Episode 429: 2025 Ford F-150 Powerboost Hybrid
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Car
Ford F150S
The Ford F-150 is a big truck that people use for carrying heavy loads and towing things like trailers. It's very popular because it's strong and has lots of features that make it easy to drive.
Car
Ford F-150 Lightning
The Ford F-150 Lightning is an electric version of the F-150 truck. It runs on electricity instead of gas, making it better for the environment while still being powerful.
Car
Ford F-150 Raptor
The Ford F-150 Raptor R is a special version of the F-150 truck that is built for off-road driving. It has a really strong engine and features that help it handle rough terrain.
Term
gas engine
A gas engine is a type of engine that uses gasoline to run. It's what you find in most cars and trucks.
Part
supercharged 5.2 liter V8
A supercharged 5.2-liter V8 engine is a big engine that uses a device called a supercharger to make it more powerful. This helps the truck go faster and perform better.
Term
hybrid model
A hybrid model is a car that runs on both gas and electricity. This helps it use less fuel and be better for the environment.
Term
pound-feet of torque
Pound-feet of torque measures how strong an engine is. It tells you how much force the engine can use to turn the wheels, which helps with speed and pulling heavy loads.
Term
EcoBoost
EcoBoost is a type of engine from Ford that uses a turbocharger to make a smaller engine perform like a bigger one, helping save fuel.
Term
V8
A V8 is a type of engine with eight cylinders that are arranged in a V shape. It's known for being powerful and is often used in trucks and sports cars.
Term
horsepower
Horsepower is a way to measure how powerful an engine is. It shows how fast the engine can make the car go.
Term
three and a half liter V6
A three and a half liter V6 is an engine with six cylinders that can hold 3.5 liters of fuel. It's a common engine type that offers a good mix of power and fuel savings.
Term
turbocharged
Turbocharged means the engine has a special device that helps it get more power by pushing in extra air, which makes it run better and faster.
Car
Toyota Tundra
The Toyota Tundra is a big truck that can carry heavy things and is good for driving off-road. It's known for being tough and reliable.
Term
hybrid drivetrain
A hybrid drivetrain is a system in some cars that uses both a regular engine and an electric motor. This helps the car use less gas and be better for the environment while still being powerful.
Term
towing capacity
Towing capacity is how much weight a vehicle can pull behind it safely. It's important for trucks that are used to carry heavy things like trailers.
Term
Pro Power Onboard
Pro Power Onboard lets you use your truck to power things like tools or appliances, almost like a generator. It's handy for camping or working in places without electricity.
Car
Nissan Leaf
The Nissan Leaf is an electric car that doesn't use gasoline. It's known for being affordable and is popular among people who want to drive an eco-friendly vehicle.
Car
Smart Fortwo
The Smart Fortwo is a tiny car made for city driving. It's very small, which helps it fit into tight parking spots easily.
Term
EVs
EVs stands for electric vehicles, which are cars that run on electricity instead of gas. They are better for the environment because they don't produce exhaust fumes.
Term
charging
Charging is how you fill up the battery of an electric car. Instead of putting in gas, you connect it to a power source to recharge it.
Term
hybrid system
A hybrid system is a type of car engine that uses both gas and electricity to run. This helps save fuel and is better for the environment.
Term
powertrain
The powertrain is the part of a car that makes it move. It includes the engine and other parts that help transfer power to the wheels.
Term
power boost
Power boost means that the truck can use both gas and electric power to run better and save fuel. It helps the truck perform well while being more efficient.
Term
F-Series
The F-Series is a popular line of trucks made by Ford. They are known for being tough and are used for many purposes, from work to recreation.
Term
V6
A V6 engine is a type of engine that has six cylinders arranged in a V shape. It's popular because it provides a good mix of power and fuel efficiency.
Term
six cylinder turbo hybrid
A six-cylinder turbo hybrid engine has six cylinders that help the car go fast, plus a turbo that gives it extra power, and it also uses electricity to save gas.
Term
10-speed transmission
A 10-speed transmission is a type of automatic gearbox that has ten different gears. This helps the car use fuel more efficiently and perform better at different speeds.
Term
MSRP
MSRP is the price that the car maker suggests you should pay for a new car. It's like a starting point, but the actual price can be higher or lower depending on the dealer and any extras you want.
Term
Blue Cruise
Blue Cruise is a system from Ford that lets you drive without using your hands in some situations. It's similar to a system from GM called Super Cruise, but some people think Blue Cruise isn't as good yet.
Car
Ford Explorer
The Ford Explorer is a large family vehicle that can carry many people and their stuff. It's great for road trips and has lots of space inside for comfort.
Car
Volvo EX90
The Volvo EX90 is a new electric SUV from Volvo. It's designed to be safe and environmentally friendly, but it won't be available in Canada for the 2026 model year.
Car
Ford Maverick
The Ford Maverick is a smaller truck that's easy to drive and park, making it good for city living. It can still carry things in the back like a regular truck but is more fuel-efficient.
Car
Dodge Ram
The Dodge Ram is a big truck that's built tough for heavy work and off-road driving. It's known for being comfortable to drive and has many useful features.
Car
Honda Ridgelines
The Honda Ridgeline is a truck that drives more like a car, making it comfortable and easy to handle. It has special storage spaces that make it practical for carrying things.
Car
Chevrolet Sparks
The Chevrolet Spark is a small and inexpensive car that's great for driving in the city. It's easy to park and saves money on gas.
Car
Chevrolet Silverado
The Chevrolet Silverado is a big truck that can handle heavy loads and is built to last. It's popular for work and for people who need a tough vehicle for outdoor activities.
