Skip to main content

Ford’s 2016 F-150 Limited will watch your blind spots and give you a massage

Pickup trucks may be designed as work vehicles, but they’ve become as popular among people with white collars as people with blue collars. The 2016 Ford F-150 Limited exemplifies this trend, offering nearly every gadget in Ford’s catalog in a chrome-bedecked package.

The Limited is distinguished by a model-specific grille and 22-inch wheels, satin-chrome door handles, exhaust tip, tailgate badge, and mostly body-color bumpers. If those clues are too subtle, the word “Limited” is also spelled out in raised letters on the hood.

That extra glitz is matched by a long list of standard equipment, including blind-spot monitoring with cross-traffic alert, a panoramic roof, power running boards, LED headlights, and remote start with tailgate release. An optional technology package adds lane-keep assist, a 360-degree camera system, and dynamic trailer hitch assist.

Speaking of trailers, the F-150 Limited also boasts Ford’s new Pro Trailer Backup Assist as an option. It allows the F-150 to automatically steer itself and a trailer while backing up, making what can be a tricky maneuver trouble free for the driver. All he or she needs to do is twist a knob on the dashboard to set the desired steering angle.

Like most of the rest of Ford’s lineup, the F-150 Limited also gets the new Sync 3 infotainment system. This replacement for the unloved Microsoft-based MyFord Touch is supposed to be faster and easier to use, and includes an AppLink for a degree of smartphone connectivity.

Other notable features include a 10-speaker Sony audio system (with five-year subscription to SirusXM Traffic and Travel Link), and 10-way power-adjustable heated and cooled leather front seats, which also have a massage function. The interior of this truck is really starting to seem more like a lounge than the cabin of a vehicle.

As with the exterior, the interior gets a few callouts to denote this luxury F-150’s pedigree. There’s a laser-engraved VIN plate on the center console lid, model-specific floor mats and instrument cluster face, and aluminum and fiddleback eucalyptus trim.

While Ford offers no fewer than four engine options on the F-150, you can only get one on the Limited. It’s the turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, which produces 365 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. It’s coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission, with either rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive.

The 2016 Ford F-150 Limited goes on sale this winter. Pricing will be announced closer to the on-sale date.

Editors' Recommendations

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
2021 Ford F-150 hybrid first drive review: Tech can be tough
2021 ford f 150 review front three quarter

People talk about “car shopping” but, statistically speaking, most Americans drive off the dealership lot in a pickup truck. The Ford F-150 is the bestselling vehicle in the United States — and has been for decades. Its main rivals, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Ram 1500, aren’t far behind on the sales charts.

The F-150 has maintained its dominance in part because it has changed with the times. The modern F-150 is no spartan work vehicle. It has the same level of infotainment and driver-assist tech as most passenger cars, with good-enough road manners to serve as a daily driver.

Read more
2021 Tesla Cybertruck vs. 2021 Ford F-150

Tesla strongly hinted the Cybertruck won't compete in the same segment of the market as the popular Ford F-150, and whether they'll appeal to the same target audience remains to be seen, but the two pickups will inevitably overlap in many areas. Both were designed to tow, haul, venture off the beaten path, and commute.

Keep in mind Tesla won't begin building the Cybertruck until 2021 at the earliest. You can't walk to the nearest Tesla store and take one for a test drive because it's not in production; we haven't even seen the production version of it yet. The comparison with the F-150 is largely hypothetical, and all specs listed here are subject to change.
Design and tech

Read more
Ram 1500 TRX vs. Ford F-150 Raptor
ram trx vs ford f 150 raptor 2021 launch edition jpg image 2880

Trucks are big, powerful, and capable. But the Ram 1500 TRX and Ford F-150 Raptor are bigger, more powerful, and more capable. These aren't normal trucks. When Ram revealed the insane off-road-specced 1500 TRX, comparing it Ford's Raptor was an easy given. The F-150 Raptor has been the champion of full-size off-road trucks since its release for the 2010 model year. Ram wants that title and is using 702 horsepower to claim it. But power isn't everything for these types of trucks; they have to crawl through rocks, jump sand dunes, traverse mud pits, creep through high water, and plow through snowbanks. It takes a lot of engineering to make a 3-ton truck do that. Below, we compare both crazy trucks. Is the TRX the new champ? Decide for yourself.
Power, acceleration, and towing
Ford F-150 Raptor

Ford’s Raptor is powered by a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 engine that churns out an impressive 450 hp and 510 pound-feet of torque. A 10-speed automatic backs the engine. According to Car and Driver, the big truck will hit 60mph in 5.1 seconds on its way to a quarter-mile time of 13.9 seconds at 99mph. If you have towing or hauling duties, the Raptor can tow up to 8,000 pounds and has a payload capacity of up to 1,200 pounds. However, all that can soon change if the rumors of the upcoming Raptor getting the Mustang Shelby GT500’s supercharged V8 are true. 
Ram 1500 TRX

Read more