Lariat or KR?
Mountain Pass
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 154
Likes: 17
From: Fredericksburg, Va.
AWESOME PIC!!!
Freshman User
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 43
Likes: 0
I’ve always wanted a KR. I sat in one and was kind of meh in regards to the seats. If they were more like the Ram Longhorn I completely would have gone with it. That and the wife nixed them based on the orange. Larait Ultimate is the way I went...thought about Platinum but decided I’d rather have the extra $5K in my pocket.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,865
Likes: 34
From: Annandale, VA
KJ, your opinion is exactly why I have a Lariat Ultimate as well. I owned a Ram Longhorn and that interior is absolutely worth the extra money. I didn't feel that the Platinum, KR, or Limited were worth the price premium. The upside to those trim levels is their resale might be a bit easier to command b/c a highly optioned Lariat may not be as desireable as a King Ranch. I decided not to care about that.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 172
Likes: 5
Couple of things:
(Quote) The Tailgate Appliqué on K/R, Platinum and Limited Trucks are Aluminum. Ford began adding the Tailgate Appliqué in 1967 to identify their Upper Trim level Trucks. Color matching Trim and Chrome accents have identified the Premium over Base Model Ford Trucks since the original 1951 F1, Deluxe 5 Star Extra Cab.
Applique on KR (requires Chrome Package) and Platinum (STD) are Plastic. Not metal
(Quote) They are not. Personally, I found the KR seats much more comfortable than the platinum.
Platinum comes STD with the massaging seats, if you find the seat more comfortable in the KR, you most likely don't have them unless you have the KR Ultimate package. I had them in my F150 Platinum and my butt would go to sleep after a couple hours, I do not have that issue in the Lariat. It is one of the biggest complaints about the seat because you can feel the structure for the air bags etc under the seat cover and the foam is thinner. Also the center stripe with the piping will wear out (ours did before I traded on the Lariat)
My 2 cts. I looked at all 3, my Lariat Ultimate (2017) has every thing the KR and Platinum have except the massaging seats and the soft armrest of the rear doors. I have the 360 Cam, LEDs, Pwr Running boards, Pano roof etc. The leather is the same, however there maybe more of it (seat surfaces vs seats) however there is no difference in the quality that I can see ( I work in Seats). Mine stickered loaded at $74K and got it OTD for $64K, the closest KR Ultimate and Platinum were around $67K. $3K was not worth it for some door trim and uncomfortable seats.
But buy what you want - its a lot of cash to have regrets in 6 weeks.
As a footnote, we have and 2016 Explorer Platinum and those seats are great and have the massaging feature but different seat suppliers.
(Quote) The Tailgate Appliqué on K/R, Platinum and Limited Trucks are Aluminum. Ford began adding the Tailgate Appliqué in 1967 to identify their Upper Trim level Trucks. Color matching Trim and Chrome accents have identified the Premium over Base Model Ford Trucks since the original 1951 F1, Deluxe 5 Star Extra Cab.
Applique on KR (requires Chrome Package) and Platinum (STD) are Plastic. Not metal
(Quote) They are not. Personally, I found the KR seats much more comfortable than the platinum.
Platinum comes STD with the massaging seats, if you find the seat more comfortable in the KR, you most likely don't have them unless you have the KR Ultimate package. I had them in my F150 Platinum and my butt would go to sleep after a couple hours, I do not have that issue in the Lariat. It is one of the biggest complaints about the seat because you can feel the structure for the air bags etc under the seat cover and the foam is thinner. Also the center stripe with the piping will wear out (ours did before I traded on the Lariat)
My 2 cts. I looked at all 3, my Lariat Ultimate (2017) has every thing the KR and Platinum have except the massaging seats and the soft armrest of the rear doors. I have the 360 Cam, LEDs, Pwr Running boards, Pano roof etc. The leather is the same, however there maybe more of it (seat surfaces vs seats) however there is no difference in the quality that I can see ( I work in Seats). Mine stickered loaded at $74K and got it OTD for $64K, the closest KR Ultimate and Platinum were around $67K. $3K was not worth it for some door trim and uncomfortable seats.
But buy what you want - its a lot of cash to have regrets in 6 weeks.
As a footnote, we have and 2016 Explorer Platinum and those seats are great and have the massaging feature but different seat suppliers.
Senior User
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 147
Likes: 2
From: Southwest PA
I went down this exact path in 2017. When I went to order I was planning on Lariat with all they toys. Once I priced it out, price was nearly identical to a KR which I ultimately ordered.