Car
Honda Odyssey
The Honda Odyssey is a family van that has a lot of room for kids and their stuff. It’s designed to make traveling with a family easier and more comfortable.
Car
Chrysler Pacifica
The Chrysler Pacifica is another family van that has a lot of space and cool features. It can even run on electricity if you get the hybrid version, which is good for saving gas.
LIVE
Hello, and welcome to the Unnamed Automotive Podcast.
My name is Sammy Hage-Assad, and with me, as always,
is my good friend and fellow automotive journalist, Benjamin
Hunting.
Say hi to the people, Ben.
There's a huge energy mismatch on the podcast tonight,
because Sammy spent the whole day recording videos.
Is that correct?
Yeah, most of the day.
I wouldn't say the whole day, like the moment I woke up,
I was just on camera and just like, watch me go.
Yeah, like MTV or the real world.
Yeah, Truman Show.
So Sammy's been in, like, projecting host mode all day.
He's, like, got his feet underneath him.
He feels good about communicating.
Me, I've been horribly introspective
and living in this dark sunsets at 3 PM
world that we call early December.
And so, like, Sammy's just out there and ready to go.
And I'm, it's like I'm being dragged from a hole
in the ground into the, I guess, blinking brightness
of a podcast, which is far more elimination
than I've experienced throughout most of today.
So things are a little weird here, but Sammy,
I guess I should say hello, hello, everybody.
Hi, everybody.
Thank you for dealing with this mismatch.
I think by now people know who we are.
We're good friends, we're automotive journalists.
You can find our work all over the internet,
all that jazz.
I want to queue you in,
because you've got one of the most interesting
pickup trucks that I have ever heard about.
It's a Ford F-150, but it's not just any F-150.
From what I understand,
it's among the most powerful F-150s on the market today.
Can you tell me more about that?
You're trying so hard with the among.
I heard it.
I heard your tone of voice.
You kept the lid on it.
Talk to me about this F-150.
The most powerful F-150 with a gas engine.
We're not talking about the lightning,
we're talking about, you know.
Or the R.
Well, the Raptor R.
That's what I was about to say.
Is the Raptor R.
It's sandwiched between these two vehicles.
No, the most powerful F-150 with a gas engine
is the Raptor R,
which is a supercharged 5.2 liter V8.
The next most.
It's like a purpose built like doodad.
It's like in races and does stuff.
The next most powerful F-150 with a gas engine
is not the regular Raptor.
So in between the Raptor R and the Raptor,
there's a totally different vehicle
that has nothing to do with either of those models.
And it somehow out muscles the regular Raptor.
And that is the F-150 power boost,
which is a hybrid model.
And for Ford's.
Well, it's important to point out, hold on, wait.
It's important to point out that the F-150,
this power boost is actually just a powertrain
that you can attach to almost any,
any trip.
Not almost any.
It's available from the XLT up.
So you can go like XLT, Lariat,
King Ranch and Platinum.
I think that's the, that's the range,
which is pretty.
Oh yeah, that's a ton of trims though.
That's a lot.
It's pretty good.
It's definitely a lot of.
That's like over half of them.
That's like half of them.
But it's weird in terms of how you can get it.
So there's a price that comes with the power boost engine
and drivetrain,
but there's also like in some cases,
depending on the trim level,
you have to buy it an options package too.
And I think it's only available on four door trucks.
So if you have like a two door XLT,
you have to upgrade to a crew cab.
So all of this stuff is like,
it can add hidden costs.
So while it is available at every trim,
it's not just like an option
where you spend $3,000 or $1,900 or whatever.
The general, in general,
the cost of adding it is like just under 2,000
to just over 3,500.
And in some cases it could be a lot more
if you're moving up from like a regular cab
to a crew cab.
Okay.
In any case, this truck,
it's sandwiched between these two high performance trucks,
but it is itself a high performance truck.
It does 60 in like five seconds,
which is ridiculous given how big it is.
It has 570 pound feet of torque,
which is 70 pound feet more than the regular EcoBoost
and 160 pound feet more than the five liter V8,
which is my favorite F-150 drivetrain.
And it has 430 horsepower,
which is 30 more than both the five liter
and the twin turbo, three and a half liter V6.
So that's a lot of power.
I wanna talk for F-150 powertrains for a second
because my personal favorite is the 3.5 liter EcoBoost.
I think that engine is fantastic.
It has always been more than enough for me, okay?
Clearly I've like, I don't know,
maybe I'm not made for high horsepower trucks,
but I was always into that like,
I think it's 400 horsepower and 500 pound feet of torque
or something like that.
And I'm always like, that's good.
That's perfect for me.
Sure, but it's thirsty and it gets really hot.
Even for a six cylinder, it gets pretty,
it gets thirsty.
I don't know about this hot, this heat thing.
Well, when you tow with a turbocharged truck,
heat builds up.
So it's, you know,
there's not really much you can do about that.
Back to the hybrid though,
the numbers are identical pretty much to the Toyota Tundra.
So like, what I find most interesting
about the F-Series with the hybrid drivetrain
is not so much that it's really powerful.
It is, I mean, it's quick, it feels quick
and it can tow 12,500 pounds.
All of those stats are great
for people who care about stats.
But you look at the Tundra hybrid
and you're looking at similar numbers, right?
Where the F-Series pulls ahead,
I think is in practicality and utility
because the power boost,
not only do you get that, excuse me,
not only do you get the extra grunt,
but you also get the pro power on board.
