F-150 Ups the Ante on Towing

Ford is laying claim to some key bragging rights with the redesigned F-150 pickup.

                                   2021 F-150 pickup (Image: Ford)

The carmaker says the 2021 model, which hits the streets in November, will have best-in-class towing (14,000 lbs) and payload (3,325 lbs) capacities. That’s a bump of 800 lbs and 55 lbs, respectively, over the current truck.

By comparison, the Chevrolet Silverado can tow 13,300 lbs and haul 2,280 lbs. The Ram 1500 is rated at 12,750 lbs and 2,300 lbs.

Hybrid Twist

Ford has boosted the output on two of the F-150’s five engine options over those of the outgoing model.

But the most significant performance comes from the all-new hybrid variant. The electrified model teams Ford’s 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine with a small electric motor that generate a combined 430 hp and 570 lb-ft of torque, which is the most torque ever for an F-150.

Ford says the hybrid truck can tow 12,700 lbs and haul as much as 2,120 lbs. The truck can travel 700 miles on one fillup.

A 1.5-kWh battery is mounted under the floor. There also is a standard 2.4-kW generator (enough to power a jackhammer and compact cement mixer) The optional 7.2-kW unit can run 28 refrigerators.

More Power Upgrades

The stand-alone powertrain options include:

• 5.0-liter V-8 engine that generates 400 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque, improvements of 5 hp and 10 lb-ft from the current model
• 3.5-liter V-6 rated at 400 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque, improvements of 6% and 7%, respectively
• 3.3-liter V-6 is unchanged at 290 hp and 265 lb-ft of torque
• 2.7-liter turbocharged V-6, 325 hp and 400 lb-ft (unchanged)
• 3.0-liter V-6 diesel, 250 hp and 440 lb-ft (unchanged)

All engines are mated with Ford’s 10-speed automatic transmission. Each engine also comes with a mobile generator.