Few automotive happenings are more business-critical than the launch of a redesigned Ford F-150. The Mustang Mach-E and Bronco may draw the eyes of enthusiasts, and are key parts of Ford's future, but few vehicles have more significance to the U.S. auto industry than pickup trucks, and Ford’s F-Series is the reigning sales champion in this incredibly popular and profitable segment.

While this isn’t a full-blown, head-to-toe redesign, the 2021 F-150 received a comprehensive powertrain overhaul, a new interior and some new “hey, neat” type features that just might sway a buyer who otherwise believes just about any truck will do, so long as the price and capabilities check all the right boxes. You can get more in-depth details on the Ford F-150 in our launch day coverage, but we’ll hit the highlights here for your convenience.
While the 2021 F-150 was restyled, its looks aren’t a significant departure from the previous model’s. Changes are more noticeable inside, where a new steering wheel and a cleaner center stack highlight a host of other small tweaks. The obvious upgrade here is Ford’s fourth-generation Sync infotainment system, which received some serious hardware upgrades to improve its performance over Sync 3. Chief among these is a mammoth available 12-inch touchscreen, though our time with it prevented an in-depth review (well, apart from reporting that it's a long reach from the driver seat to the screen's right side)Ford also threw in some cool new exterior treats, such as a redesigned tailgate that now boasts an available flat work surface with built-in clamp pockets and bottle openers. There’s also available outside zone lighting (allowing you to illuminate only the spaces in which you’re working – or playing) along with an in-bed power system that blows away anything else you’ve seen from a factory pickup.

The 2021 Ford F-150 is offered with six powertrains, but not the same six that were available on the 2020 model. Headlining these changes is the new F-150's party piece: the PowerBoost hybrid. Based on the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 and a new modular hybrid 10-speed automatic transmission, this is the range-topping powertrain for the 2021 model, producing 430 horsepower and 570 pound-feet of torque.

Stepping down from that, the 5.0L “Coyote” V8 and 3.5L EcoBoost return, each producing 400 hp. The V8 produces 410 lb-ft of torque, while the EcoBoost V6 makes 500 lb-ft. This turbocharged V6 previously came in 375- and 450-horsepower variants, with the latter reserved for the Raptor and high-end Limited models. The existence of a new Raptor has been confirmed, but given the imminent arrival of the Hellcat-powered Ram TRX, we suspect Ford will take a new approach to its range-topping performance truck.

Below this, the 3.0-liter Power Stroke diesel returns, making 250 hp and 440 lb-ft. The 2.7-liter turbocharged EcoBoost V6 is the next step down, and it produces the same 325 hp and 400 lb-ft it did in the outgoing truck. The naturally aspirated 3.3-liter V6 also returns as the base engine with 290 hp and 265 lb-ft — yet another carry-over figure.

The new F-150 has a maximum towing capacity of 14,000 pounds, an increase of 800 over last year's truck, besting the Silverado 1500 at 13,300 pounds and the Ram 1500 at 12,750. As for payload, the most the new F-150 can carry is 3,325 pounds, 55 more than previously. The Ram 1500 has the next best rating at 2,300, and the Silverado 1500 is close behind with 2,280 pounds. As always, though, payload is incredibly dependent on engine, cab and bed length.

Specifically, we’ll note that the PowerBoost is rated to haul as much as 2,120 pounds in the bed and tow as much as 12,700 pounds. Both of those figures best the Power Stroke diesel’s in equivalent SuperCrew configurations. And if you're wondering about the hybrid's weight (a key factor in towing capacity and payload), it's only about 250 pounds more than the equivalent diesel and 350 more than a 3.5 EcoBoost. Not bad.

While we’re focusing on the F-150’s capabilities, we need to touch on one of the F-150’s more exciting new features. Pro Power On Board takes powering on-site accessories to the next level, converting the F-150’s bed into a mobile power station with a built-in generator.

This system is not unique to the hybrid, but its utility is maximized with the electrified powertrain. While gasoline engine models equipped with it max out at just 2.0 kilowatts, the hybrid increases to 2.4kW with an optional upgrade to 7.2 kW. If you choose that upgrade, you get 30-amp, 240-volt service in the bed via a NEMA L14-30R hookup along with four 20-amp, 120V outlets. The 2.0 and 2.4 kW variants merely get 20-amp 120V outlets, but that's still more than the competition offers.

Besides the giant available touchscreen, interior updates include optional "Max Recline" front seats on the Platinum, King Ranch and Limited models. These seats fold almost completely flat, allowing for co-driver power naps or even rest-stop sleep breaks. A new table option, dubbed "Interior Work Surface," deploys over the center console. The gear selector stows away, folding forward into a recess, allowing the table to be folded down and creating a workspace that can accommodate a binder or notepad, or even a small laptop.