Is that what it's called?
Let me double check.
I don't know.
I didn't try to go.
What are you talking about?
So there is a, yeah, is pro power on board.
This is a generator feature
that has been available in the F-Series for a long time.
You can add pro power on board
to a number of different drive trains
with the power boost, it comes standard.
So the standard version gives you
in the regular F-Series,
two kilowatt hours of electricity
available via plugs in the cargo bed.
The pro power on board system in the power boost
steps up to 2.4 kilowatts standard,
but you can add as an option
and it's not that expensive, a 7.2 kilowatt.
Well, so that allows you to power a lot of things.
Like we're talking like large appliances,
really heavy.
Charge your car or charge an EV with it.
I mean, you can charge an EV with a 2.4 as well.
I don't, Sammy, do you remember what the lightning has?
Cause it has a similar, similarly large system.
No, I don't know at the top of my head.
I've actually charged a car using the lightning before.
I charged a, what were they the-
Leaf?
No, a smart four.
I mean?
A smart four too.
Very nice.
You're so kind to, you're a kind person to EV owners.
No, I borrowed it from a friend.
Oh, I see.
Just to charge it.
It's one of the few EVs that you could charge
within the bed of an F-Series,
like you could drive it up into the bed and it fits.
And then you could, you know,
shut the tailgate and charge it
and then take it out and drive it after you're done.
But the, you don't get any of that with the Toyota,
like nothing as far as I'm aware.
Do you know if it's-
The hybrid system is just like the powertrain
and that's it, right?
That's as far as, as I know, let me double check.
Cause-
And I mean, as mentioned earlier,
it's not even the powertrain that dictates
whether or not you get pro-power on board.
What's it called again?
It's called pro-power on board.
Pro-power on board.
But the one for-
PPOB?
But one for the power boost is the most,
most powerful outside of the lightning,
which I think probably matches it at 7.2 kilowatts.
I used a lightning to power my entire wedding
a couple of years ago.
I remember that.
I was there.
And I used the pro-power on board system to do that.
So it's a really great system.
And with the power boost,
you can use the, obviously the power that's in the battery,
like it has the larger battery
than a regular F-Series that just has a gas engine,
but it will also kick the engine on
and use it as a generator.
So I personally use this power plug in the bed
to cut a Christmas tree.
When you buy a Christmas tree,
you have to cut the hand off the trunk
so that it can drink water.
And like a sucker, I used to do that by hand and it sucks.
But this year I bought a particularly thick
and robust Christmas tree
and I didn't wanna try that.
So I used the power saw
and the truck had no problem with it.
It was perfectly fine.
You can activate it from inside the truck
on the infotainment system
or you can use this button inside the bed
that lets you turn it on.
And in fact, when it's activated inside the truck,
you also have to turn it on with the button in the bed,
just like as a safety thing
and you can turn it off that way too.
It's super easy to use.
It presented no problems.
And it's just, again,
I think that pickup trucks should be useful.
I think pickup trucks are too big,
which limits their utility.
I have trouble backing them in and out of my driveway
and I live in the country.
It's ridiculous.
Your driveway is as big as can be.
Yeah.
I think this truck is in particular too big,
but I will say it is very useful
and it definitely goes way above and beyond
what you can get with any other pickup
from a job site or like a,
it's also four by four.
So if you wanted to do some camping
or go off-roading or whatnot,
you could power a microwave.
You could power a whole bunch of lights.
You could power some heaters
if you're out in the camping in the winter and it's cold.
I mean, it's just really practical.
And the fact that it will turn the engine on
means you don't have to worry
about the battery running out
and not being able to get back home again.
Like you always, you can keep Jerry cans of gas
and use it if you're at a remote camp
or something like that.
So it's really impressive technology.
I remember this being a discussion
way back when pro-power assist on board.
What's it called again?
Pro-power on board?
Yeah, pro-power on board.
I do every time.
First came out,
it's not as efficient as a dedicated generator
but your dedicated generator requires you to
put it in a car or a trailer or whatever.
You have to drive it everywhere.
Exactly.
This is included in the car.
And you have to store fuel somewhere, right?
Yeah, so this is all in one thing.
It's the convenience that comes.
Yeah, I mean, we would all love
the efficiency of a dedicated generator
but those have a lot of compromises
in order for you to use them anywhere
you might, your truck is.
That's brilliant, right?
Yeah.
Okay, so that's the gimmick I guess
with these F-150s.
I don't think it's a gimmick.
I think calling it a gimmick is wrong.
I think that it is legitimately useful.
It's the killer app of these F-150s.
It's definitely something that you should pay more for.
I think that it is worth getting the hybrid
for this reason.
I don't think that the power is necessarily
what you would pay more for.
The fuel efficiency is not great.
I mean, it's on paper better than similarly,
well, there's not really any similarly powerful.
Talk about the Tundra.
Is it better than the Tundra?
I don't know the Tundra's off the top of my head
but I'm just comparing it to other Fords in the lineup
because that's the choice you're going to be making, right?
There aren't any that really make the same amount of power
but it's better than the EcoBoost
is 20 miles per gallon combined.
The V8 and sorry, not the EcoBoost,
the base V6 in the F-150,
which is that a turbocharged engine?
Yeah, it is.
That's the 2.7.
So that is 20 miles per gallon
and then the five liter V8 and the larger EcoBoost
are 19 miles per gallon combined.
On paper, the power boost is 23 miles per gallon combined.
So that's like roughly a 25% increase
or a 20% increase, which is good.
