2024 Ford F-150 Review

You may not realise it, but Australia is a unique land for automotive car makers. While we receive a lot of European-specifications, our hunger for more powerful engine options means that we also receive a lot of engine options offered from the North American market – for example, while the Hyundai i30 is sold in Europe, we receive it with a larger 2.0-litre engine from North America. Further examples of the Americanification of our tastes are our love for utes and SUVs, and now we have even larger offerings. What’s the appeal of the large truck in the Australian new car market? We tested the 2024 Ford F-150 to find out.

Seemingly almost every manufacturer offering a large ute in North America also wants to sell it in Australia: the Ram 1500 was first and the Chevrolet Silverado not too far behind it, while the Toyota Tundra is likely to be released locally in 2025 – 300 of them are already on local soil as part of a trial before Toyota Australia presses the green button. Interestingly, all of these large trucks aren’t factory made in right-hand drive, instead, they’re all converted locally and the F-150 is done so by RMA Automotive. It seems like a lot of effort and cost to sell these big rigs locally, so is it worth it?

How much does the 2024 Ford F-150 cost to buy?

The 2024 Ford F-150 is available in two different models in Australia for now: the entry-level XLT and the top-spec Lariat. The XLT is priced at $106,950 plus on-road costs (around $117,000 drive away, depending on location) and the Lariat asks $139,950 +ORC (around $151,000 drive away).

F-150 XLT standard equipment:

• 20-inch alloy wheels
• Dusk-sensing automatic halogen headlights
• Two-bar grille with chrome front and rear bumpers
• Black running boards
• Rear privacy glass
• Spray-in bed liner
• ‘Boxlink’ cargo management cleats
• Underbody skid plates
• Keyless entry with push button start
• Column transmission selector
• Cloth upholstery
• 12-way electric driver’s seat with a 10-way electric front passenger seat
• Power-adjustable pedals
• 8.0-inch touchscreen with Ford’s ‘SYNC4’ infotainment software
• Satellite navigation with one year of live traffic included
• Seven-speaker sound system
• AM/FM/DAB+ digital radio
• 8.0-inch digital instrument cluster
• 1x12V socket, 2x USB-A and USB-C ports
• Dual-zone climate control
• Power-adjustable pedals
• Fold out office
• Cruise control
• Trailer reversing assistance
• Normal, eco, sport, tow/haul, slippery, deep snow/sand and mud ruts driving modes
• Exterior alarm
• Tow bar with integrated brake controller, tow hitch and 70mm tow ball
• Electronic rear locking differential

F-150 XLT standard safety equipment:

• Six airbags
• Auto emergency braking (AEB)
• Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert and trailer coverage
• Rear automatic braking
• Lane keeping assistance
• Driver attention monitoring
• Rear parking sensors
• Reversing camera
• Tyre pressure monitoring

The 2024 Ford F-150 range is yet to be tested by ANCAP, and won’t be tested by Euro NCAP as it won’t be sold in Europe in large enough numbers.

F-150 Lariat adds:

• Mesh front grille
• Extra exterior chrome (including the door handles and running boards)
• Rain-sensing automatic wipers
• Auto-folding mirrors
• Remote start
• Twin-panel sunroof
• All-LED exterior lighting, including front fog lights
• Power tailgate
• Power-sliding middle rear window
• Leather upholstery
• Heated and cooled front seats
• Heated outboard rear seats
• 12-way electrically adjustable front seats with driver’s memory
• Power-adjustable steering column with memory
• Console-mounted shifter
• Larger 12-inch touchscreen
• 12-inch digital driver’s display
• Wireless phone charger
• 18-speaker B&O sound system
• 1x extra USB-A and 1x extra USB-C port in the front centre console
• Front parking sensors
• 360-degree parking camera
• Adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality
• Lane trace assist
• Speed sign recognition
• AEB with evasive steering assist and intersection assistance

F-150 colour range:

• Oxford White: $0
• Iconic Silver: $700
• Carbonised Grey: $700
• Animatter Blue: $700
• Agate Black: $700
• Rapid Red (Lariat only): $700

The main rivals to the F-150 are the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado, while the Toyota Tundra is likely to be released locally next year. Equivalent to the two F-150s tested are the 1500 Big Horn ($119,950 +ORC) and Laramie ($138,950 +ORC), while the Silverado LTZ Premium ($130,500 +ORC) is equivalent to the F-150 Lariat – Chevy doesn’t offer a less expensive Silverado in Australia for 2024.

