2019 Ford F-150 SuperCrew: Bucking My Chevy Family Tradition (and Winning a Few Converts)
LeeAnn Radonski
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Me with my Chevy Silverado and the 2019 Ford F-150 I test drove. My family didn’t disown me after all! Photo: LeeAnn Radonski
Is it cheating if a Chevy girl wants to drive a Ford truck, even if its just a test drive?
When I walked over to the Ford booth at the DFW Auto Show, I was really only there because my friend Teia needed to talk with the reps.
Fine. I could kill some time kicking tires. I walked over to a 2019 Ford F-150 pickup truck and swung open the massive driver’s door. Buttery Camelback two-tone leather seats. Enough lights and glass to see from space through the twin panel moonroof. Hmmm.
Right then, I decided that I really needed to take a test drive. As a member of a multi-generational Chevy family, I wondered what it would be like to live like the other half for a week.
Chevy is our Family Tradition. Would I Be Banished?
I drive a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. My sister drives a Chevrolet Silverado. My Dad, both of my brothers-in-law, three uncles, a cousin, and two friends drive – wait for it – Chevrolet Silverados. Not to mention the countless Suburbans, Tahoes and Blazers that could be found in the driveways of our family for decades.
Chevrolet trucks aren’t just vehicles to us. They are in the memories and stories that are woven into our lives. The earliest is from the 1950s when my grandfather was pulled over in his Chevy pickup for two busted taillights.
“What? That can’t be,” he told the officer as he walked to the back of the old Chevy truck to prove him wrong.
As it turned out, he was the one who was wrong. Inspecting the two very broken taillights more closely, he saw a pile of BBs sitting in the bottom of the broken light. He explained as the officer gave him a warning to get the lights fixed: it could only be the work of his three boys and three new BB guns.
The 2019 Ford F-150 SuperCrew Platinum in Llano, TX. Photo by LeeAnn Radonski
My week with the Ford F-150 coincided with a trip to see my die-hard Chevrolet-truck-driving family in the Hill Country of Texas. The exchange of texts went exactly as I expected.
“Where do you plan on parking that thing?”
“We don’t know you.”
“Better not come see your Uncle in it.”
While I’m clearly still their favorite niece, and it was all in good fun, you could feel that something in the air had changed.
Platinum Gives You More Luxury Than You Can Imagine in a Pickup Truck
The Ruby Red 2019 Ford F-150 4×4 Platinum edition truck was delivered to me on a stormy Texas afternoon. I jumped inside the very roomy cab, cold and soaking wet. I quickly grabbed the 638-page owners’ manual and headed to the “seats” section. Ahh. There it is. Not only were they heated and ventilated, but these babies were multi-contour massaging seats with Active Motion.
Ford explains, “It helps to reduce muscle fatigue and promoting blood flow for longer journeys, with a subtle massage for thighs and lower back.” Is this for real? Yes, please.
That was the beginning of a pleasantly surprising week-long drive. If any truck, other than a Chevrolet, was going to win this family over, it could very well be this one.
How Much Will this Luxurious, Tough-as-Nails Workhorse Set You Back?
If you have a taste for luxury you can have it – at a price. Luckily there are less luxe models that still do everything and anything you need it to. Here’s how pricing breaks down:
- 2019 Ford F-150 base model two-door cab starts at $28,155
- The SuperCrew Cab starts at $34,695
- The Lariat edition, with leather-trimmed seats, Apple CarPlay, Sync 3 infotainment system, and heated front seats, starts at $41,700
- Upgrade to Platinum: $57,160.
- Add a 3.0L V6 Turbo Diesel with 10-speed automatic transmission, towing and the Platinum package, so – everything– and you’re in for $69,915, including destination and delivery.
Now, to keep peace in the family, it’s worth noting that Chevy trucks can be luxuriously appointed, too. But I must say, Ford’s interior details were certainly head-turning!
2019 Ford F-150 SuperCrew on a road trip. Photo by LeeAnn Radonski
Yes, This Truck is for Work. And Better if All that Work is Really Play!
The 2019 Ford F-150 4×4 Platinum SuperCrew is beyond anything I’ve ever driven, much less in a pickup truck. The F-150 finally bears the Power Stroke badge. It comes with a 3.0L V6 Turbo Diesel paired to an Electric 10-speed automatic transmission with optional towing package. What exactly does this mean?
This is a big deal to drivers who pull heavy loads all the time, such as landscapers, or those with horse trailers. It gives them the maximum amount of towing capacity along with great fuel economy.