I don't know if it's worth paying money for
especially since like in the cold weather,
I saw about 18.4 miles per gallon
which is a 22% drop
but that checks out with what you would expect
from either a gas engine or a hybrid in these temperatures.
Like it's very cold right now.
It was often below freezing.
So I'm looking at the EPA's fuel economy.gov
of a 2025 Toyota Tundra four wheel drive hybrid,
which is also a six cylinder turbo hybrid, right?
And it gets 20 miles per gallon combined.
The Ford is like considerably better,
17, 18% better.
I just don't think it's compelling enough.
I think, you know, for me,
it's the difference in fuel mileage to pay more for.
And there is a limited ability
to like drive around on electric only if you want.
I only had it kick in a couple of times.
Like the-
The gas motor when driving around
on the electric motor or the other way around.
I drove around probably,
I took note of how many,
18% of the miles I put on the truck were electric,
but almost all of that was like highway coasting.
So it's really aggressive about cutting the engine
when you're just cruising around at a set speed
or going down hill or that kind of thing.
Off the line, there were a couple of times
where I could tell the electric engine was,
or the electric motor, sorry,
was providing the locomotion,
but because it was so cold,
it like cut out almost immediately.
And my one complaint about the drivetrain
is that the back and forth between the gas engine
and the electric motor is not very smooth.
You usually know when it's happening
and sometimes there's a bit of a kick.
So that kind of takes away
from what I like about the vehicle.
Okay.
That's just again,
further discussion on the power chain.
And it's got what,
which transmission does it have here?
I'm sorry?
What was the transmission again?
It's the same transmission
as all the other F-series trucks.
That's really interesting.
The ability to adapt this transmission to everything,
it's a 10 speed, isn't it?
Yeah, it's a 10 speed.
It's like, it's the same thing.
Like I believe that Ford put the electric motor
in between the transmission and the gas engine.
Okay.
And so as a result, I mean,
EcoBoost sometimes has a little bit of turbo lag,
but this probably doesn't because of an electric motor.
You know what?
I've never really noticed turbo lag in the F-series.
Have you?
Is the EcoBoost,
even the smaller EcoBoost is something
that always felt very immediate?
Well, I mean, I think it has a bit of turbo lag.
I don't think it's,
I still don't think it's perfect, but-
I didn't say it was perfect,
but like what are you expecting out of a turbo truck?
Like what?
I don't understand.
Like take off time.
Okay, now, have you mentioned other things
that the F-150, what's it called again?
Why can't I remember the names of these things?
No idea, dude.
Pro PowerBoost can do in terms of,
it's not known as the most towing capable version of the F-150
because the hybrid powertrain
adds more weight to the vehicle, right?
I actually think that the 12,500 pounds is at the top.
I don't know the full capabilities.
I'm sure there's like a stripped down truck
that maybe does a bit more, but I don't-
That's wicked then, good for them, wow.
I don't know how many F-series trucks are towing above
or even like 1500, you know, half ton trucks
are towing above like 13,000 pounds.
It doesn't really seem like that's the thing that happens.
Like obviously there's probably an exception out there.
Yeah, I mean, of course.
People want to use every last bit of the truck,
but I mean, you've said it before,
don't use one of these size trucks
for that maximum tow rating.
Try to get like a heavy duty or something like that
that can, that gives you more leeway I guess
and more confidence in those situations.
Sorry, say that again.
Just, you know, if you're towing at that level
you should probably consider a heavy duty truck.
Yeah, I mean, I think most people
who tow at that level do.
I don't know how many people tow at the edge
of like a half ton.
The one thing I would think is the exception
are people who have a boat that they tow once a year
or if you have like a camper that you take
to the campus site and then you leave it there
and then you bring it back
and you have like a set route
that goes to either the lake or your campsite.
That's, this is just like conjecture on my part,
but I feel like those are the people
who are, if they do push up against the limits
they're okay with that kind of thing.
That's not something that's done regularly.
I think that that's a very heavy load.
And if you're towing that much all the time
it's probably because you're a professional.
And if you're a professional towing that all the time
you're gonna want an HD truck
or a super duty truck however it's branded.
I would like to think that the people who are towing 12-5
all the time and a half ton are outliers
and I'm never gonna encounter them on the road.
Okay, so we've talked about the powertrain pretty much in depth.
Talk to me about the other parts of this truck
that you got to experience.
This was, you didn't drive the top trim
which I think is called a platinum.
You drove a Lariat you said, right?
Yeah.
I drove a Lariat.
And what is the story about the Lariat
in comparison to other trim levels of the F-150?
I haven't been in another trim level in quite a while.
I couldn't really tell you.
I mean, in comparison.
Okay, well was this considered to be premium?
Does it have like super nice leather seats
and all the technology?
I mean it's 72,000 dollars US.
So that's-
Everything is 70 great.
That's a fair amount of money.
In Canada it's right around 80
and then you start out adding options, right?
So I had a couple of options, not a lot
but it adds up quick.
If you really wanted to go crazy
you could definitely push this truck into the 90,000s
I would think in Canada.
In the US you're probably like mid 80s.
One thing that I did have on the truck
that I was not very impressed with was Blue Cruise.
Oh yeah, you've had really negative experiences
with Blue Cruise.
Yeah, and that continued with this truck.
How crazy is that?
That's so interesting.
So-
Okay, keep going.
Blue Cruise is supposed to be a hands-free
driving system, right?
Basically the competitor to Super Cruise, which we have
been pretty impressed with.
It is in no way a competitor to Super Cruise.
It is not ready for a prime time in a lot of ways.