There’s also a full-width rear under-seat storage solution that both locks and folds flat to make way for larger cargo. The door-to-door footprint makes it ideal for storing longer items, Ford says, such as outdoor equipment or even some firearms.

Our time with the 2021 F-150 was brief, so we weren’t able to sample all of these new gadgets. We focused on getting as much time behind the wheel of the various powertrain offerings as we possibly could, starting with that monster new PowerBoost hybrid.

We won’t mince words: The 2021 F-150 PowerBoost is the most impressive everyday pickup we've sampled, perhaps ever (putting extreme Raptors and Power Wagons aside). Despite making use of what is now fairly proven and conventional hybrid technology, the PowerBoost doesn’t make its hybridness obvious. There’s no awkward braking transition between regenerative and hydraulic operation; no fussy CVT or planetary gearbox producing undesirable vibration or pegging the revs in the stratosphere under hard acceleration. It just drives like a truck – a powerful truck.

If anything, it’s a lot like piloting a half-ton pickup with a heavy-duty diesel powertrain, only without any of the nuisances associated with modern diesel ownership. And you get 24 mpg everywhere, as in both in the city and on the highway. That’s the same combined figure as the outgoing 3.0-liter Power Stroke diesel, which produces just 250 horsepower. Sure, that light-duty diesel will net you better highway fuel economy, but unless you exclusive drive on I-45, the hybrid will match it in the long-term. Gasoline is also much cheaper than pump diesel in most states, so it'll be cheaper to fill.

By comparison, the 5.0-liter V8 feels like a dog. It’s far less responsive, to the point that it’s noticeable in around-town driving. Mash the accelerator and the Coyote will wake up, but it takes a lot more conscious prodding to get the 5.0 to behave anything like the hybrid, which requires no thought at all.

We also sampled the more volume-oriented six-cylinders, and while nothing about the the 3.3-liter nor the 2.7-liter turbo V6 is new, we have to acknowledge the latter’s excellent all-around performance. It offers plenty of grunt and feels great, especially in a short-wheelbase truck. We got to play around with one configured exactly that spec with 1,400 pounds of payload strapped to the bed, and found it to be supremely confidence-inspiring even through a relatively tight slalom on Ford’s skidpad. If you’re not in a position to spring for one of the F-150’s flagship powertrains, that 2.7L EcoBoost is the one to get.

For all of the 2021 F-150’s many updates, there’s really only one story here: PowerBoost. It'll set you back as much as $4,500, making it the second-most expensive of the F-150 SuperCrew's available engines and trailing the Power Stroke by $500. We did not include a full pricing breakdown here because Ford's provided window stickers were incomplete. Even between that and its slight hit to total capability, this is a stunningly impressive powertrain. Ford’s hybrid system doesn’t just make the F-150 a better truck, it makes it a better office, a better campsite, and a better workspace. And, in your author’s personal opinion, it makes its driver a better citizen, and that’s just a nice little bonus in what is already a sea of upsides.

The new Ford F-150 Raptor is the latest iteration of Ford's trophy-truck-inspired nameplate. The 2021 model emerges from the far side of Ford's overhaul of its entire F-150 lineup looking on paper like merely an update of last year's truck, but while the changes may be largely evolutionary, their impacts could prove to be revolutionary. The powertrain may largely carry over from 2019, but new features like a completely redesigned, coil-based suspension and 37-inch factory tire option will turn some heads.

"Raptor is the original desert truck. We just took it to another level," said Ali Jammoul, Ford Performance vehicle program director. "The all-new Raptor splices high-speed off-road performance muscle with advanced technology and connectivity that come together in a unique Built Ford Tough way."

By far, the biggest news here is the Raptor's rear suspension, which is now a coil-sprung, five-link setup employing extra-long trailing arms and a Panhard rod along with Fox Live Valve internal-bypass shocks with double the damping capability of the outgoing truck's. The new coil springs should also substantially improve the Raptor's on-road manners, keeping it in line with Ram's 702-horsepower TRX in the ride and handling department, at least.

Ford bases the Raptor on the same fundamental frame as the max-payload variant of the base F-150 (you can learn everything you ever wanted to know about the regular F-150 suspension here), but the Raptor gets unique reinforcements and re-engineering out back to accommodate the coil suspension. Sorry, max-payload F-150 owners, but you won't be swapping in the Raptor's rear setup without some custom fabrication; anything is possible with enough time and money, right?

