PUTC let's not get your panties in a wad when ever another publication does not list Ford as number one. Motor Trend came out with a similar result. I think think CR tests these trucks hoe people use them and I'm sure MT has more professional drivers then PUTC does.

@George

PUTC didn't list the F-150 as number one. The Silverado with the 6.2L won the $55,000 V8 half-ton challenge they put on.

CR is mosty a review of 3 things, MPG, ride quality and infotainment systems.

It all boils down to personal tastes and what you use your trucks for really. If you prefer car-like handling and traits, you'll obviously prefer Rams, but if you're the type of person that is more focused on payload and towing then an F-150 may be a better choice. And of course, if you want you're the type that want to just be different then you'll go with one of the Japanese branded trucks. What I'm saying is that is there's no truck that's absolutely perfect in every single category, so just buy whatever you like or whatever will fit your needs.

Looks like the public is also not taking to kindly to the new 2015 F-150. Many reviews have not rated the new F-150 that great either. F-Series sales are in the toilet.

In other words the new F-150 is a flop and the biggest marketing ploy Ford has come up with to date and thats saying a lot.

Ford lots are crammed with the new F-150's, they are not selling because people do not want to pay more for fake engine noises, misaligned doors, wind noise, terrible ride etc etc.

I'm parked along side a major hwy... Very busy with traffic and since I've read this article I've been watching traffic for that 10 minutes... Pickups with single rear wheels... A couple of chev hauling travel trailers... 3 ford's (2 travel trailers.. One boat) and one Dodge pulling a trailer. My point is rarely a 1/2 ton used to pull... The pickups are more of a light utility passenger vehicle than a hauler... CR isn't far off

Best F-150 Ad ever made!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVSyGI3xUzQ

I looked at a Platinum F-150 at the Ford dealership. It's an absolutely gorgeous vehicle inside and out. Didn't drive one. I'm getting too old to settle for punishing driving dynamics.

@Mark Williams,
I noticed they called the F150 a car, but did make a distinction between the HD Pickups, which were "trucks"

Seems the Chevrolet Colorado, suffers from the same lack of refinement as the Global one.

A common criticism about the F250 here is the ride is harsh and the handling of the lower specked models is poor.
Performax who are doing conversions here, have changed the shocks and generally tweaked the suspension to give much better ride and handling than the stock F250

Hhahaha the butthurt is strong with Mark Williams today.

Guess ford is having overlapping issues with the hd's and only making it worse with the light weight bed.

Here in tx I only see the old beaters or hd's doing the work not the 50k half ton pickups

Here in tx I only see the old beaters or hd's doing the work not the 50k half ton pickups

This isn't really new news. CR prefers carlike ride. That is evidenced by their propensity for picking the Avalanche and Ridgeline.
CR is great for durability data but they definitely are not a good source for guys who actually use pickups for their intended purpose.
Empty ride is an issue for maybe 50% of 1/2 ton pickup owners. Those are owners who don't really need cargo capacity. My truck tends to have a minimum of 500 lbs of gear in it all of the time.
PUTC's test stated that the Ram had the worst ride with cargo or towing and that was with air ride (an option that is supposed to compensate for load).

Buy what best suites your needs. If you need cargo capacity then that leaves GM or Ford.

I agree with mp and wayne. 1/2 tons are not work trucks. Ford markets it's 1/2 as a work truck. 1/2 tons are for pulling boats hauling motorcycles. 1/2 tons don't beat you up off road and on like a 3/4 ton. Ford customers are stuck with a 3/4 ton ride. Ram is more refined and luxurious but yet out handles Fords 1/2 ton with 1,000 pounds in the bed. If you want to tow an R.V. and haul a ton in the bed you buy a 3/4 ton. Every work truck I ever drove was a 3/4 ton. PUTC called it on one of their reviews asking themselves if Ford over reached with their 1/2 ton. Judging by many it looks like they have. Ram's work trucks 3/4 ton and 1 ton out haul and tow and out handle Fords 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks.

PUTC's test stated that the Ram had the worst ride with cargo or towing and that was with air ride (an option that is supposed to compensate for load).

posted by: Lou_BC | Jun 29, 2015 4:35:53 PM

Ram say's the air ride does not add payload. It levels the truck. Which is critical when towing and hauling. Unlike Fords sagging bed with lights in the sky and light steering front end. "wobble" is how one tester stated, especially in the corners.

So PUTC had a complaint against the Ram air ride for what? Ride quality. Same thing as everyone has against Ford. Stiff
ride. Except I can get a Ram without it.

@Lou_BC

I'd say it's more than 50% here in the States. Half-ton pickups are mainly used as daily drivers and never see a load heavier than a few bags of groceries in the box.

