With four engine options and more than four different tow and payload options, choosing the right Ford F-150 engine wasn’t always the easiest. Sure, Ford’s been playing up its new EcoBoost-powered F-150 lately but how are you supposed to know which engine is right for you without poring over stats and specs from the F-150 and its Silverado and Ram competitors? Ford has you truck spec geeks in mind and has today launched its new “Head-to-Head” pickup comparison tool.
Like the Mustang configurator that launched last week, Ford’s latest configurator is fully interactive. To start, you’re asked the question: “Are you going to use your truck for work or play?” Once you make your choice, you’re asked to estimate how much you haul and Ford then simulates the weight with graphics that helpfully show what that weight means in the real world. For instance, did you know that 1500 lbs is roughly equivalent to three dirt bikes? You do now.
The configurator then asks how much you tow, and like the question before it, it shows what that weight is roughly equivalent too. The third step is the recommendation. Based on your requirements, Ford will recommend you either its 3.7-liter V-6, its twin-turbocharged EcoBoost 3.5-liter V-6, its 5.0-liter V-8, or its 6.2-liter V-8, and show you why its making that recommendation.
The final step is not really a step, so much as its charts and grafts supporting Ford’s recommendation as compared to the Chevy Silverado, Ram 1500 and Toyota Tundra.
You can spec out your F-150 here. Just a heads up though, while this is a fantastic way to kill an afternoon, you probably should make sure you don’t have your boss looking over your shoulder.