Interior
This is perhaps the highlight and the lowlight of the entire King Ranch edition all wrapped up into one. Although some might mistake the King Ranch from the outside as your run-of-the-mill F-150, the moment you open the doors and see that gorgeous, pre-worn leather as broken-in and comfortable as your childhood baseball mitt, at first glance you realize this isn’t your average F-150. The seats are massive, to comfortably accommodate the equal massiveness of most F-150 owners and the center console just barely rivals the width of most American forearms. Come on, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. This is a big American truck for big American guys and gals.
Because it’s the King Ranch, luxo features like a backup camera and sonar, heated seats, power sliding rear window, adjustable pedals and the simple, yet functional and intuitive Ford navigation system all came with the nearly $46K sticker price.
But quite frankly, aside from the leathery goodness which makes you feel like you just skinned and dyed your own beloved Bessie and stitched her hide onto a truck seat, the King Ranch interior is no different than any other F-150. Although we referenced the F-150′s build quality as being solid, it’s in reference to the overall drivetrain. When it comes to the interior, there’s much to be desired. Compared to its bigger brother, the F-250, well there is no comparison. The F-250 feels and looks more quality from the chunky shifter to the tasteful piano black dash panels. And when you stack the F-150 interior up against a Chevy Silverado, well, don’t waste your time. We’re just hoping that the 2009 model F-150 will do away with the cheap plastic and faux chrome.
Exterior
From the outside the F-150 doesn’t really turn any heads with its design, but perhaps that’s because there’s about 1.1 million trillion gabillion of them roaming the American countryside at any one moment. Even a supermodel begins to look mundane if you see her day in and out. Although its styling might be commonplace, there are features which help it stand out, among them are the 20″ rims we mentioned earlier. But we didn’t realize the King Ranch was flossin’ on 20s until we actually checked the spec sheet. It’s a testament to how big this truck really is.
The bed comes fully equipped with whiz-bang doohickeys like a locking removable tailgate with lift assist, a bed divider, just in case the already tiny 5’5″ bed wasn’t small enough, a cargo management system and storage bins, which seemed like a nice touch until it rained and we realized that they’re not waterproof, rusting the hell out of our tools. Maybe the little drain plug on the bottom of the box should have clued us in on their porous nature.
Value
If we’re talking strictly sticker-wise, $46,000 for a crew cab 4×4 F-150 with really nice leather chairs doesn’t seem like an incredible value. However, these are tough economic times we’re living in my friends, and there are scores upon scores of Ford dealerships in the throes of bankruptcy. 2008 model F-150s are rotting away in dealership parking lots like boats, RVs, toy haulers, and any other superfluous “toys” that people used to buy with seemingly endless supplies of credit and stupidity. You walk into your neighborhood Ford dealership today and slap down cash, you could easily end up with a truck like this for over $10,000 off list, and all of a sudden the value of an F-150 jumps up a few notches.
Who Should Buy It?
If you live in Texas, haul stuff (particularly horses), have a handmade duster jacket, wear a cowboy hat and boots, and sport a bushy moustache, but still want a vehicle you can wash off and take to a night out on the town at the local steakhouse, this might just be the perfect machine for you. Otherwise, you’re just a complete poser and need to get a life.
Conclusion
If it were up to us, and we were going to buy a Ford pickup with appalling fuel economy, we’d just go for the gold and throw down the extra cash on a Power Stroke Diesel Super Duty. But if you’re not into spending the extra cash, and simply want a reliable pickup that will get the job done with minimal fanfare or head-turning, then the F-150 is as good a choice as any. Really, in this segment it boils down to what you pay out the door for it. And with the way the economy is right now, mega, nutso deals can be had. So I say, the cheaper you can pick up a new F-150 King Ranch Edition, the more we recommend it.
| Build | Interior | Performance | Handling | Styling | Value | Overall | |
| Rating | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.17/C- |
|
|
|
 Official website for Ford cars, hybrids, trucks, and SUVs – www.fordvehicles.com |
|
Leave a Reply