The thing, there are things about how it works
that are problematic.
And what I mean by that is
when you initiate a lane change with Blue Cruise
it pushes back against you.
Like you hit this, you had to turn signal
and you're changing lanes
but it'll move the wheel back
thinking that you're drifting out of your lane.
It's really annoying.
If you accelerate past a certain speed
it will tell you to put your hands on the wheel
but then it'll fight you if you have your hands on the wheel.
It's not very good at communicating-
What do you mean by fight you?
It'll tell you-
It'll push back against your hands.
It will push back against your steering inputs.
The vehicle's not good at communicating
what the parameters of Blue Cruise are.
Which is one of the things that Super Cruise
is so good at because it has all these light,
these, this light bar on the steering wheel
in addition to the messages that it provides you, right?
So you have like a general idea
of how seriously concerned is that the car has
about the self-driving situations it's faced with
and whether or not you need to like jump to attention
whether or not it's something that's being disabled
or something on your fault,
on your like user input error, right?
Yeah, yeah.
And no, I found in Blue Cruise
one of the major issues is that any form of notification
to the driver is really small.
Despite the size of the gauge cluster
that you, that these cars have,
it's typically, I think I've had it in an Explorer.
And I was like, what does it really want me to do right now?
What is the concern?
It just typically either shows you a steering wheel
with hands on it or a steering wheel without hands on it.
And that you're supposed to take that information
and do with it as you wish.
The other issue I had with the Blue Cruise
was at one point, the vehicle told me to keep my eyes
on the road while I was steering straight ahead.
And at that point, at that point, like, what do I do?
You know, like, I can't look ahead harder,
which is what I tried to do.
But it didn't, it kept flashing that at me.
And then it said resume control.
And I grabbed the steering wheel, right?
And it didn't recognize that I had resume control.
So it kept flashing.
You're having an out of body experience
in the F-150 and the F-150 was picking up on it.
It kept flashing at me to resume control.
And then it started jerking the brakes
to get my attention.
They would like triple, that's not very nice.
It would triple tap the brakes,
even though I was holding the steering wheel
and steering straight ahead.
It's like, it is not, it's not a system I would trust
without keeping an eye on it at all times,
which is true of any advanced driving system.
Yeah, but at that point, at that point,
you might as well just drive the car yourself.
Yeah.
There's another time where I was driving,
going around a corner and Blue Cruise
pulled me completely out of the lane
on the left over the other line
and then started flashing resume control at me.
Absolutely out of nowhere.
It's like, I made a huge error, please help me.
I had never had that happen before with Super Cruise.
That has never happened in a million years.
So it's just, it really feels like it's half baked.
Like.
That's interesting.
I will tell you, in my experience
of these self-driving systems,
especially when it comes to the lane changing thing,
it's so bizarre that some of them are like,
get your hands off the steering wheel, let me do it.
Or if it detects even the slightest
like nudge of the steering wheel,
which, you know, you naturally,
when you hit the lane change in like the lane change
or the turn signal, your hands are at the steering wheel.
Why not just have your hands there
just to make sure everything goes smoothly.
And if they detect anything, they basically bail out.
They're like, nope, not happening anymore.
And I hate that.
I absolutely dislike the, my way only kind of methodology
of a driver assistance feature like that.
I had a couple other problems with the truck,
but one that stood out was the touch to unlock feature,
like keyless entry, didn't work on the driver's side.
I could only get it to work.
No, the button that's on.
So there's two ways to do it.
There's like a button to lock and unlock, I guess.
And there's also, you can just grab the handle and pull.
It only worked on the passenger side,
both of those features.
So the driver's door, I'm assuming
had a dead sensor or something, but that sucks.
I can't remember the last time I had that feature break.
Can you?
Yeah, probably, yeah, 100% I can tell you
when it didn't work, it was a Volvo.
No, no, I don't mean when it didn't work.
I mean, when it broke.
We know that that Volvo left the factory
without that feature working
because there's only a sensor on the driver's side,
which is terrible.
It's so bad.
Okay, forget that.
I don't know.
I've been locked out of that Volvo.
I needed to use one of the three keys.
They gave me and wave it in some, I don't know.
And then Volvo was like, okay, wrap a brick in a T-shirt.
Stand a safe distance away.
I was so unimpressed by that car.
You know, I don't know if we do,
I don't remember if we do.
We've been doing this show for like nine years.
I don't know if we do yearly awards or anything,
but easily one of the worst cars I drove this.
The EX90, one a special award
from unnamed automotive podcast.
The word is they're not selling it
in Canada next year.
The 2026 model year is not going to be available in Canada
only in the U.S.
It's not our fault.
I'm just saying we don't know that it's not our fault.
We can't, you can't prove a negative.
That's true.
I mean, I guess the EX90 proves a lot of negatives,
but truly a stumble from Volvo.
I don't know what they're going to do to recover.
Like I'm very curious to find out
what the next stage is for them.
This is too bad software driven cars.
Did we talk about their LIDAR thing?
They're going to, their LIDAR supplier
is like non-existent anymore.
And that car just has a LIDAR hump on it.
All of their cars are designed with LIDAR humps on it.
So now what?
Well, now what is, it doesn't matter
because they're not going to sell it in Canada.
That's the now what.
It's like Sianora LIDAR hump.
So, okay.
This is a weird episode.
This is a weird.
Back to the F-150.
It's a weird, it's a weird time.
Anyone else having a weird time?
Let us know.
Just hit us up on Instagram or email
or through the website.
Tell me one more thing about the F-150.
