There seems to be quite a few "Which Truck" threads on here so I'll add my $.02.
1st off-The Truck. I had a few requirements when I bought my truck last year to replace my '03 Z71 Chevy. First off, it needed to be crew cab. 2nd-it needed to have a real 6.5' bed. Other than that, the field was wide open.
The 2nd requirement excluded the GM twins(I only buy 1/2 ton for personal use), although I liked the styling of the GMC much more than the others. I opted for the Eco-Boost in the Ford, betting that I could squeeze a few extra MPG out of the turbo motor over a V-8. Hopefully the extra equipment and computer stuff will hold up.
Truck is a basic XLT package, but it has most all the options I want/need. Power windows, p-locks, cruise, a/c, 4x4, electronic rear locker, 3.55 gears (would have got 3.73 if I could have found one), Sat Radio, single-CD, cloth seats (I really like the front bench with fold down console). Price was $34K+tax, drive out a little over $36K. This was the best deal I could find.
Truck bought in '12 (as a '12 model). Currently about 12K miles, which is about 2x what I was putting on my chevy. Since I have two kids we much prefer traveling in the crew cab over our older car.
Fuel Economy and Power
Things I like about the truck-the ecoboost engine has ample power. This thing will flat out go and is smooth in everyday driving. I really like how the engine responds and it pulls trailers really well also. The non-towing mileage is OK. Right now I'm avg. about 16-17 mpg all around driving, which is about 1-2 mpg better than my old 5.3 Z-71. If you are looking to buy a truck I would say not to get the EB for the added milege but moreso for the power and torque. I have not driven a 5.0 but from what I have seen the EB gets about ~1mpg better, which is exactly what the sticker says. On the hwy the mileage can really vary depending on speed. If you can keep it at ~55 mph you can easily get 22-23 mpg. On a slow cruise at say ~45 down back country roads I have gotten as high as 26 mpg. 60-65 mph I get about ~18-19 mpg, 65-70 about 18 mpg, and anything over 70 and you're going to get 16-17 mpg tops. BTW I was hand calculating the MPG's for awhile but the numbers always came out very close to what the computer says. Also when refueling I noticed that the "Fuel Used" gauge is pretty accurate, down to a .5 gallon so I started going by the computer. BTW these numbers have all come on fairly short cruises, I have not went on many long-distance trips. Most of my medium distance trips are about 60-80 miles of hwy driving. I have taken one or two 2-3 hour trips and ended up at the 18-19 mpg mark traveling on the interstate at 60-70 mph. A few times I hit 19.9 on medium trips.
Crew Cab
Other things I like-the crew cab is really, really roomy. In my opinion this is where the Ford shines over the rest. I looked into the GM twins, Toyota, and Dodge. I didn't look at the Dodge very seriously but the crew cab room in the Ford really outshines the GM trucks and they do not offer the full-size bed. Toyota shrinks their cab to get the 6.5' bed. I believe that the Ford is the only truck that offers the same size cab regardless of bed size. Another thing that is handy is that Ford offers a re-tractable step just in front of the wheel well that you can kick out and stand on to be able to reach into the bed next to the cab. When you're done you simply kick it back in and it locks in place. This is very handy, especially since the trucks are so much taller.
No Tinted Visor on Windshield
Things I don't like: I didn't notice when I bought the truck but there is no tinted visor on the windshield. There is a part in the middle that is tinted and makes a "F-150", but the drivers and passengers side are not tinted and that really bugs me. The back windows are factory tinted, I don't understand why the front windshield is not tinted with a 6" strip like most other trucks I have seen. I plan on getting the front windows tinted soon and I'll have the window guy do the windshield also but IMO this should be a factory option.
A/C Speeds and Vents
The A/C only has 4-speed settings, and IMO, it really needs 5 speeds. There are no vents to the rear seats, and that's a shame because to get the entire cab comfy you have to blast the air from the front vents, which freezes out the front occupants while the back-seat passengers do not get enough cool air. My '03 chevy ext. cab had rear vents, I do not understand why Ford chose not to put them, especially in a vehicle with a cab this size. With the controls the jump from speed 3 to 4 is too high, I wish there was a 5th speed.
Radio
I think the radio is really under-par for a truck like this. The sound is not really all that great and the radio does not have the feature that shows the station and song like my old chevy had. It will tell you the station and song on Sirius, but not FM. This is something I really liked as you could see what you were listening too (song title/artist).
Gauges
One more minor thing-there is no battery gauge. This really bugs me. We may not really need one anymore but I didn't even realize that I didn't have one until I had owned the truck a few weeks. It has 4 gauges-fuel, oil pressure, tran temp, and engine temp. No boost gauge, and no bat temp. There is a digital tran temp on the driver display. The man. gauge is re-dundant. I wish that the drivers display (4 inch screen in the middle with fairly HD graphics) would have all the engine parameters available like battery, boost, etc. Not a real major deal, but would be nice to have.
Bed Height
One more major thing I don't like about the truck-bed height. I know that all the manuf. are doing this, but why does the bed need to be so freakin' tall? I'm 6'3" and I find it difficult to reach over into the bed and grab anything. If it weren't for the retractable steps most stuff would be out of reach. Also, since the bed is taller, the tailgate is taller and I cannot let the tail-gate down when towing my 16' flat-bed without it hitting square in the middle on my jack. My old truck tailgate would clear this by about 2", and it made it easy to get in/out of the bed. With the Ford if you drop the tail-gate the jack will hit it and you risk denting or scratching it. To me it's one of those things that looks good but is less functional. I know all the manuf. are doing this just like putting those huge wheels on but IMO give me an older trucks bed height and 16" wheels and that is much more functional.
I hope this was informing to those who are interested. Overall, I really like the truck and I would buy another. I really wish I had a chance to drive a 5.0 so I could compare it to the EB.
