Alright so now that I'm graduated and on the verge of having a good paying job. I've been considering a new truck

**The Ranger is staying I'm not selling it or trading it in**

Here are the vehicles I'm contemplating


USED:
98-08 Ford F150 Crew Cab 5.4L

NEW:
Chevy Silverado 1500 LT Crew Cab 5.3L
Ford F150 FX4 Crew Cab 5.0L

I don't want to hear Chevy flaming, I have a friend who just bought a 2011 Silverado LT and loves it, plus I just test drove one yesterday and I like it too

I drove the Ecoboost F150 and didn't like it, but it was a 2012 Crew Cab, so I got to see how it rode and the interior. I still need to drive the older generation F150's though



Things I liked:
Ford: More interior room in the back, I'm a Ford guy, so I just generally liked the truck, rode excellent, great driver view in front and around the truck

Chevy: Love the dash layout and how the info center is set up, seats were more comfortable, engine sounded better (compared to the ecoboost)

Things I didn't like:
Ford: That stupid LCD screen in the middle, completely distracting - I feel this is worse than texting, seats weren't that comfortable (but much better than my Ranger)

Chevy: I've always been a Ford guy, DRL's, little less room in the back seats, but I could sit comfortably

I want to hear everyone's opinion, but I want to keep it honest and unbiased. Until I drive the other model Ford's I am currently leaning toward the Chevy

 

my girlfriend works for chevy and drives a 1500 as her work truck. she hated them untill she started to drive one and now she says she would own one in a heart beat. her and i are both a bigger ford fan but i know lots of people who are driving the new chevy and love it! the fords are nice but imho the chevy drives nicer. if i were to buy a full size i would take the NEW 1500 over a f150.

 

I've heard a lot of good things about the new Chevy's and after driving one I can see why.

Oh, and I love car shopping with a salesman that isn't taking you seriously until you tell him you just graduated with Mechanical Engineering degree and are about to have a high paying job, their whole attitude changes

 

ha. i plan to do the same thing, i want to save my money and when i graduate go to dealerships interested in a new camaro. I know they wont take me serious then I'll pull out like 30 grand cash and just buy it outright.

I'll go ahead and say, whys is it that you need a full size truck? the reason I ask, if you have the ranger still anyway, unless you need the bed space, you could look at an SUV too. I have been thinking about this lately too and I've never wanted a bigger bed on my truck, just more room in the cab. and an SUV fills in that requirement too, and can be a little more luxurious and more roomy on the inside. new suvs look like crap though when you lift them, if thats something you're thinking about, I know trucks look better generally.

but I like the silverados way better than f150s just going on looks. I've not been in or drove either one.

 

5.0

 

Ever considered Ram?

 

only thing i hate about chevy is the square wheel wells, they're gay but I'd take a z71 sierra in a heartbeat

 

I got a buddy who almost bought one. but he opted for the non Z71 package because he claimed it rode worse than the regular one

 

I drove one during my internship and hated it. Didn't like the Hemi or the interior, but the engine could have been poorly maintained

I don't like the square wheel wells either, but I can't stand that huge chrome grill on the F150's

The only package that gets rid of the grill is the FX4.

 

I don't want an SUV at all. My mom already has an Expo (02) and I like it's functionality, but I don't like the poor mileage it gets.

I want a full size truck for the extra power in the engine for towing, extra room in the cab for a family, (I'm getting married next year) and the extra bed space

 

Take it from someone who has the new F150... its bad *** in every way. The things you didnt like are no existent in my book. The LCD screen is awesome and the seats are great.

 

I'm glad a new F150 owner chimed in.

When I drove it I found it difficult to pay attention the menu navigation and drive. Maybe after you use it a few times you know what menus you want to see and how to get to them. Do you find yourself looking down a lot when navigating the menus, or do you have it figured out well enough that you can glance and know what you're doing?

But I also found the display itself had a lot going on, instead of large text telling you the info, it used graphics and made the reading part more difficult. Do you find yourself having to read a lot, instead of glancing and knowing what it says?

While I didn't hate the seats, I just thought the Chevy had more comfortable seats

It seems a lot of the later model Fords I've driven have "harder" seats than older ones

 

^ I second what Jake said.. I love mine. 2012 Lariat 5.0 Supercrew 4x4 - I get an average of 18 mpg ( keep in mind I can't keep off the skinny pedal until the sound goes away or I hit 60 mph sometimes more... Damn stoplights.. ) When I try to keep out of the gas I have noticed a steady 25 mpg...

I love the space and it drives really nice. The power speaks for itself...
My brother in law has a 2011 Chevy 1500 and I've driven it and wasn't impressed.

