2004 FORD F-150 TRUCK

FORD Brand Reviews:    • F-150    • F-150 SVT LIGHTNING    • F-250/F-350    • SUPER-DUTY    • RANGER    2004 FORD F-150 TRUCK:    Description:     Full-size pickup truck    Trim options:    XL / STX / XLT / FX4 / Lariat    Box style options:    Styleside / Flareside    Cab options:    Regular / SuperCab / SuperCrew    Wheelbase:    Regular Cab: 125.8, 144.5 inches    SuperCab: 132.5, 144.4, 163.0 inches    SuperCrew: 138.5 inches    Overall length:    Regular Cab: 211.5, 230.1 inches    SuperCab: 218.0, 229.8, 248.5 inches    SuperCrew: 224.0 inches    Engine size:    SOHC 4.6-L V8 Triton    SOHC 5.4-L V8 Triton VCT    Transmissions/speeds:     4.6-L: Auto/4 4R70E     5.4-L: Auto/4 4R75E    Rear/front drive:     2WD (rear)    4WD    Steering:    Power rack and pinion    Braking:    Power 4-disc    ABS/EBD    Air bags:     2 (front) + 2 (side)    EPA mileage est. city/hwy:    4.6-L 2WD: 15/19 mpg    4.6-L 4WD: 14/18 mpg    5.4-L 2WD: 15/19 mpg    5.4-L 4WD: 14/18 mpg    Price range est.    $ 20,000 to $ 36,000   Read Feature Story   Read New Car News   Read Brand Reviews   Read Car-Truck Test Reviews   Return to Guide's Homepage

FORD FASHIONS A NEW F-150 TRUCK

Trucks from Ford represent the most popular vehicle in every size segment and the line's leader full-size F-150 for 26 years has scored the best-selling truck title. But for 2004, Ford reinvents this mainstay model. With more and more consumers selecting a pickup truck rather than a conventional car for primary transportation, Ford's designers had to get this one right: Bring innovation and new features for performance, pack aboard the comforts and conveniences of a car to make F-150 more friendly to passengers, yet also carry forward truck-tough traits of the previous version to keep from alienating F-150's core market who use a truck as a workhorse. New designs for F-150 -- coming with two V8 options, three cab styles and several lengths for the box in back -- provide more powerful engines with class-topping towing ability, and there are larger passenger compartments dressed for five different designations of trim. The F-250 (three-quarter-ton) and F-350 (one-ton) trucks for 2004 offer Ford's Power Stroke turbo diesel, a 6.0-liter V8 with electronic variable response turbo-charger and hydraulic rail fuel injection. Ford also makes an extensive assortment of super-size F-Series Super Duty work trucks, which have a gross vehicle weight rating in excess of 8500 pounds, and the Power Stroke diesel also applies. Ford's Ranger has held the title of best-selling compact truck in America for 16 straight years. For 2004, Ranger shows a raised power dome hood for all editions, with suspension tweaking and sporty new interior trimwork added. The Tremor continues in Ranger's line with a 510-watt audio kit to blow the doors off.

F-150: Ford's full-size and light-duty (half-ton) trucks in the new designs for 2004 look strong and muscular. A few styling cues lifted from Ford's Super Duty trucks are evident, such as along the top of side doors where forward sections swoop low so the driver can get a better view of the oversized rearview mirrors. Cabs consist of Regular Cab, SuperCab and SuperCrew. Two-door Regular Cab is a conventional scheme offered with bench or bucket seats and a cargo box extending in length for 78.8 or 97.5 inches. SuperCab gets two front-hinged doors trailed by two narrow ones with rear hinges. There's a front seat with buckets or bench and a small rear bench with flip-up seat design and a canted seatback for added comfort. Spacious SuperCrew comes with four front-hinged doors and two rows of seats for a capacity of five or six. Two-wheel-drive (2WD) orientation with a front-mounted engine sending torque to the rear wheels is standard but four-wheel-drive (4WD) traction is available across the board with manual or electronic switching. For passive safety, F-150 trucks stock dual stage frontal air bags and side-impact air bags tied to computer-controlled equipment minding the tension of seatbelts and deployment of air bags. Two different Triton V8 engines link to a four-speed electronic automatic transmission. Standard is a reworked version of Ford's overhead-cam 4.6-liter V8, which achieves 231 hp. Optional is a new 5.4-liter Triton V8 that runs up to 300 hp. Trim tiers rise from base XL and STX to a well-equipped XLT, the off-road FX4 edition and deluxe Lariat. All have interiors that look more like a comfortable car than a working-class truck. Most use cloth fabric upholstery for seats, although leather comes with Lariat, and variations include satin-metal finish or bright chrome for vent rings, door handles and optional consoles. Top-of-the-line Lariat with the leather buckets shows a floor-mounted shifter stick projecting from the console like a sporty car.

F-150 SVT LIGHTNING: Ford's high-performance pickup returns with supercharged power and tuned suspension. A single-cam 5.4-liter Triton V8 coupled to an Eaton supercharger and water-to-air inter-cooler enthuses the muscle truck with 380 hp.

F-250/F-350: The F-250 (three-quarter-ton) and F-350 (one-ton) full-size trucks from Ford repeat with styling and powertrain options carried forward from 2004. There are three sizes in cabs available with designations of Regular Cab, SuperCab and Crew Cab. Three hunky powertrains work on these trucks -- a 5.4-liter Triton V8 with 260 hp, optional 6.8-liter Triton V10 at 310 hp or the big 6.0-liter Power Stroke diesel scored to 325 hp.

SUPER-DUTY: Super-size work trucks by Ford run larger than F-150 and F-250 trucks in all dimensions. The series includes F-350, F-450 and F-550 models. Super Duty trucks appear in a staggering number of configurations, with three different cab designs (two-door Regular Cab, four-door SuperCab and four-door Crew Cab), two box lengths, a single rear wheel (SRW) or double rear wheel (DRW), rear 2WD or 4WD traction, and three trim editions with a base XL, upgraded XLT and deluxe Lariat. Ford's Triton 5.4-liter V8 serves as the base engine with 260 hp. The optional Triton V10, displacing 6.8 liters, musters 310 hp. And Ford's 6.0-liter Power Stroke diesel and five-speed TorqShift automatic go into Super-Duty service with best-in-class 325 hp plus up to 550 lb-ft of torque.

RANGER: Ford's compact-class pickup for 2004 sports a power dome bump on the hood of all trim variations. Ranger makes cabs in two sizes. A Regular Cab installs a bench for three, while SuperCab pushes the rear cabin wall back to carve out an interior storage area. Models include the XL, Edge, XLT, Tremor and FX4. The Edge edition dresses Ranger in a monochromatic color scheme, and a 2WD Edge stands as high as the 4WD Ranger since 4WD suspension elements are in place. Ranger FX4 presents the serious look of a tough off-road truck and supports that image with hardware designed to take trail abuses. An optional 4.0-liter V6 crowns Ranger's power chart and delivers 207 hp.