Trying to keep up with MMarshall here :) Well my uncle came into town with my aunt a couple days (not my blood uncle) and what a cool guy. True to himself, cowboy boots, big belt buckle and a hat. And damnit, we had a grill-off, that dude can cook. It was nice getting to know him.

He has an immaculate 2004 Ford F-150 Lariet and I've had experience with this truck with Bitkahuna, who owns a beautiful one.

I cannot lie, I love Toyota, but IMO, Ford has impressed me from day one with this truck. I was actually a FAN of the "aero-look" of the last truck, but they meant to give this one a more "manish" look.
Its successful, the truck is more boxy, it looks very well built. I do think it looks "old' though, since its less aero.

Onto the interior. My goodness, I've had experience with it but to sit in it agan, SOME OF YOU LUXURY CARMAKERS SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES. The interior has the chrome tidbits and the faux wood that is nice for plood. Fit and FInish was very very good. The leather was no worse than some other luxury car makers. There is tons of room (it was an extended cab) and everything was within reach of my hands.

Onto the ride, supple, still a lil bouncy but it is a truck. So I DO NOT expect it to drive like a Lexus. The Triton V-8 pulls with authority its not overhwhelming but its not underwhelming. I think its a good size engine. The car picks up speed well and for a truck, its pretty quiet. If you ask me how it handles, I will drive this truck through your house. Its a TRUCK, I didn't want to take any slalom times with it. But It kicks ass in the Home Depot department.

I did find the headlights could be brighter, maybe its just me.

Overall, I don't have much negativity about this truck. I can see why Ford sells so many of these. I am still just SOLD on the interior alone. ITs simply amazing for a truck and DESTROYS the GM trucks, the Toyota trucks, of course anything Nissan makes including INfiniti.

Kudos to Ford. :thumbup: :thumbup:

I bought a loaded 2005 SuperCrew Lariat and the interior is sweet, black leather and dark wood is amazing, the only thing I can't understand about Ford or Lincoln with the Mark LT is the lack of Navigation :uh:

When it was my daily driver it cost me 650 a month to fill, it's like 300-400 now, the 1000 the Ford dealer gave me in gas money went fast :p

I agree with your opinion of the Lariat's interior.....I was impressed with that interior from the moment I first saw it in pictures....though pictures, of course, don't tell you what materials the interior is actually made of or how they feel...you must see the vehicle in person for this. I would give it about a 9.5 to 9.8 out of 10 for looks and about a 7.5 to 8.0 for materials quality. ( Nissan....take notice with the Titan ).
The new Dodge Ram is a noticeable step up in interior looks and quality from its predecessor but still not quite in the Lariat's league. In fact, I think that, because of the Lariat's interior, like with the former Blackwood, Lincoln is going to have trouble selling the upcoming Mark LT pickup.

BTW.....if you like the Lariat interior's general looks but are not a fan of wood trim, the same interior with brushed-metal only can be had in the F-150 FX-4. It can be seen at this website: Click 360 views and then interior.
http://www.fordvehicles.com/trucks/f150/

When they want to, Ford does actually produce some pretty good vehicles. :cool:

When they want to, Ford does actually produce some pretty good vehicles. :cool:

More like when they HAVE to.

The Ford GT came about mainly from the Viper and Corvette Z06....and the fact that Ford did not have a vehicle to go head-to-head with them, although the GT is in a more expensive price range then the other two.

The Five Hundered and Fusion came about because the Taurus had outlived its usefulness and had basically become a rental car....and because Ford needed an AWD passenger car. In fact, the Taurus still is in production, but ONLY as a fleet-sales car.

The new Thunderbird came about because Ford finally realized the mistake it made almost 40 years earlier when it expanded the original T-Bird from 2 to 4 seats.

The improvements and modifications to the new Explorer......and to Firestone tires...... came about primarily beacuse people ( partly through their own fault and negligence ) were rolling the old ones and killing themselves.

And.....the subject of this thread.....the new and impressive F-150 came about primarily from the increasing popularity of the Dodge Ram's big-rig styling and the expansion of the Chevy Silverado / GMC Sierra into new areas for pickups such as full-time 4WD / AWD, 4-wheel Quadrasteer, and an part-hybrid version.

Now...the new Mustang. No...Ford didn't HAVE to do that. The Mustang already owned the domestic pony-car market, even before the demise of the GM F-Body Camaro and Firebird. But the fact that Ford didn't HAVE to still shows.....it may be a dynamite car, looks-wise, but the car's cheapness of materials and fit-and-finish, IMO, is nothing short of atrocius. I considered one myself for a purchase ( I grew up with the original Mustangs it copies ) but the car's awful interior cheapness and general flimsiness inside and out just turned me off big-time whan I actually saw it.

Great review, 1SickLex. :thumbup:

I agree the headlights could be brighter especially since I'm spoiled with the HIDs in my Lexus. A lot of these trucks though are worked (used and abused) only in daylight. :D My wife NEVER drives hers in the dark come to think of it. We take the Lexus in the evenings. :)

Don't know what setup the Lariat had you drove, but the FX-4 I have has the beefed up towing package which includs limited slip diff and lowered gearing (3.73 I think). That makes a difference on launch, believe me. I can spin the tires quite easily.

About ride - the truck definitely rides better when there's cargo in the bed! Today we hauled a bunch (and I mean a BUNCH) of excess wood pieces from the fencing we just had put in to the landfill and my wife and I both noticed how much softer the ride felt compared to when it's empty.

BTW.....if you like the Lariat interior's general looks but are not a fan of wood trim, the same interior with brushed-metal only can be had in the F-150 FX-4.

You're right there mmarshall, the FX-4 package has pieces of faux (but very good looking) carbon fiber type trim and has a center console (big chrome 'pole' :D ) shifter instead of a steering column one.

The FX-4 also has nicer polished wheels available.

What would I change? It should have a 5 speed auto instead of 4 (maybe this has been addressed by now I haven't checked), not to increase towing or anything, just to make the tranny smoother and maybe improve fuel economy.

They should offer a combo of the FX-4 and the Lariat features. The Lariat has more guages and luxo features but the FX-4 has the 'sportier' and towing/off-road features.

Also, if you get the full size cab (super crew or 'screw' to F-150 fans :D ) you can only get a 5.5' bed. If you get the cab with the half reverse opening doors like we have (super cab or 'scab'!) you can get 5.5' or 6.5'. I'd have loved a full size cab with the 6.5' bed but that's what the F-250 is for although it wasn't upgraded to newer styling when we got the F-150.

The truck tows our 2 horse trailer full of stuff with ease (we haven't actually used it for more than 1 horse yet but did use it to MOVE homes!).

I agree with the comment on the nav not being available - I'd have gotten it in a heartbeat.

It's not hard to see why they sell tons of these trucks. The other great thing is the VAST aftermarket support. :thumbup:

I like trucks with nothing, A/C? Screw dat. Trucks to me are work vehicles, I'm sorry to everyone my honest opinion on trucks is you A. Need something to hotrod thats got RWD and a pushrod v8 or B. You need to haul **** like crazy. I don't like the fact trucks have become popular because of the fact I can never see around them or they comepletly own a car in an accident :sad:

Im not startin a flame war. I know people they love their trucks I just thinks what I thinks.