I'm not biased on any brand, I've owned 9 different ones so I'm not really picky... I wouldn't trade this truck for any of the others though...

 

I don't really screw with the screens , I set it on mpg over last 30 minutes and try to get the best average possible.. I change it to reset the trip meter or check out the tranny temp but thats about it.

I can't complain about the seats I have the "leather" heated - A/C seats and they are really comfy.

 

 

I will say this discussion is going much better than my thread on "that other forum" I figured posting this there would get out of hand, a few good posts and obviously, some bad.

 

Lemme ask you this... do you really want a Government Motors vehicle?

Don't forget the problems people are having with some Buicks and Impalas... I saw a brand new Buick Lucerne with insanely bad rear camber... very noticeable, about negative 2 degrees. No, it did not have anything in the trunk, it was sitting level. Bad alignment? I doubt it... it takes a true idiot to mess up the alignment on one of them fancy alignment racks that the dealers have. Unless their techs are working while smoking pot. Incredibly, there is a dealer around here that allows crap like that to go on.

Ford didn't take any gov. money, which is actually your tax money. GM and Chrysler did. Guess what, Chrysler is now owned by Fiat, which is owned by the Italian government.

GM should give you a car, since you paid for it with your taxes. Many, including I, think it's silly to bend over at the stealership for something you already fricking paid for!

And the new Camaro looks stupid. They also completely effed up the Corvette a few years ago by ditching the hideaway headlights, which had been on them since the second generation Vettes.

Get the new Mustang with the 5.0 and 6 speed manual. And the F-150 with the 5.0 to compliment it.

Think about this as well... when it comes to a new car/truck with all of these damn electronic nannies and bs, there is that much more to go wrong, and it will go wrong at one point or another. "Uh oh, this whatchamacallit computer says this sensor has failed." "Okay, how much is the sensor?" "$700" Not to mention just about every frigging vehicle out there is a bitch to work on due to ridiculously cramped engine bays. Makes a header install from a couple of hours into a several day affair, since this subframe, this thingamajig, and that doodad needs to be moved the hell outta your way.

Actually saw a 2007 Suburban getting a new back up sensor put in the rear bumper. 750 bucks for that sensor alone... just imagine if it had been installed at a dealer instead of a "free labor" tech school. **free labor paid for by taxes**

If you can't back your own damn vehicle up properly, you shouldn't be driving. If you can't parallel park your own damn vehicle, you shouldn't be driving. If you can't drive a manual transmission vehicle, get the ---- off of the roads.

If you text and drive, do the rest of us a favor and just drive yourself off of a cliff.

Let's not forget about OnStar... every wonder if someone other than OnStar also happens to be in control of your vehicle? Think about it.


Rant over... climbing down from the soap box... I get real angry at how people can only see the end of their nose, and fail to take details into account.

 

Well this discussion was going well, I'm not sure if you're angry at me or just GM in general, but don't derail my thread

The idea of getting a new truck is that the warranty will take care of many of the expensive issues for a while.

Like I said, I'm wanting a discussion of the trucks listed. Or comparable trucks I've overlooked.

 

Please keep it on Topic.
I don understand that Detroit is a Hotspot for the Big 3 and they're issues, but please keep an open mind and relate it to the topic at hand.

The best advice i've found is that you need to test drive exactly what you want out of both trucks, and pick which one you like better.

 

I would vote the F150 but I am bias. The biggest thing I don't like about the new chevy's is the square wheel wells. I can't get over that.

 

The square wheel wells are dumb looking. But I can't get over that huge chrome grill.

Can anyone tell that I don't like chrome?

 

The square wheel wells take some getting used to but the rite size tire can make them look nice. And I personally love how the whole hood and grill is so boxy and flat. The leather interiors are sexy to. My boss has a 1500 to and he did a leveling kit and what looks like a 33" a/t and it looks really sharp IMO. I love fords and I love the f150 but I think Chevy made a better truck when it comes to that size truck.

 

The Huge chrome grill can be changed the sqare wheel wells cant. Both trucks would be a good investment but If it were me I'd go with the ford.

 

take a look at a tundra justin...i worked at a yota dealer for 4.5 years and hear nothing but good things about them...id go for the 05-06 body style i really dont like the new ones all that much...way too big and a royal PITA to park

 

Okay... F-150 grille can be changed or even plasti-dipped, or painted. Square wheel wells, like the other guy said, are permanent and is definitely stupid looking and doesn't let you fit bigger tires as easily.

How about the Nissan Titan?

Or maybe the Tundra, or an older F-250 or 350?