The Mini Needed More Doors, Seats, Pedals & Turbos: Fiesta ST
 

So, at 12 years old & 155k, our slow-as-a-snail Civic will be going to a new owner. My wife's business is booming & we're thinking about picking up a trailer to make things easier & enable her to do more in-home parties in a day.
Our Flex can likely tow the weight, but would likely be near it's limit, so we decided to start looking for a truck.

In 15 years of driving, all I've had has been cars, and a Suburban in high school as an extra, when my car was down for a few weeks.

It's been quite the process, I looked at 6 trucks total, all 2013+ EcoBoost F150s
The first 2 were no-go vetos for me. A 2013 FX4 that rode like a work truck & had a few issues & a 2013 FX2 that I just didn't love.

Then came 2 that I was ready to deal on: a 2013 Platinum in Ruby Red with Pecan interior, gorgeous truck & drove great, but the dealer wouldn't play ball, so we walked.
Next was a 2014 Limited 4WD (which I don't really need) in Tuxedo Black with Marina Blue interior. Loved it & it drove well for a 4WD. Had a deal in the works, then the salesman called & said they can't legally sell the truck; due to an open safety recall with no current fix. Claims they would be fined $7k for selling it :shrug:

So, we decided to look at new F150s. Found one we liked, though less loaded than the Platinum & Limited (over $50k when new in 13 & 14). But the drive-out was practically the same.
Got an extended test drive in it & quite liked it, but it didn't have Apple CarPlay nor factory NAV, which we'd need for my wife's business. So I got to looking & found another locally at a sister dealer to the one I've been working with & had it traded over.

24 hours later & it's in my driveway. 2016 Magnetic Ford F-150 XLT Sport 2WD SuperCrew 2.7EcoBoost with Factory NAV & dual-pane sunroof.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l1...5.jpg~original

So far, in the drive home from the dealer & the drive to work this morning: 20MPG.

Beautiful truck :drool:

Report back on the kind of mileage you're getting around town and maybe towing :thumbsup:

the magnetic grey has to be one of the best colors ever!
congrats!

Seems to be 19-21 average in mixed driving, from a little research. Need to get it added to my Fuelly.

Love the Magnetic. I would've gotten Guard, if it was still available. I think 2015 was the last (only?) year it was available on the F150.

I concur... magnetic grey looks fantastic. I hope you enjoy your truck for years to come... you have to post updates on how everything holds up- I'm really curious to know about all the aluminum on the truck and whether you notice any issues (I doubt it, but it'll be interesting to hear)

If I had to buy a truck today, I'd likely go with the F150 also. Looks wise, nothing else compares. Turbos and aluminum are a car enthusiast's dream come true :D

Thanks, plans are to enjoy it stock for a bit & add a bed liner & maybe a catch can, though the 2.7 doesn't seem to need one as much as the 3.5.
Will get some mileage on it, then start looking at some upgrades :ninja:

Tune! Tune! Tune!

Doing my research. Unleashed seems to be one of the favorites & the same over on the EB Flex side. LET is local in Houston, though. :ponder:
Having a DD duty tune & a tow tune would be nice when we get the trailer.

Supposedly open up the intake/exhaust and a diabloport and you're in the business...
I drive the same 2.7 turbo for work...I drive it in Sport mode (seems to kill the turbo lag) all the time and floor it almost always...
it moves...and my average is only 12mpg...not bad considering it stays on idling while I work a lot...
ass is sagging a bit, but the topper and tools probably add to that prematurely happening...
transmission sometimes seems to fish for a gear or stay stuck, like it's trying to figure out what you're doing with the gas pedal before making a tranny decision...
bluetooth to my phone (galaxy 6) sporadically disconnects, which annoys me.

Overall though, fun, fast and reliable truck, super nice...doesn't drive like a truck IMO....it's decently nimble and fully capable...

Congrats, man! That's a gorgeous color and look...enjoy it in good health! :cheers:

I tried Sport mode, seems it holds the lowest gear for the speed you're travelling. Great for speedy runs, awful for MPG.
Have also read that an intake on these doesn't do a lot other than add some intake volume & turbo whistle. Apparently Ford engineered the stock intakes pretty well.
I did notice that the rear suspension is pretty soft. With nothing in the rear end, it drives pretty well, but I could see it squatting when loaded down. May have to look into helper airbags for the rear when we get a trailer.

I was genuinely shocked at how quick it is compared to the 4 3.5EB trucks I drove prior. I guess the weight savings make a big difference.

The 3.5 EB is rated at 365/420
The 2.7 EB is rated at 325/375

I believe those are rated based on 87 octane fuel. I've read that 91/93 octane can give a slight boost, even stock. Since the ECU will add timing up to sensing knock or detonation.

we have a fuel guy at the yard...he puts shit, I'm sure...so sometimes I'll park with gas tank facing wall so he doesn't fill me and I can use my gas card for 93
:vtec:

Bitch moves, man...she's got torque...up top it feels a bit sluggish at high speed, but really...do you need a truck to be fast from 80 to 100? :tomato:

It's definitely a different drive coming from a Civic, where you have to rev the nuts off of it to get going. The EB barely needs to crack 3k RPM & it's flying.

