Truckin’ around in luxury!

Ford has launched a new luxury version of its F-150 pickup truck that could command prices above BD22,000, answering growing demand from consumers for trucks that could substitute for higher-end sedans.

The 2016 Ford F-150 Limited will go on sale later this year, and will be a step up from the automaker’s current top-of-the-line pickup, the F-150 Platinum.

As reported in MotoringWeekly last week, low gasoline prices along with better fuel economy have boosted demand for feature-laden duty trucks and large SUVs which are helping the bottom lines for the three Detroit automakers in the US. One of the features that will come as standard on the new F-150 Limited will be ‘multi-contour massaging seats’.

In June, half of the new F-150 pickup trucks sold by Ford were of its three existing premium models – Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum. Ford has already revealed that its North American operating profit margin for this year alone will be as much as 9.5 per cent, largely linked to the profits from its F-Series pickup trucks, the best-selling model in the US since 1982.

The average price consumers paid for full-size pickup trucks in the first half of this year was 30 per cent higher than in the first half of 2009, according to industry analysts.

The 2016 F-150 Limited will have a 3.5-litre EcoBoost V6 engine with fuel economy of 27 miles per gallon in city driving, and 24 mpg on the highway.

One motoring scribe suggested that the F-150 Limited features ‘all kinds of stuff you won’t want to get dirty’. There’s a satin-chrome finish on the grille, door handles and tailgate trim, chrome-slathered 22-inch wheels, a chrome exhaust tip and front-bumper caps and a rear bumper both painted to match the body.

The truck also features quad LED headlamps, adaptive cruise control, an LED side-mirror spotlight, a 360-degree-view camera system, active parking assistance and a remote tailgate release, all of which Ford claims are exclusive in the segment.
 
It also has a panoramic sunroof and large ‘LIMITED’ lettering on the leading edge of the hood.

Inside, the F-150 Limited features real eucalyptus wood trim, Mojave leather seating surfaces, a unique instrument cluster face, a de rigueur stitched dash top, and a VIN plate in the armrest laser-engraved with the production number. Other niceties alongside the massaging front seats are heated rear seats and Ford’s latest  SYNC 3 system.

“We still haven’t found a ceiling for light-duty luxury trucks,” Ford Trucks spokesman Mike Levine told reporters. “But this is as ‘luxury’ as any light-duty truck can get.”

* For more information on Ford vehicles contact Almoayyed Motors on 17737373 or visit the Sitra showroom.