If I wanted a light duty strickly work truck I might get an F-150 but for an all around daily driver/utility vehicle the Gm or Rams offer better packages..

Ford is moving forward with

1- New Ford e-Bike Gives City Commuters a Reason to Cheer
2- Ford C-Max Solar Energi Concept

To those who are chagrined - that their company is looking to be sold but no one is biting after the Germans dumped it.

@Hemi V8

"1/2 tons are not work trucks"

You might want to correct that statement in saying that Ram half tons are not work trucks. Half ton trucks Ford and GMCs are used as work trucks that do real work in the biggest fleets in America like AT&T who have over 20,000(mostly Chevy and Fords) class 1 & 2 trucks in their fleet and Pepsi Co who has over 17,000(mostly Fords) class 1 & 2 trucks with many being used on their Frito-Lay farms down here in Texas. It is true that no half ton is meant for work in your world since you only limit yourself to Rams, but just because your favorite Ram 1500 isn't made for work doesn't mean the others aren't. Step outside of your box that only limits you to Rams and you will see that the biggest fleets fleets in America along with many half ton owners can and do actually use their half ton trucks for work. So don't apply your limited way of thinking to everyone else because those who know don't limit themselves to Ram 1500s.

@HemiV8 - "RAM 1/2 tons are not work trucks"

There, I fixed it for you...................

By the way, you posted a link from AlPar saying that FCA was going to build a HD Ram 1500 for work applications.........

"Ram say's the air ride does not add payload. It levels the truck.Which is critical when towing and hauling"

IF it is critical when towing or hauling then why did PUTC say this;
"but where the Ram lost most of its points was in its limited payload, braking numbers and the ride quality of the air suspension when towing or loaded. "

and the ride quality of the air suspension when towing or loaded.

and the ride quality of the air suspension when towing or loaded.

and the ride quality of the air suspension when towing or loaded.

and the ride quality of the air suspension when towing or loaded.

RAM 1500 and RAM 2500 are from the same class 2.
RAM 1500 out handles new short leaf F150 on road , off road and RAM 2500 out tows and out payload F150 and F250 with more confident drive.
Ford doesn't have any comfortable model , like RAM has (1500) and you can see, that they are loosing customers, who doesn't want to be trashed driving F150 or F250 daily, pulling boat , small trailer or bike occasionally.
Why Ford doesn't have any comfy truck in class 2 is question to Ford to ask, but I think, that CR is right, that new truck should have much more refined drive , than century old one. Aluminium body and massage chair didn't cut it.
Can't wait for June numbers.

@LouBC

You mentioned three things that CR reports about vehicles but you left out the considerable fact that CR surveys its very large readership annually about Customer Satisfaction and durability (measured in errors per thousand) and publishes those results.

Their conclusions are not always valid in my opinion but their methodology is very consistent.

As for their truck reviews, they are much improved in this area. To see how much better read some of the old reviews from ten years ago and their anti-truck bias was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

With all of the hoopla surrounding the redesigned 2015 Ford F-150, it's way too easy to forget one simple question: Is it a good truck? Consumer Reports finally has the answer. Indeed, the F-150 is a good truck, but the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra and Ram 1500 are better.

Ouch!!!

@hecho, Your right Ram is getting away from cheap fleet and making their 1/2 ton a retail vehicle. You know the refined leather luxo model. Ram even stated that early on.

Let's face it. It seems the new F-150 is not substantially lighter than competing trucks, though it may be lighter than previous F-150's. The Ecoboost engines to not deliver good fuel economy when driven hard. So, you have a truck with a neat feature or two, but in the end it doesn't do anything better than other more conventional trucks.

@Hemi V8

Ram never really was in the fleet business with their class 2A 1500s due to their dismal payloads. The only reason why you hate fleet trucks is because Ram 1500s aren't even on the same league as the other trucks 1500s when it comes to fleet customers. So since Ram can't compete with their 1500s then you down fleet sales to make yourself feel better The only choice fleets have in a Ram is to move to a class 2B 2500 and then get dismal fuel economy in a gas engine compared to the Class 2A trucks.

However, Ram does pretty well in their cab and chassis trucks for fleets. Not as good as Ford, but they managed to outsell Chevy last year and is a big reason for Ram growth in trucks. So, does this mean these cab and chassis Ram trucks are just "cheap fleet" trucks or are you going to take that back now that you know that Ram has a lot of fleet sales in their 2500 and up trucks?