I thought all F150s had the 3.5L EB, so that's news to me.

It's amazing to see what power they can crank out of a 2.7. :what:

Dude,
Do you know how fun it is to picture what people must think when they see a work truck fly off the line...they probably think I have to take a shit or something. :rofl:

The 2.7 was added for 2015+ F150s. Also in the new Fusion Sport w/ AWD, along with a few other models.

I want to see an engine bay shot! a little 2.7 in there must look funny. Is there additional storage in there? lol

the engine cover is a hologram off a 5.0 so we don't have bay envy! :tomato:

I'll try to get some half-decent shots this weekend, if it doesn't rain all weekend long.

probably a good thing you got a truck. :wish:

I hope Houston isnt an island by next week

I need a new truck. I've been debating the F150s. The 3.5 EB is going to be on my shortlist for sure. I've pushed my little Nissan Fronty far past what I was originally expecting to do with it.

:cheers: Congrats! Must be a nice upgrade from the Civic. And that mileage doesn't sound bad at all.


Is there any reason in particular you looked purely at F150s? If I was in the same position, I would likely buy an one as well.

:clap: snail joke!!!

Love it! Congrats :cheers:

Nice truck... it (based upon my family's experience with Ford trucks) should last a long time....

I prefer my snails to be of the Subaru variety.... One is 14 years old and the other is 3 :)

And believe me, they're not even trying. FI is amazing.

Wait until you tune that sucka :drool:

Congrats man. i know we've talked about getting new cars and finally you got one.

Gorgeous truck! Congratulations, and excellent color choice.

As far as a tune, yes do it! I have the same 2.7 EcoBoost in my Edge and Livernois' tune added ~100 HP/~110 ft lbs of torque (420hp/450ft lbs). It's a goddamn RIOT to drive now with really 0 negative side effects. 0-60 went from high 5s to high 4s. Fuel economy is the same, if not better with the tune. You won't regret it. :)

Congrats! This whole time I were thinking you'd end up in a Mazda, so the thread title threw me for a loop before I clicked on it. Nice choice, and good to see the Ecoboosts returning expected mpgs.

You're welcome to check mine out. Don't discount the 2.7 if you aren't doing any serious towing. I'll trade you a try in the 2.7 for a spin in the SL :wish:

I think, aesthetically, the F150 is the better looking of the big 4 (full size trucks).
Not sure I can get this kind of mileage out of one of the others either.

Glad someone got it :wink:

The engine cover hides it, but there does seem to be a lot of space under the hood.
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:eek: Didn't know there was that much on the table. This thing is shockingly quick, even stock. Can't imagine it with more. I'll have to investigate more.

Yeah, I jumped around a lot. Really wanted the ND, or a new Mazda 3S, but this takes care of a lot of the shortcomings we have with our Flex & my wife's business. and, it'll tow a trailer a lot better.
May look into an NB Miata in the future for a toy/date night cruiser.

A few more shots of the new rig.
Attachment 58880
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LED Bedlighting standard:
Attachment 58884

The huge dual-pane sunroof:
Attachment 58885

And, a little plug for my wife's business, which has enabled us to be in a position for both of us to get new cars in the last year:
Attachment 58886

It'll likely be getting a Line-X liner this month. Already a couple scratches in the bed.

Also, not sure why they don't include it, but a buddy of mine suggested getting the husky fender liners for the rear since they're bare.
I'm sure you don't want rocks kicking up onto bare paint.

Sexy, brother.
Sexy brother!!! :woot:

Debating on either plastic liners, or seeing if the Line-X dealer can spray them.

interesting, checked out Lula Roe.com

:thumbsup:

:wink: Advertising works!
Let your lady friends know!

Beautiful truck! I love it. Congratulations! :cheers:

Gorgeous truck :cheers:

almost identical to one I looked at the other day, minus the 3.5 and 4WD.

Im torn between leasing one of these or a Tacoma

My brother-in-law has a TRD Sport 2WD Ext Cab V6, and it's a pretty nice truck.
I haven't gone & looked at them in person myself; but Toyota is goofy with their online configurator, hard to tell what options are there or not. Haven't had his next to mine, but my coworker's Colorado is pretty noticeably smaller. So it partly comes down to if you need a full size.

Noticed a bit of stumbling while idling in line to pick up my daughter from school yesterday. Hoping it's just to do with the dealer provided first tank of gas. Will be filling up with 93 today & we'll see if it improves.

Still haven't decided if I like the auto-stop. With how hot it's been here, it only stops the engine for about 30 seconds, then starts again due to cabin temp. Not sure if it's being extra hard on the engine to cycle as much as it is. So I either disable it (have to push the button every time you start the truck, or just keep light enough pressure on the brake so it won't engage.