One more thing.
At least one more thing.
Tell me about this cabin.
What's the story on the, on the interior?
I mean, it's gigantic in the back.
It's really big.
Oh, I forgot about another great thing
about that propower onboard.
Tailgating.
Did you tailgate?
You're not that social, are you?
December, Sam.
I'm not tailgating.
I'm not in Green Bay.
You haven't met Buffalo Bill's fans, have you?
No, I haven't, thankfully.
No offense to Buffalo Bill's fans.
I don't follow the football.
But I'm just saying, if you wanted to like cook
or do whatever, you could have a pretty elaborate meal
with that 7.2 kilowatts generator.
That would be a lot of fun.
Ford made a big deal about like providing
all of these really like elaborate measurements
and dimensions for the Maverick,
encouraging people to 3D print all of these weird
unnecessary accessories for the truck.
They should have done this for the,
especially with this pro power thing on board
or whatever it's called.
The problem is the F-150 is so big.
There's not enough material, filament in the world.
You'd have to have like an industrial size 3D printer.
To make stuff.
Yeah.
Just not possible.
To just like latch up all of your like sausages
and whatever you're cooking up there.
Good luck.
That'd be great.
Some kind of sausage clothes line.
The truck that I drove had that weird tailgate
where it's like open in the middle.
Have you seen that?
Yeah, what you've been worried,
every time you see one of these,
you tell me, I don't know if you've said this
on the podcast or if you told me in private,
but I'm gonna open it up now,
but you've told me that these things
seem like they're rust spot.
Yes, rust.
Future rust issue.
It's terrible.
Future rust.
Tailgates are so complicated now.
I wrote a story about this promoter trend last month
about how tailgates got so complicated
and why are they so complicated.
Doesn't make any sense.
It started in the 2000s.
Ford started it with that step that they put in.
Remember like the step that drops down
and there's like a handle for this step.
And the handle, the little knob that like,
that really lame luck.
And like GMC and Chevrolet were like,
why don't we just put a notch in the bumper?
Yeah, that was normal.
Works just as well as this elaborate.
And then there was those other ones,
so it's like weird kick steps that you had to use too.
Yeah, there's the kick step and then there's like.
But those aren't tailgates, that's all like access.
But the tailgates, the weaponization of complexity
continued with the multi-pro tailgate,
remember that?
Yeah, that one that basically unfolds like three times.
It's like an origami tailgate.
Like you can make a swan out of it.
You can make a bench.
You can put speakers in it.
It's so heavy.
There was like, there was a carbon fiber bed
that you could get with the GMC Denali.
Remember that?
I've never seen one.
Also, I don't remember,
but did they make a carbon fiber tailgate for it too?
Or was it the same multi-pro,
multi-flex whatever was that steel?
So like you had a carbon fiber bed
with a steel tailgate.
Do you know?
I don't think, I think that is the case.
I think it was a carbon fiber bed
and then the complicated tailgate.
Did anyone buy the carbon fiber bed?
If anyone out there has seen one in the wild,
I would love to know.
Cause that feels like one of those features,
like on some auction in like Kissimmee St. Cloud at Meekum.
That they're gonna be like, yeah.
25 years from now, they'll be like, well, this truck,
excuse me, this GMC has the carbon fiber bed.
They made seven of these, you know?
Cause it wasn't cheap.
Exactly.
No, it wasn't cheap and it wasn't sensible.
I mean, beds are one of the most,
to me, are one of the most wear and tear items
of a vehicle.
So now Ram has like what a three-piece tailgate
and Ford has this tailgate that opens in the middle
and the idea is if you have a trailer hooked up,
you can like swing it away.
How dare you?
You can swing it away
and have access to what's in your bed.
I guess that kind of works.
But is that not the ridgeline's original gimmick?
Don't talk to me about the ridgeline, Sammy.
The ridgeline originally had a tailgate
that would swing out or flop down.
Yeah, but that's technology that we have back in the 70s.
You could get station wagons that had tailgates
that it was double hinged
and they also had tailgates, there was a Chevrolet
that disappeared.
I love it.
Crazy.
I've never seen one.
I don't understand why we don't have more disappearing.
I'm gonna assume rust and also like everything else.
Like snow, like if there's snow,
would you just crush this?
Remember what happens with automatic side steps
that go in and out of a truck
when there's too much snow and they can't deal with it?
And you hear this awful noise.
It's like a grinding noise.
A failing, an upset motor.
It's like you're holding a slot car on the track
while gunning the motor at full speed.
Meh.
Yeah, yeah.
So I'm assuming it's like some combination of those problems.
That's too bad.
But I can't believe we haven't figured that out.
The Ford one is different from the ridgeline
because the ridgeline was the full length of the tailgate open.
And the Ford one, it opens in the middle.
Now, that is perhaps the differentiation by degree.
Yeah.
That's a very simple.
I'm not gonna hold you to that as a major point.
I think it's silly.
I don't think it's silly as in dumb.
I just think it's like,
I just want a normal tailgate that's not gonna break.
I was once driving in my own F-150 in the nineties
and it was from the eighties
and the tailgate fell off because of rust.
Where did it go?
Well, I'll tell you, that's the funny part of the story.
I had like cherry bomb exhaust on the truck,
which was super loud.
And so I didn't hear the fact
that I was dragging the tailgate
by like one metal arm down the road at night.
I noticed it in my rear view mirror
when I saw all these sparks flying from the road
and I had to stop and get my tailgate.
So tailgates have come a long way,
but rust remains a constant problem, I think.
