2023 Ford F-150 Lariat new car review

Fans of American pick-up trucks are in luck as Ford launches the world’s best selling big rig in Australia. This is everything you need to know about it.

Toby Hagon

3 min read

October 10, 2023 - 2:00PM

News Corp Australia Network

The world’s best-selling truck has arrived Down Under. The Ford F-150 will play big brother to Ford’s popular Ranger ute, which is Australia’s top-selling four-wheel drive.

The big American pick-up is aimed at drivers who don’t think a Ranger is quite big enough – and for those who need to tow up to 4.5 tonnes.

While F-150s have been on Australian roads for years, until now they’ve been imported from America and converted to right-hand drive by third-party operators.

The F-150 is one of the biggest selling vehicles in the world.

The latest arrivals, which will be sold through Ford dealers and backed by a factory warranty, have been converted with oversight from head office. Ford says they meet the same engineering standards as those produced on its Detroit production line.

Priced from about $117,000 drive-away, the F-150 comes with a 298kW/678Nm 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine.

Fed with petrol rather than the preferred ute brew of diesel, the F-150 comes in two lengths, both of them huge. The long wheelbase version has an extra 300mm added, taking the length of the tray beyond six metres.

It’s substantially bigger than the Ford Ranger.

There are also two trim levels.

The entry-level XLT has 20-inch alloys, a powered driver’s seat, partially powered passenger seat, smart-key entry, tyre pressure sensors and a tow kit with a 70mm towball, associated wiring and a brake controller.

The 8.0-inch touchscreen looks underdone in an expansive dash, although it comes with remote connectivity to monitor the car from afar.

Ford added extra features for Australian vehicles, some to help meet local regulations and others to pump up the equipment list for what is a pricey set of wheels.

It is very expensive with prices starting at $117,000.

More lavishly appointed Lariat models (about $150,000) add more chrome, partial leather, ambient lighting, wireless phone charging, a panoramic sunroof, power sliding rear window, memory settings for the driver’s seat, heated and ventilated front seats, heated outboard rear seats, a 360-degree camera and an 18-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system. It also has a fully digital driver display and a 12.0-inch centre screen.

The longer load tray adds $995 to each model.

The F150 arrives here with the steering wheel on the left. It’s then stripped down to the metal and several components are re-engineered, while hundreds of others are replaced. That includes everything from the wiring and lights to the dashboard and carpet. Even the software is revised to ensure the infotainment and cabin electronics perform as they should.

The cabin is packed with hi-tech features.

Whereas some converted models can have quirks that are overlooked, there’s nothing on the F-150 that looks out of place. Even the standard tow kit has been replaced with a stronger unit to meet Australian regulations.

The F-150 is an enormous vehicle but aluminium panels help keep its weight to similar levels as a Ranger.

It’s a big climb to reach the cabin but once you’re inside, there’s acres of space, with a broad centre console splitting the front occupants and a host of storage bins. There’s a load of legroom in the rear and enough width to comfortably fit a trio of adults, although the high rear floor is a rare blot on the scorecard.

The grey plastics and chrome highlights aren’t as richly presented as you may expect at this price, either.

Towing is one of its strong points. It can haul up to 4500kg.

The F-Series is a vehicle that calls for extra judgement when navigating traffic or tight turns.

It feels most at home on the open road, where the gargantuan dimensions are less of a focus. Soft suspension and a lot of space between the front and rear wheels means big bumps are a mere inconvenience, although repeated road imperfections can have the big body jiggling around more.

There’s no shortage of grunt, as the V6 musters enough mid-range flexibility to challenge many V8s. It makes for effortless acceleration, while the synthesised exhaust note in the Lariat model delivers some aural anger.

Slow-ish steering and a softish brake pedal are reminders to treat the F-150 with respect.

Claimed fuel use is 12.5 litres per 100km and while much of our driving was on freeways or country roads it was easy to match or better that figure.

While it’s marketed as a tough truck, the F-150 doesn’t have the off-road credentials to match the smaller utes popular in Australia.

Instead it’s more about towing. Beware, though, that the payload can be as low as 235kg when hauling the maximum 4.5 tonnes. The payload, which ranges from 685kg to 794kg, is less than smaller utes.

The big American is an expensive, acquired taste but it ticks all the boxes for those who genuinely need space, open-road comfort and the sort of towing credentials regular utes can’t match.