Had it been 2018 or newer with the orange seats, I may have gone the other direction.
Had it been 2018 or newer with the orange seats, I may have gone the other direction.
Thread Starter
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More Turbo
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 618
Likes: 69
Perhaps those air bladders were the difference I was feeling between the KR and Lariat seats. I tried to build a KR without the massaging seats and when I added in the power running boards, it defaulted to a KR Ultimate package. The only way to get around that would be leave the deployable running boards off and add them after the truck is received. I wish FOMOCO would trully let you build the truck you want instead of forcing arbitrary packages upon you.
I'll go and sit in a few more trucks tomorrow before I fly back home.
Adam
I'll go and sit in a few more trucks tomorrow before I fly back home.
Adam
Freshman User
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 42
Likes: 2
From: Florida Keys
Ill jump in, I just ordered a Lariat loaded with every option I could check simply because I wanted an Oxford White truck. My neighbor has a Platinum and gave me all the tips on what option groups based on his truck and I think it will turn out well. Didn't want the tailgate stuff, the massage seats sounded fun but really figured the rest of the stuff was more important. I think Ford made some goofy decisions on what options you can pair together I would have gladly bought a Platinum if I could have got it in the color I wanted. I work in construction and whole whole fleet of 300 F series trucks are Oxford, so I would have looked odd with some other color. Plus it matches my trailer! The other thing about seats are they are really just one stop from a upholstery shop from being what ever you would like. I think ill be adding alcantara to a few of the wear spots down the road, but first the steering wheel!
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More Turbo
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 625
Likes: 42
Ford's FLAT bottom seats are historically uncomfortable for a lot of people to begin with. The thinner foam and extra stitching on the messaging seats can make them even more uncomfortable. As awesome as the truck is, back and butt ache will suck the enjoyment out of owning the truck. I have Lariat seats and the comfort is decent, not great, Ram is better. My brother got a Platinum and hated the seats on trips and got rid of the truck and went back to Ram.
Junior User
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 66
Likes: 1
Ultimately you should get the exact truck you want, even if it must be ordered or a dealer needs to grab it from another dealer. Otherwise you will always have a bit of regret. This is a large purchase, that likely will be with you for a while. Don’t compromise if you can afford not to.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 3,529
Likes: 390
From: SEVA
I wouldn't go as far as to say they're "historically uncomfortable" because the seats in my '01 Excursion Limited and '05 Excursion Eddie Bauer were VERY comfotable. Granted, the newer seats are not as comfy, but my 60 year old body is OK with the seats in my 2017.
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,399
Likes: 12
The massage seats in my 2017 KR are the most comfortable seats I've ever owned in a vehicle. They don't have the piping in the center and near the edges, which I found uncomfortable in the Platinum. I sat in most configurations and found the XLT and KR ultimate seats the best by far.
New User
Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
One advantage of a Lariat versus a KR/Platinum/Limited is that you can specify a 40/20/40 front seat. However, you cannot have power running boards with a 40/20/40 front seat, and no vault safe. I can certainly understand why you cannot have a safe, but I can’t see why you cannot have power running boards in this configuration. I didn’t find that there was a whole heap of difference in pricing with a loaded Lariat, versus a KR, or a Platinum.
Tuned
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 472
Likes: 24
From: Brentwood CA
Forgot to mention - we wanted a loaded truck but like having the bench seat / 6 passenger option - Lariat was the way to go - works great with grand kids and others. Not sure Ford still offers that option on an Ultimate Lariat.
As far as comfort we had a 2012 and a loaded 2014 Laramie RAM 2500 - the seats we OK when new but they show wear on the bolstering pretty fast.
We dumped the 2014 which was a replacement for a buyback on the 2012 which had all kinds of issues. The 2014 was always in the shop.
So far the F250 has had 1 issue - a small tear in the headrest and a recall which the local dealer took prompt care of.
After 13000 miles have to say the F250 seats still look new and we find them very comfortable.
They were great on a 3500 mile trip we took in Sept. The picture was one of our stops along the way.
Tuned
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 472
Likes: 24
From: Brentwood CA
One advantage of a Lariat versus a KR/Platinum/Limited is that you can specify a 40/20/40 front seat. However, you cannot have power running boards with a 40/20/40 front seat, and no vault safe. I can certainly understand why you cannot have a safe, but I can’t see why you cannot have power running boards in this configuration. I didn’t find that there was a whole heap of difference in pricing with a loaded Lariat, versus a KR, or a Platinum.
I've attached my window sticker.