Well, I think in general,
any tailgate that stays on the truck is a great,
sure that's an upgrade, yeah.
But how much are you willing to pay for that?
Yeah, I don't know.
That security will cost you.
And a carbon fiber tailgate is not gonna make sparks.
So you'll never know.
Okay, but be real.
When I started doing this job,
I don't know a couple, like 10 years ago.
A couple 10 years ago.
15 years ago or whatever.
I was so much more flexible and active
and I could jump in the bed, no problem.
Nowadays, I need those steps.
I need those weird tailgates to hoist me over.
I need one that's like, I need one that's like,
you know, like a whole jungle gym back there.
Like an Olympic ring set and like a pommel horse.
And you can do a trick.
Yeah, I need to get my activity back.
I think that you have to realize
it's not just the fact that you're getting older,
which you clearly are.
And it's, we need to talk about the state planning
after the podcast,
but trucks have also gotten so much bigger
over the last decade.
That's right.
Yeah, I used to be able to reach into the bed of a truck
and get what I was carrying.
Now you need like a small crane
that like totals up to the truck and like beep, beep, beep
and like goes down like a magic claw in an arcade
and grabs what you have.
Cause you can't even see what's in there anymore.
That's right.
They're just gigantic these days and for no reason.
We wouldn't need these technologies.
It's like a Maverick is, I think the same size
as like the F-150 that I used to own
in my 80s, F-150, that's insane.
That's nuts.
They're very close length and width.
That's, that is insane.
That is, so that's, I mean, yeah, okay, fine.
Trucks have gotten significantly bigger over that time,
but we're still having to get things in and out of them.
Yeah.
Are we gonna start getting like ones that like bagged trucks
that go all the way down?
No, but I think it's a reflection of the fact
that people aren't using the cargo bed.
So they don't complain about this stuff.
And it just keeps, you know, we're getting,
we're being victimized by design and styling
rather than actual features that people want to use.
Right, right.
That's just my opinion.
Okay, one more time, hitting with the price of this truck.
The one that I drove, the Lariat was,
let me get the price again.
You said it was like a 79 or 80 or something.
No, it's 79 in the, in Canada to start on a Lariat.
The one that I had with options, mine was 72935.
And that includes things like BlueCruise
and a few other features.
But in Canada, that's the base pricing.
But as I said, you can add it to an XLT.
So if you pick an XLT and you have to pick SuperCrew,
the, actually I will add it.
I'm building it right now.
When I add the, why isn't it letting me add the hybrid?
Oh, wow.
Oh.
So in Canada.
You can't get it.
I think it's not.
You have to get to a higher trim level.
No, I think it's because I selected a SuperCab.
And instead of adding SuperCab, it's like, yeah, okay.
Now I had to actually select SuperCrew.
Whereas in the US builder,
if you're in like a single cab truck,
it's like adding this will add these other options.
And then it shows you, the Canadian one doesn't do that
for some reason.
Getting to the hybrid.
Oh, okay.
So I am a SuperCrew truck.
I added the hybrid and it says that the,
it doesn't have a price.
And you're like,
What do you mean?
So if you look at all of the other engines
for the F series,
there's like the five liter V8,
it's another $4,000.
Oh yeah, I'm seeing that.
Okay, so what happens when I put it on it?
You hit power boost.
And then it's like,
it's like you need to add SuperCrew,
add XLT standard, remove SuperCrew,
remove XLT diff.
So you're adding,
the thing is all of the power boosts are four wheel drive.
So you're adding four wheel drive
and you're adding an options package
and it's $7,465 in Canada.
But that's just for XLT.
If you're in a Lariat,
I think you're already at four wheel drive
and you already have those options.
So it's much less expensive to add.
So the cheapest version of the hybrid and Canada
is $68,000.
Okay, that's not bad considering that the average price.
No, that's insane, that's absolutely insane.
No, no, the average price of a new car in Canada
is close to 66,000 or 65,000 or something like that.
So that isn't that much more than the average price.
It not is not to say that the average price is acceptable,
but that's what it is.
Here's another funny thing on the builder
is once you've chosen the hybrid engine
and you've said okay to all these other features,
it gives you a price for the hybrid engine,
which is $5,075.
Yeah, I feel that.
And then it removes the price from the EcoBoost, the 2.7,
which I'm assuming that's because when you click that,
it's gonna remove some packages.
Yeah.
Or not, it didn't.
And once it's selected,
you don't get a price for that either.
Okay.
Panic.
Total panic.
But what's, I mean, these things are so complicated
it's breaking their website.
You scroll down to like literally the third choice
you can make when building an F-150
is the rear axle ratio.
There are one, two, three, four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine choices.
Yeah.
You gotta know your truck, man.
Yeah.
So just wrapping it up.
I think this truck is good.
I think this is a useful option.
I don't...
What's your hierarchy of pickups right now?
I don't really have a F-series at the top.
No, I don't know.
So I used to like Ram at the top.
I used to really like Ram
and then I had that experience with the Ram
that I was towing with last year or two years ago.
And I had a lot of electrical gremlins with that truck.
I haven't driven one since.
I'm gonna be driving one soon.
And I'm excited to see if those,
now that we're in the second model year
of the redesign or third model year even,
if those things have been removed.
I also feel like maybe Ram isn't keeping up
with the luxury like they used to,
which was one of their most...
Yeah, I think they've been losing ground on all the...
They still got a very nice design,
but I think the other bits,
and that hurricane engine is pretty cool.
Yeah, but they're backing away from it.
I mean, I thought the hurricane engine was great.