Thanks to this new setup, total suspension travel now checks in at 14 inches up front and 15 in the rear — up from 13 and 13.9, respectively, for the outgoing truck. That's for Raptors with the standard 35-inch tire setup; the 37-inch option drops those to 13 inches up front and 14.1 inches in the rear.

Like the rear suspension, the 37-inch wheel and tire package is more than just a bolt-on affair. Opting for it will pigeon-hole you into a bed/subframe configuration that was engineered specifically to clear the larger-diameter tires, and it also comes with an even beefier variant of the standard Fox shocks. So, while Ford may be offering the truck with 37s from the factory, that doesn't mean you can just mount 37s (OEM or otherwise) to any old Raptor.

With the standard 35-inchers, you get 12 inches of ground clearance, an approach angle of 31 degrees, departure angle of 23.9 degrees and a breakover angle of 22.7 degrees. The 37-inch tire buys you another 1.1 inches of ground clearance, a 0.1-degree approach angle improvement, a 1.0-degree departure angle improvement, and a sweet 1.4-degree improvement in breakover angle. The total body lift provided by the 37-inch tires is approximately 1.8 inches.

With that out of the way, let's move on to powertrain. The Raptor gets a standard four-wheel-drive system with an electronic locking rear differential and optional limited-slip up front. As in the rest of the F-150 lineup, the standard transmission is a 10-speed automatic, which is offered here with a one-pedal driving mode similar to that found in many newer EVs.

Frustratingly, Ford is keeping a tight lid on its plans for what lurks beneath the hood of the 2021 Raptor. All we know is that a High Output variant of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 is returning; both its power and torque figures have yet to be finalized.

Keep in mind, the standard 3.5-liter EcoBoost now produces 400 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque in a garden-variety F-150. Last time around, there was a 75-horsepower gap between the base and High Output variants of that engine, which makes it safe to assume that this year's Raptor will offer somewhere in the ballpark of 475 horsepower standard, which would be a bump of 25 horses over the old Raptor. For added sportiness, the Raptor gets a new active dual exhaust system (complete with "good neighbor" mode).

A Raptor R will arrive for 2022, but Ford has offered no details at all regarding its powertrain apart from confirming that it will be powered by a V8 in some form. This confirms rumors that Ford will go with a two-engine strategy for the updated Raptor, with the 3.5-liter High Output anchoring the mainstream end of the lineup and, most likely, a 5.2-liter supercharged V8 (lifted from the Mustang Shelby GT500) powering the as-yet-unrevealed R model.

When it came time to tackle the bodywork, Ford turned to one of the Raptor's long-running inspirations: the F-22 fighter jet of the same name. The angular outline of the ultra-wide grille (sorry, that's going to be a tough swap, too, folks) hints at the stealth fighter's gaping intakes, which also inspired the heat extraction vents on the truck's fenders. There's even an available bed graphics package with a pattern designed to mimic the F22's afterburners.

Inside, there are plenty of Raptor-exclusive goodies, starting with its unique steering wheel with contrast-color suede inserts. Like all F-150s, Raptor gets Ford's new Sync 4 infotainment system, which Ford hopes to one day upgrade to allow for trail map downloads via its new over-the-air update system. All of the rest of the F-150's equipment largely carries over, including options like the interior work surface and the 2.0-kilowatt Pro Power On Board generator. Notable exceptions include the fold-flat front seats, the park assist system and the multi-contour seating option (which isn't compatible with the Raptor's more pronounced bolsters).

We expect full packaging and pricing to be announced late this spring. Ford says production should start by the end of Q2 (barring any unforeseen calamities) with the first deliveries starting in late summer.

We're smack dab in the middle of a horsepower war between Ford and Ram. Well, really, Ford and the entirety of the Dodge, Jeep and Ram lineups, with ever larger displacements and superchargers grafted onto V8 engines under the hoods of muscle cars and trucks. The latest salvo was fired by Ram when the company shoved a 702-horsepower engine into its TRX off-road specialist.

You didn't expect Ford to take that lying down, did you?

With one little line, the Blue Oval shot back at its crosstown rival as it pulled the virtual covers off its 2021 F-150 Raptor pickup truck: "Raptor R is coming next year." We have zero information past the 18th letter of the alphabet, but it seems likely that the truck will get Ford's supercharged 5.2-liter Predator V8 that serves up 760 horsepower and 625 pound-feet of torque in the most recent Mustang Shelby GT500, likely mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission and sending power to all four wheels. But who knows? Ford could surprise us with some new variant of its big 7.3-liter or something else entirely. All we know is that it'll have a V8 of some sort.

We'll just have to wait and see what Ford's final power figures will be, both for the 2021 F-150 Raptor's turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 and the V8 we expect to see in the 2022 Raptor R