear window exploding when using the rear defroster on some of the 2010 model F150. There may be a reason why it isn't working if the previous owner disabled it somehow to prevent the window from being damaged or blown out.