2015 Ford F150 Test Drive- I Earned My Texas Girl Badge #2015F150 #FordTx

I was invited to a press trip on behalf of Ford Motor Company to take a sneak peek test drive of the new 2015 F-150. All thoughts are my own.

Trucks are a huge part of Texas life. Ford has done its fair share of capitalizing on this market by being a leader in sales to the Texas market. I have always dreamed of owning a truck, but being a mommy decided to go the minivan route for awhile. Now that the kids are getting older and needing less stuff to have to carry around all the time and the fact that my van is almost paid off,  I am wanting more and more to get a truck. The 2015 Ford F150 is the Toughest, Smartest, and Most Capable truck they have ever built and I am excited to share it with you.

Ford has made major changes to the F-150 this year. The biggest change is that it now has an aluminum body instead of steel. What does this mean for you? That you now have 700 lbs taken out of the weight of the truck that can now be used for towing capabilities. It means better fuel efficiency on an everyday basis since there is less “truck” that the engine is having to haul around. It was cool to hear about how they have different gauges of the aluminum in different parts of the truck to take weight out where they could while still keeping the body tough and strong where it needed to be.

While a lot of focus is on the outside of the truck they have also made huge improvements to the inside. The best one that I would like to share with you is that the F150 is the first truck of its kind to offer parking assist. I was able to see this in action at the State Fair of Texas and let me just say it is amazing. To know that there is technology out there that can not only help park a small car, but also a large truck and to do it with such precision is a huge feat. With the help of the 360 degree cameras as well as radar system built in to the tail lights, the 2015 F150 can find a spot, and without the driver touching the wheel can park itself.

Here it is in action:

Now the part you have been waiting to hear about.. the test drive.

We started early in the morning in San Antonio and would be traveling the surrounding back roads. It would be the perfect setting to test out the truck on city, country, and non roads 🙂 I headed straight for a blue beauty that caught my eye. The color is Blue Flame Metallic. Isn’t she pretty??!! The seats hugged me as a slid in. It was definitely a match made in truck heaven.. haha

We took off first to drive on freeway then on to some country streets. The truck surprised me as we went over bumps and dips and gravel roads with very little road noise coming in. You would almost think we had just traveled on one type of road surface. It accelerated with ease in the 2.7L Eco-Boost engine. I had never really driven anything with an Eco-Boost engine before so the first time we stopped at a stop light I was confused when the truck got super quiet. Then as I let my foot off the break and before I could even get to the gas pedal the engine turned itself back on. The response time of the engine to start ratio is super quick. I was impressed. The drive was so smooth and you didn’t feel like you were jostled around on the bumps like I have been in the past riding in trucks. That is one thing that Ford focused on was changing from the side to side motion to an up and down motion over bumps like you would experience in a car. The truck body felt as one piece versus front cab/back bed split.

At one of the stops that we made, we had the opportunity to take a towing challenge of the F150 versus other truck competitors. This is where I earned my Texas girl badge finally after living here for 33 years! I have never pulled a trailer before, so I was pretty wary of doing it. My friend Nicole Wakelin of Total Fan Girl went first and helped put me at ease. The 2015 F150 pulled a 9000 lb trailer like a boss. You can tell that it took more power to be able to tow the heavy trailer, but with a lower hitch that Ford designed it made it easier to load up as well as other controls that helped keep the trailer more stable and less side to side swaying. They have also added technology that can help you slow down easier say if someone slams on their brakes in front of you or you come to a light too quickly. We were able to hear the engine braking system in action. This really helped calm my nervousness while I was driving since it was my first time pulling a trailer. Even Doug Scott, Group Marketing Manager for the Ford Truck Division, who rode along with us during our test said I did great despite it being my first time.

This test drive showed me on many levels how it would be to own a truck and the bar has been set high with the all new Ford F150. It busted the stereotypes that I had of trucks being rough, not a smooth ride, and more. I could see my own family going on long road trips and being comfortable riding the whole time with enough space for all our stuff. I was really impressed with the smooth handling and ride that it offered while still being strong, powerful, and smart. Ford has spent many years working on all of this technology and design and it shows.

I will share more later of the actual drive and stops we made along the way at some cool ranches and stops. It was the perfect way to showcase the 2015 Ford F150!

Would you like to test drive the 2015 F150 as well? They could be stopping at a location near you where you can experience all that the 2015 model has to offer. Check out the tour and drive the future of tough!