[mechman600]

My dad bought a used one a few months ago. A 2011 XLT 4X4. Now that I have flown in to visit my parents for Christmas, I have been driving it around this last week.

Everyone knows about the 3.5L turbocharged, variable valve timed, direct injected, blah blah blah, engine. Everyone knows that it should be good for economy. But what I am most impressed with is the six speed automatic transmission behind it.

Moderate acceleration from a stop has it shifting 1-2-3-TC lockup-4-5-6. So by 35 km/h, the TC locks up and stays locked up all way through 3-4-5-6. Revs stay between 1200-1400 rpm all the way up to highway speeds. At 100 km/h it's right around 1500 rpm.

While driving in the city, it's easy to keep revs below 1500 while below 35 km/h (gears 1-2) and between 1100-1300 rpm above that, all while accelerating with traffic. At 70 km/h it's in sixth gear (or 60 km/h in fifth gear) and 1100 rpm. Accelerating a bit from there doesn't make the transmission immediately unlock/shift down. After a slight pause, you hear the faint sound of turbo whistle and it simply speeds up. Overall, this transmission feels very positive - like a manual. It keeps the revs down whenever possible, relying on boost-generated low rpm torque, and is smooth as silk at the same time. It's almost diesel-like.

Unfortunately I didn't bring my ScanGauge along and relied on the Ford mileage computer. My trip into Winnipeg and back (100 km) at -10C, staying at speed limit and neutral coasting in the city as much as possible had me at 11L/100km (21.4 MPG US) for the round trip. And there was a 40 km/h side wind outside the city.

It is my opinion that if you require a pickup, this is the one to get. With some effort and some aero-help, I believe that hypermiling well below 10L/100km (23.5 MPG US) would not be impossible.

Oh, and when you boot it and 365 horsepowers come out, it goes like snot and sounds good too!