Ford F-150 in Australia: Five things you should know

The expected debut of the Ford F-150 on Australian shores is kind of here, with first deliveries due in November.

We’ve correct been on our first elephantine drive of the American icon on Australian soil – you might well maybe try our detailed video overview or written overview – but in the mean-time, here are the tip five issues to clutch about the most modern entrant into Australia’s crowded ute market.

1. The F-150 is remanufactured in Australia

After being manufactured in left-hand-drive in the US, the F-150s are shipped to our shores earlier than they’re remodeled to correct-hand-drive and equipped in Australian showrooms.

However this isn’t a straightforward swap from left-to-correct, with vehicles being fully re-engineered on a dedicated manufacturing line in Victoria.

The conversion is taken care of by a international engineering firm RMA Automobile which works closely with Ford Australia’s native improvement crew, with over 500 contemporary or modified parts required for the conversion.

The re-engineering work is exhaustive and here’s the first time Ford has popular a remanufacturing process love this anyplace in the world, with the emblem signing off on the total pickups to make obvious that they are as much as traditional and ready to be granted Ford’s traditional five-yr, limitless-kilometer warranty.

It’s fee noting that the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado are additionally remodeled in the neighborhood by the Walkinshaw Neighborhood, with 300 units of Toyota’s incoming Tundra model additionally confirmed for re-manufacturing earlier than they’re given to chosen customers to endure valid-world testing.

2. How mighty does the F-150 tag and is it steady tag in Australia?

The F-150 will system to Australia in two grades from originate along side the entry level XLT and the tip-spec Lariat. Each grades will be readily accessible in long- and quick-wheel-snide versions.

By manner of confirmed pricing for the F-150, the XLT comes in at $106,950, with the tip-spec Lariat coming in at $139,950, both earlier than on-facet road prices.

It’s likely you’ll maybe have to employ an additional $995 for the extra 300mm of bath space in the long-wheel-snide in either grade – the SWB incorporates a 1676mm ute bath while the LWB has a bigger 1981mm bath.

Nonetheless, don’t let ‘quick-wheel-snide’ idiot you – even in this spec, the F-150 measures in at 5.9-meters in length. The long-wheel-snide is 6.2-metres long, with the extra 300mm in the bath, making it almost a elephantine meter longer than the Ford Ranger.

All F-150s make employ of a elephantine-time four-wheel-drive procedure and every are powered by Ford’s 3.5-litre twin-turbo-petrol V6 EcoBoost engine making for 298kW and a huge 678Nm of torque, coupled with a 10 lumber computerized transmission and claiming a median gas economic system of 12.5L/100km.

Key aspects for the XLT consist of:

• 20-creep alloy wheels
• Electronic locking rear differential
• Halogen headlights
• LED abet lights
• Chrome front bumper
• Tailgate with versatile step and work floor
• Spray-in bedliner
• Energy tailgate lock
• Cloth trim seats
• Energy-adjustable front seats
• 8.0-creep digital instrument cluster
• 8.0-creep infotainment touch display command
• Digital radio
• Satellite navigation
• Apple Carplay and Android Auto
• Twin-zone native weather management
• Cruise management
• Traction management
• Run sway management
• Trailer hitch gentle

Key aspects the Lariat provides:

• 20-creep chrome alloy wheels with all-terrain tyres
• Exterior chrome aspects
• LED headlights
• Computerized excessive beams
• Console mounted stowable e-Shifter
• Energy twin panel moonroof
• Leather-essentially based accented seat field topic
• Leather-essentially based-wrapped steering wheel
• Heated and vented cooled front seats
• Heated rear seats (outboard seats simplest)
• 12-creep configurable command for the instrument cluster
• 12-creep infotainment display
• 18-speaker Bang and Olufsen sound procedure

Key safety aspects and driver assistance (XLT and Lariat):

• Six airbags
• Blind space monitoring with rear corrupt traffic alert
• Pre-collision attend with self sustaining emergency braking (AEB)
• Dynamic Balance Control
• Lane departure warning and driver alert procedure
• Rear parking sensors
• Rear-seek for digital camera

Key safety aspects and driver assistance (Lariat simplest):

• Adaptive cruise management
• Entrance parking sensors
• Bustle signal recognition
• 360-level digital camera

By manner of tag for money, Chasing Automobiles’ contributor Iain Curry said in his overview: “here’s a huge re-engineering mission that must maintain tag an absolute fortune for Ford Australia to make. That translates to an ideal feeling cabin that does undercover agent and feel factory steady, and the drive as effectively – very spectacular”.

Whereas the inform tag conversion from buying an F-150 in The united states versus Australia does gaze our market paying more, it’s additionally fee noting that we make obtain some extra aspects on our native items which can maybe be non-fundamental or unavailable in a international nation, now no longer to point out that Australian vehicles are packed to the brim, with minimal non-fundamental extras.

3. Ford F-150: most towing capacity and payload

The F-150 comes geared up with a 4500kg-rated tow bar with a 70mm ball and constructed-in trailer brake controller.

Chasing Automobiles modified into as soon as told that the American location up for towing did now no longer meet Australian requirements so it has been fully remanufactured as segment of the great Australian re-engineering process to meet the stricter Australian requirements.

Additionally, both XLT and Lariat grades device geared up with ‘Official Trailer Lend a hand-up Lend a hand’ – truly allowing you to make employ of a toggle along side the rear seek for digital camera to inform the trailer the build it needs to reverse – the driver controls the throttle and brakes, while the steering is taken care of in retaining along with your toggle inputs.

Payload capacity for the F-150 relies on grade:

• XLT SWB: 769kg
• XLT LWB: 794kg
• Lariat SWB: 685kg
• Lariat LWB: 710kgg

As for the F-150’s kerb weight:

• XLT SWB: 2451kg
• XLT LWB: 2471kg
• Lariat SWB: 2535kg
• Lariat LWB: 2555kg

4. What are the F-150’s key opponents?

The F-150 at display has two – and have to calm rapidly maintain three – key opponents in Australia. This comprises the RAM 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado, that are both at display on sale in Australia.

They’re going to rapidly be joined by the Toyota Tundra, which at display has a Hybrid undergoing valid-world overview before elephantine scale manufacturing approval.

Whereas the Toyota is powered by a hybrid-assisted 3.5-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 (236kW/790Nm), the RAM 1500 (291kW/556Nm) and Chevrolet Silverado (313kW/624Nm) are both powered by petrol eight-cylinder engines, however the F-150’s torque figure beats both V8s.

Whereas the F-150 has a V8 option in the US, this gained’t be readily accessible in the neighborhood.

5. Ford F-150 wait times in Australia

MY2023 F-150s will start arriving this November.

Unsurprisingly, Ford has beforehand stated it wants the F-150 to “knock it out of the park”, but didn’t portion expected sales volumes. Nonetheless, the RMA Automobile facility the build the pickup is remanufactured for RHD has the capacity to manufacture spherical 5000 every yr.

With pickup sales booming in Australia – and the F-150 having clocked better than four many years as The united states’s most equipped automotive – it gained’t be dazzling to undercover agent excessive-demand for the pickup truck in native showrooms.

The Toyota Hilux is at display the handiest promoting automotive on Australian roads, closely adopted by the Ford Ranger in a hotly contested section, with Ranger wait times at display struggling to build up with demand.