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Do you need that big daddy, tow-and-go power that only a 4x4 pickup with a V-8 can muster? Do you need to haul the whole gang, too? A large, four-door crew cab would work, but most crew cabs are as long as a freight train - and handle like one, too. Now ask yourself this: Would you sacrifice a foot of cargo bed? If so, the Ford F-150 SuperCrew could be your dream truck come true. Yes, crew cabs have been popular for years; check out any construction site. But lately, ordinary civilians have been signing up for crew cabs. The ability to haul four adults comfortably over long distances is oh-so-tempting.
Ford is betting that there are lots of truckers out there who want that comfort but don't need a full cargo bed. The F-150 SuperCrew combines full-size back doors, a genuinely roomy back seat, and a 67.2" cargo bed. Overall length is only 18.8', but keep in mind the SuperCrew still needs more than 40 feet to make a U-turn. A 4.6-liter V-8 is standard, or you can upgrade to the 220-hp, 5.4-liter V-8 that we tested. Both engines are modern designs with overhead cams. We hitched the SuperCrew to a 21' Sea Ray Sundeck on a Trail Rite tandem-axle trailer. The towing weight was 4,690 pounds, nearly two-thirds of the maximum recommended load. Yet, this rig never broke a sweat - even while climbing the long, steep grades we found east of Irvine, California. With an 11.6' wheelbase and 2.5-ton curb weight, the SuperCrew burned about 7 mpg.
Impervious to crosswinds, it doesn't jiggle over rippled roads like a smaller truck would. Its shock absorbers are firm, and the power steering feels nicely weighted. A button on the end of the shift lever locks the four-speed, electronically controlled automatic transmission in an intermediate gear that allows the SuperCrew to maintain cruising speed over hill and dale. Our test proved the four-wheel disc brakes with ABS to have ample fade-free stopping power.