Not Using your Truck for Work?
Owners who occasionally need to pull their boat to the lake or a cargo trailer to gather up Craigslist finds, will do just as well sticking with either the 2.7-liter or 3.5-liter Ecoboost V6 engines.
You might be surprised to know that this Ford turbo diesel gets an estimated 25 miles per gallon (MPG) combined, 22 MPG in the city, and 30 MPG on the highway. Which is good for a car, and amazing for a pickup truck. Even while putting over 250 miles on this truck, which was delivered with a full tank, I sent it back with just under a half!
If you’re in the market for a bigger luxury vehicle that can haul your family, outdoor toys, and easily tow a heavy trailer, this truck will definitely check all those boxes for you.
What We Loved
Remote Tailgate – easily lower the tailgate with a push of a button on the key fob. This feature adds to the hard-working functionality of the truck bed. It’s perfect for those times you have your hands full of flower pots or paint cans. Along with the Toughbed spray-in bed liner and the integrated tailgate step, this luxurious truck quickly turns into a tough workhorse.
That is my Chevy-truck-driving cousin, checking out the tailgate step! Photo by LeeAnn Radonski
In a world of multipurpose tailgates, Ford steps it up with their integrated tailgate step. With the push of a button on top, out comes a step and grab handle from the lowered tailgate. While the actual step seems a bit awkward at first, it does feel sturdy, and along with the grab bar, it makes jumping up and in the bed of the truck easy and much more accessible.
The super handy tailgate step and grab handle on the Ford F-150 SuperCrew Platinum. Photo by LeeAnn Radonski
Blind spot monitors with cross traffic alert – Included standard on the F-150 with no extra charge, the BLIS blind spot monitor system was extremely helpful in the heavy Austin traffic. It detects vehicles in your blind spot when changing lanes, and the cross traffic alert detects approaching vehicles while backing up. I used this system all the time when I was backing out of tight parking spots at Starbucks and out of my own driveway. Rear cross traffic alert works like this: while backing up with your speed less than 5 MPH it detects other cars approaching between 5 and 18 MPH from the right or left behind you; a light and/or sound alerts you. Important to note, it may not detect motorcycles, scooters, or pedestrians. All in all, it’s an impressive safety feature that I quickly got used to.
Infotainment and Technology- The Sync 3 system with 8” touchscreen was convenient and extremely user-friendly. I synced my iPhone when I got in the truck for the first time and it worked seamlessly with my music, phone calls, and contacts from then on. When anyone else would jump into the truck with their smartphone, it would immediately locate it as well. The large screen was bright and very easy to read at a quick glance.
2019 Ford F-150 SuperCrew infotainment center. Photo by LeeAnn Radonski
What you Need to Know
While the Platinum Series package added such luxury items, like a 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, Pre-Collision Assist and the upgraded technology package, the list of standard equipment it comes with is impressive as well.
⦁ LED bed lighting
⦁ Remote tailgate release
⦁ Power running boards
⦁ 2nd row heated seats
⦁ Heated/ventilated front seats
⦁ Leather wrapped heated steering wheel
⦁ Remote start
⦁ Voice activated navigation
⦁ FordPass Connect with 4G WiFi hotspot
Which Cab Is the Right Size For You?
Ford offers a few different four-door cab versions as well as a two-door cab. The Super Cab is an extended cab with four doors, though the rear doors are smaller and they open from the center and hyper-extend to fully open, so with the front doors open you have an oversized opening in which to load things into the rear seat. The Super Crew cab has four full-size doors and 10 inches additional inches of passenger space for even more leg room in the back. It’s big enough to comfortably seat three adults on a long road trip in the Texas Hill Country.
2019 Ford F-150 SuperCrew backseat USB ports. Photo by LeeAnn Radonski
I Survived the Week … And My Chevy Family Didn’t Disown Me!
All in all, the F-150 exceeded my expectations for a full-size truck. The drive was smooth and sturdy-feeling, it had great visibility in town and on the highway, and the infotainment technology was user-friendly and convenient.
2019 Ford F-150 SuperCrew luxurious leather interior. Even my Chevy-loyal family had to look under the hood of the F-150. Photo by LeeAnn Radonski
And in the end, I realized that maybe this heated age-old debate about Chevy vs Ford could very well be more about family tradition than which truck is actually superior.
2019 Ford F150 SuperCrew Platinum 4×4. Photo by LeeAnn Radonski
Disclosure: Ford loaned me this 2019 F-150 Platinum SuperCrew truck for a week. All opinions are my own.
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