So I don't really have a hierarchy of trucks right now.
To me, I've always found the F-150 to be the best spread
from the lower range to the high range.
So I've always found like if you're struggling
to really pick the exact truck,
you just need a truck.
I think the F-150 will cover the most customers.
And then I used to think that the Ram
was really design focused.
And then the Silverado was really practical,
like usability focused.
I've been driving...
Cause I love those engines in the Silverado too.
Most of the trucks that have been driving
in the last year or so have either been full EV
or the heavy duty versus of those trucks.
Oh yeah, okay.
So it's been kind of like a weird...
I'm exclusively driving like the heaviest versions
of every pickup.
Like every truck I take home these days,
it seems like it has.
So in Canada, if you're above,
I think it's 6,000 kilos or something like that.
Not 6,000 kilos, this is insane.
If it's above like 9,000 pounds,
you have to get a special plate
and there's like additional inspections.
And like so many of the trucks I'm driving
have these plates on them.
So it's kind of fun.
Okay, so no hierarchy, that's it.
Yeah.
Okay, cool.
Anything else you wanna talk about this week?
No, I'm dry.
Dry well. We did it, man.
Yeah, we got through December.
We got it.
This is like the fourth attempt to do this podcast.
If you made it through the intro
and we, our energy levels picked up later.
So sometimes it's weird.
Sometimes the podcast is strange.
Sometimes the podcast is what you make of it yourself.
So if you wanna get in touch with us
and say, hey guys, here's an intervention.
There's a lot of ways you can do that.
The easiest way is the website
unnamedautomotivepodcast.com.
There's a form you can fill out and click send
and it ends up in our inbox.
Or you can email the old fashioned way,
Benjamin at benjaminhunting.com
or you can find us on social media.
I'm on Instagram at hunting Benjamin.
A lot of people reach out to me there
and it's always fun to chat and Sammy is there.
He's at Sammy underscore hot like you're laughing.
I love that.
What are we talking about next week then?
Next week, I'm gonna be talking about a minivan.
I'm gonna be talking about-
I'm also gonna be talking about a minivan.
So mine is the Honda Odyssey.
Mine is not the Honda Odyssey.
It's the Chrysler Pacifica.
Is yours a plug-in Chrysler Pacifica?
No, it's an all wheel drive model.
Is it a hybrid?
No.
Okay, so mine is neither of those things either.
So they're gonna be pretty close.
Okay, all right, perfect.
See ya.
Yeah, so let's get to it.
Ben, tell them what you do, who you write for
and let's get to the cars.
I am an automotive journalist.
You know what's weird is-
You're so uncomfortable.
Why do you sound so uncomfortable saying what you do?
There's this movie I watched a lot
when I was a kid called The Muppet Movie.
You know Muppets?
I love The Muppets.
In fact, my favorite part of the holidays
is watching The Muppets Christmas Carol.
So in the movie, there's a character named Snake,
who's a human character.
And they ask him, there's this one point
where Snake is being introduced
and the guy's like, tell them what you do, Snake.
And Snake says, kill frogs.
And then he shoots this like,
it's like a knife thing from a gun into a wall.
And I saw that movie when I was a child,
like 40 years ago.
And it's just been in my head ever since.
So when you ask me what I do,
part of me is like-
Tell them what you do.
Yeah, tell them what you do, Snake.
I guess in real life, Snakes do kill frogs.
And that's why they had that in the movie.
But it was terrifying for me.
Why would anyone want to kill Kermit?
Like that's what I didn't understand.
Well, he's a pretty influential Hollywood type.
Is he?
I don't think he's-
In certain universes, it's a Muppetverse.
Yeah. I don't think he's aware of that.
I think it's entirely in the background for him.
My favorite Muppet media is Muppets Tonight Show.
Is my favorite thing.
What is the Muppets Tonight Show?
The Muppets Tonight was like a weekly show, I think.
And they had a showrunner.
I think his name was Clifford.
It was so good.
And I get used to have guests on all the time.
You just mean the Muppet Show,
like the original Muppet Show?
No, yeah, I guess so.
From like the 80s.
I thought it was called Muppets Tonight.
Maybe there was a show called Muppets Tonight.
Is anyone still listening?
Is anyone still tuning in?
Literally, the Muppets Tonight is my favorite thing.
The unnamed Muppet podcast?
Yeah, Muppets Tonight.
Muppets Tonight from 1996 to 98.
Okay, I don't remember that show.
There you go.
About this episode
The discussion dives into the 2025 Ford F-150 Powerboost Hybrid, highlighting its impressive powertrain that offers 430 horsepower and 570 lb-ft of torque, making it one of the most powerful gas-engine F-150s. The hosts explore the hybrid's unique features, including the Pro Power Onboard system, which allows users to generate electricity for tools and appliances. They also touch on the truck's towing capacity, fuel economy, and the complexities of its pricing structure. The conversation includes critiques of the Blue Cruise hands-free driving system and the overall utility of modern pickup trucks.
Original notes
The Unnamed Automotive Podcast powers through some troublesome false starts this week to tackle a tough topic: the 2025 Ford F-150 With the PowerBoost Hybrid powertrain. Featuring more power than the Ford Raptor (but not the R) this is a truck with plenty of giddy-up, and some extra features that are worth getting excited about. Benjamin details everything he's gone through with this truck including using its external generator feature, its hands-free driving assistance, and its punchy engine. Plus the guys get goofy talking about tailgates. Thanks for listening!
Unnamed Automotive Podcast
Unnamed Automotive Podcast
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