Photo: Ford Canada
(Charlevoix, Quebec) While the brutal winter weather that most of central and eastern North America has received this year has been a scourge to most, it also created an ideal situation for Ford Canada to invite a bunch of journalists to test out the all new 2015 Ford F-150 pick-up truck.
The launch of the latest generation of the F-150 has been highly anticipated for some time. To begin with, the F-150 is the top selling vehicle in North America, and has been for many years. Not wanting to rest on their laurels though, the design team at Ford decided to really offer something new and they wound up making a number of major changes to the vehicle in the process.
The most noteworthy and risky of the changes is the decision to build the truck out of military-grade aluminium instead of steel. The main reason for this is weight-reduction as the shift in metals has shed 700 lbs from the truck when compared to the previous generation. Less weight means greater fuel efficiency as well as increased payload limits and towing weights – 3 things that can generally speaking are very important to today’s truck buyers.
The increased fuel efficiency is of particular interest to me and the main reason why I accepted the invite as part of my Enviro Dad Test Drive series. Also of interest is the development of a new 2.7 litre, V6 EcoBoost engine, which clearly was built with better fuel economy in mind. The F-150 isn’t the top-selling vehicle in North America because everyone needs to haul goods or work in rugged terrain. It’s because of that, plus the fact that many people prefer trucks as their main mode of transport. These people like trucks but also would welcome better fuel economy and with overall fuel economy improving by as much as 27% with the new F-150 compared to the previous generation, Ford is making significant strides in that area. Early indications are that it won’t match the fuel economy found in the new Ram 1500 Eco Diesel which currently holds the title as more fuel-efficient half-tonne pick up on the market, but that doesn’t take away from the gains in fuel-efficiency made.
Minimalist fuel economy aside, a half-tonne pick-up typically carries a reputation for being good at driving in places where you normally wouldn’t. With 4×4 capabilities, traction control, hill descent and more built into the vehicle, Ford is very proud of the F-150’s capabilities in off-road or difficult terrain. This was truly the basis of their decision in which to hold a launch event in the dead of winter, and located where difficult winter driving is par for the course.
The following video recap highlights our time in Quebec’s Charlevoix region and the opportunities we had as journalists to test out the 2015 F-150 on a specially designed handling course on the grounds of the local airport, as well as a custom-designed off-road course build within the confines of a nearby quarry. Note…also check out the footage from the very-cool (pardon the pun) Hotel de Glace, North America’s only Ice Hotel and where we stopped for dinner the night before we headed out for our drive.
While most F-150 owners will never have the need to test out the off-road capabilities of their truck, it was a great opportunity for journalists like myself to verify and vouch for the claims that the F-150 can do all that Ford says it can do.
This opportunity was one that was simply not conducive to me validating the fuel efficiency claims Ford is making. The cold weather and difficult terrain were nowhere near the ideal proving grounds for seeing how miserly it is on gas, but I hope to have another more comprehensive opportunity later this year. Those findings will be reported on this site when known.
In the meantime my main takeaway from this event was that if ever I’m in the need to drive through inches of snow while in the middle of a rock quarry or along a barren, wind-swept piece of real estate, the 2015 Ford F-150 would be a decent ride to do it in.
Photo: Eric Novak
(Disclosure: Travel and accommodations for this event were provided by the automaker.)
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