Over the 1500 Big Horn, the F-150 XLT adds a lot of important active safety equipment, including auto emergency braking (AEB), lane keeping assistance and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. It also adds features like a power adjustable driver’s seat, a larger driver’s display, dual-zone automatic climate control and an extra speaker for seven in total. Against the slightly less expensive Silverado, the F-150 Lariat adds a lot more speakers (18 versus seven) and live services, though its screens are larger than the Ford’s. Despite the big price, we think that the F-150 is good value for money – especially considering that it’s remanufactured locally before even hitting showrooms.

How efficient is the 2024 Ford F-150?

Under the bonnet of the Australian 2024 Ford F-150 range is a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6 engine that’s mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission and a part-time 4×4 system in the XLT, and a full-time 4×4 system in the Lariat. The engine makes 298kW of power (at 6,000rpm) and a particularly strong 678Nm of torque (at 3,100rpm). In upgraded form, this engine is actually also used in the Ford GT supercar. That’s a contrast to its rivals, which both offer petrol V8s instead: the Ram a 291kW/556Nm 5.7-litre ‘Hemi’ engine and the Chevy a 313kW/624Nm 6.2-litre unit.

Ford claims that the Australian-spec F-150 will use 12.5L/100km of fuel, with claimed CO2 emissions of 290g/km – the less torquey Ram 1500 and Silverado are both rated at 12.2L/100km, and don’t quote CO2 emissions. In the XLT, we achieved 10.7L/100km with a lot of highway mileage, and we achieved 13.2L/100km in the Lariat with driving skewed towards urban. Of course, these figures will increase with towing, but we still find them pretty good for such a large and powerful vehicle. The F-150 has a huge 136L fuel tank and will run on 91RON regular unleaded fuel.

What is the 2024 Ford F-150 like to drive?

The Ford F-150 brings images of the American way of driving around – using the powerful engine to tow heavy loads while relaxing in air-conditioned comfort – and that’s pretty much spot on. It’s genuinely one of the most comfortable vehicles we’ve ever driven thanks to the soft suspension, huge lounge chair seats and quiet atmosphere. A 12-hour trip would be very easy behind the wheel of the F-150 – just sit back and watch the miles fly by. The F-150 is insanely easy to drive and one reason for that is that it’s not much wider than a Ranger, so those going from a Ranger to an F-150 won’t notice too much of a difference from behind the wheel, aside from length.

Speaking of length, Ford offers two options for the F-150 locally: the 5,884mm standard length and $950-more expensive 6,184mm extended length, with the extra size going to the wheelbase. We tested a standard length XLT and an extended length Lariat, and the LWB is probably too long for Australian cities. We felt more confident driving the standard length in the city, though we doubt those in more rural areas will care.

Perhaps surprisingly for some buyers, Ford Australia chose the ‘EcoBoost’ twin-turbo V6 engine instead of the 5.0-litre V8 that is also offered in North America. Why so? It’s more efficient for towing big loads, apparently. While some may miss the V8 noise, we think that the F-150’s engine is still wonderful thanks to its gutsiness – peak 678Nm torque hits at just 3,100rpm – and refinement, yet it’s also quite efficient for such a big vehicle. Ford doesn’t claim a 0-100km/h time for the F-150, but we’ve seen reports in the 6.0-second range, which is impressive for an almost 2.5-tonne truck.

According to a lot of buyers, the main reason for importing and converting these big rigs is towing and for that, the F-150 is great. Regardless of model chosen, the F-150 is capable of towing a 4,500kg braked trailer, which is at least 1,000kg more than smaller utes like the Ranger and HiLux. The GCM ranges from 7,720kg in the SWB to 7,765kg in the LWB – versus 6,400kg for a Ranger Wildtrak 3.0L – with the GVM listed as 3,320kg in the SWB and 7,765kg. Payload ranges from 685kg in the Lariat SWB to 794kg in the XLT LWB – a lot less than the Ram’s 931kg to 818kg ratings.

