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So school me on these Powerboost trucks. Does the regenerative braking system require more extensive or more expensive brake caliper or pad or rotor maintenance? What about oil and filter changes are they the same as the standard trucks? Is there anything additional on the powerboost trucks that I may not be thinking of that would cost a guy more money over time versus a non hybrid 3.5?
Well, the regenerative braking doesn't use the "brakes" at each wheel, so in theory those should last longer, although I'm not sure if that's significant in this truck. It's basically a form of "engine braking" really.
I test drove one. 28k miles on the clock. Was a little surprised at how non-linear the feel was. Throttle was twitchy, probably because of that motor sandwiched between the engine and transmission I'm guessing. The brakes were "grabby" and non-linear also. I'm guessing this also was due to the regenerative braking system and/or the totally different brake booster design. It just didn't drive smoothly at all. Cool truck with lots of cool tech, but the driving experience didn't blow me away. And I wonder about the longevity of all that on-board tech. In 5 more years, will a guy be able to find one of those battery packs? Have dealers finally figured out how to work on these? Will the additional wiring and systems be available later down the road when repairs are needed? Will it cost a fortune to keep this on the road long term? Those are the thoughts I have. Love the interior and features, but I don't think it's the truck for me.
I test drove one. 28k miles on the clock. Was a little surprised at how non-linear the feel was. Throttle was twitchy, probably because of that motor sandwiched between the engine and transmission I'm guessing. The brakes were "grabby" and non-linear also. I'm guessing this also was due to the regenerative braking system and/or the totally different brake booster design. It just didn't drive smoothly at all. Cool truck with lots of cool tech, but the driving experience didn't blow me away. And I wonder about the longevity of all that on-board tech. In 5 more years, will a guy be able to find one of those battery packs? Have dealers finally figured out how to work on these? Will the additional wiring and systems be available later down the road when repairs are needed? Will it cost a fortune to keep this on the road long term? Those are the thoughts I have. Love the interior and features, but I don't think it's the truck for me.
My truck does not experience either of those "twitchy" conditions (accelerating or braking) in normal mode so I would stay away from a truck that does exhibit them because there is likely something wrong. I do think it will cost a lot to maintain one once it is old enough for parts of its many systems to start to wear out. I got it for the ProPower because I got tired of loading my 100 lb Honda generator into my previous truck when I went camping. I've used it several times on DIY projects for powering my compressor and power tools and really appreciate what it lets me do.
I will say that I do not like to drive it in sport mode because then it does get sensitive to throttle input and will really snap your head back if you hit the throttle hard. In my youth I would have thought it was great but in my more advance years I don't need the head rush.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
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