How practical is the 2024 Ford F-150?

As we’ve seen with the smaller Ranger, Ford is capable of making excellent interiors for ute products and the F-150 is no different thanks to its comfort, space, technology and practicality. While some of the material cut lines in our test Lariat weren’t perfect, quality is otherwise good with soft touch dashboard and door top materials and switchgear that feels nice to touch. Everything is well designed in the F-150’s cabin, especially the large buttons that make every function easy to use.

Centre of the F-150’s dashboard is an 8.0-inch (XLT) or 12.0-inch (Lariat) touchscreen using Ford’s Sync 4 infotainment software, though it looks quite different to the same software used on the Ranger and its portrait-style screen – it actually looks and operates a lot like the older Sync 3 system, though it is quicker in its operation. Regardless of model chosen, it’s well equipped with features like wireless smartphone mirroring, DAB+ digital radio and inbuilt satellite navigation. The seven-speaker sound system in the XLT is reasonable, though the Lariat’s 18-speaker B&O unit is quite good.

Storage inside the F-150, as you’d hope for such a large vehicle, is excellent with storage spots seemingly everywhere and some clever features as well. The door bins are huge and multi-layered, a dual-level glovebox, a genuinely huge bin in the centre console, big cupholders, a tray underneath the centre console with a wireless charger and – for those wanting to use their laptops while parked – the centre console lid can flip forward to create a table (only after folding the gearknob in the Lariat first).

The back seat of the F-150 is massive, offering more room than most large SUVs and if – towing aside – you’re searching for a reason to buy one over a smaller ute like a Ranger, this is it. Three adults will fit across the rear easily, while two larger people will be very comfortable.

Plus, there are lots of features on offer in the rear cabin: a central armrest with cup holders, air vents, USB charging ports, map pockets, big door pockets and even storage underneath the seat, which is accessible by folding the seat base up. Stepping up to the Lariat adds heated outboard seats as well.

The tray of the F-150 is as we’ve come to expect from Ford from the Ranger: very practical, well equipped and fitted with features aimed at making work easier, like tie down points and a tailgate ruler. There is also an integrated step in the tailgate with a handle pole for easier accessibility, a bed liner and lighting. As for size, the F-150 SWB’s tray measures 1,705mm long, 1,656mm wide (or 1,531mm at the opening), 1,285mm wide between the wheel arches and 543mm high from the load floor to the top of the box – the LWB’s tray is an extra 300mm long at 2,005mm in total length.

What warranty covers the 2024 Ford F-150?

Like the greater Ford Australia range, the 2024 Ford F-150 is covered by a five-year/unlimited warranty with up to seven years of roadside assistance if serviced by a Ford dealership. The first five years/75,000km of servicing costs a reasonable $2,081 ($416 annually).

Both the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado are covered by shorter three-year/100,000km warranties and roadside assistance for the same period. Service intervals for both the Ram and Chevy are 12 months/12,000km. Neither offer capped-price servicing and neither publish service costs.

Should I buy a 2024 Ford F-150?

Overall, it’s clear to see that the 2024 Ford F-150 is a great option in the large ute segment in Australia and it’s no shock to see that in 2023, it was the best-selling vehicle in the USA – for the 42nd year in a row with over 700,000 units sold there last year alone. While some may write it off as just another unnecessary truck, the F-150 adds some clever touches to the segment, including a gutsy and relatively efficient turbocharged petrol V6 engine and cool tray touches like the inbuilt ruler. Plus, it’s quite spacious, offers a good aftersales program and more equipment than its key rivals.

Counting against the F-150 is its somewhat lacklustre cabin materials in some places, its payload could be better, its huge size and that the XLT should offer more equipment for the money. Plus, we’d like to see more models offered locally – yep, the XLT and Lariat are just the initial model lineup for Australia, but we think that US-spec models like the Tremor, Platinum, electric Lightning and Raptor would add even more appeal. But for the moment, if you must have a huge ute, we think that the F-150 is the one to choose and with over 41 million sold, clearly many buyers agree.