Another thing that separates these trucks that some foreign guys that like to think they know truck classes is the EPA classes which are separate from DOT classes. The EPA classes have a lot to do with regulations put on a vehicle which is why LDT 3 & 4 trucks (Class 2A) and down have a fuel economy rating and HDV2B and up don't.

http://www.epa.gov/oms/standards/weights.htm

So as a fleet owner like AT&T you have a choice. Go bigger to a 2500 and get horrible fuel mileage or get a F150 that gets better fuel mileage and the same payload.

Hmm, I guess they went with.... http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/blog/2014/02/fords-new-cng-f-150-will-be-converted-at-west.html

Gee, you would think that the US's largest light and medium duty truck private fleet would know a thing or two about fleets over some guy who still drives a 2003 Ram 1500 and only limits himself to Rams. Sorry, but my money is going with them knowing more than you.

I dont' really care for the look of the new F-150. It looks generic and smaller then old 2014. I guess its the lowered belt line and it appears to sit lower at least the 4x4's.

Nobody really cares about 2A or 2B classes in here.
It's still class 2. Everybody can buy what ever they want to.
I can park at any US gas station for a year and ask everybody with ford F150 or F250 which class his truck is and nobody will know and care. They don't even know, their Cummins is not a HEMI mostly, based on Fuelly reports.
Payload, towing, price. That's what they will know answer for maybe, but who cares about class? We are not in High school anymore.
Ford is missing comfy ride truck, which will bite them to the butt, because you can't survive at cheap fleet trucks forever.
Aluminium and massage chair didn't cut it. CR is right about that.

Yeah, I've noticed that too. The 2015 F-150 does look smaller and lower than the previous generation and the 1" lowered beltline contributes to that.

However, I'm not a fan of making something look more massive just for design sake like the squeezed down greenhouse section, thicker body sides and raised hoodline on the GM fullsized twins, Ram and the Tundra.

I think Ford is going in the right direction with it's lighter aluminum body contruction and advanced turbocharged powerplants. It's just a matter of time before the other makes convert over to the lighter alloy for their body panels and offer gas turbo powerplants in their trucks.

What surprises me the most is PUTC actually printed something somewhat negative about Ford. Mark, that must've really hurt. Bet we won't see that again for quite some time.

Truth of the matter is that CR is not completely in the weeds. Yes, one truck does haul more than the others, but most days a month, half ton crew trucks haul butts, nothing more. They can all handle 20 bags of mulch or a car hauler. But most of the time, they're just passenger transport.

Well I didn't read the CR article but wanted to share my firsthand observations here as it relates to using a truck as a truck. Recently my Dad passed away, and left behind 50+ years of stuff behind in his 4 car garage. Suffice to say the items ranged from engine blocks to other scrap metals. Several months ago I rented a RAM 1500 Big Horn Crew Cab 5.7 8 speed to haul 1,600 pounds of scrap iron. (Yes Enterprise ironically has nice trucks). This load put the truck on the bump stops. Just this past Saturday I rented another truck from them for the same purpose and this time was a 2015 F150 XLT Crew 5.5 bed with the 3.5 EcoBoost - wow that was something I didn't expect. The door jam had 2,021 as the rated payload. I hauled almost the same exact weight to the scrap yard, and it barely leveled the truck out. There was NO comparison in how the trucks handled the weight. The Ford despite having a 6 speed transmission, accelerated as if the bed was empty, with locomotive type torque whereas the RAM you could feel how loaded the truck was. The RAM still had power, don't get me wrong, but did NOT have the power the EcoBoost had when loaded. Did the RAM ride nicer? Absolutely, but only when empty - it ended there. So really it all comes down to how you will use your truck. BTW: I will be placing an order for a 2016 F150, likely the SE edition that was just announced, but renting for a day or two is an excellent way to get to know a truck beyond what is possible in a 10 minute test drive. Neither truck was beat on for those keeping score :-).

Cool story bro.

truck trend gave there truck of the year award to the f150.... In there competition that hits on 6 elements and test the ford won 3 out of the 6.... In the competition for truck of the year the competition included such trucks as the Chevy high country, Ram power wagon the mid size GM twins, the best from TRD ect ect. So if you build your beliefs off a car sites opinion such as consumer reports that is your choice.... Truck publications all rave about the f150... I don't think I would take a car publication with any seriousness on there evaluations of a pickup.

@Scott
I have my own brain. RAM Power Wagon wasn't tested to the limits where F150 would fail, so what's the point? RAM 2500 wipes the floor with F150 and F250.

Unless Ford invests money into the more important aspects of the aluminium half ton ie suspesnion/FE it will not lead the pickup segment.

As I have stated all along just fabricating with a different material will not cut the mustard.

Ford needs to tweak the F-150 to suit what 75 percent of the customers want. It is a fallacy to consider most pickups trucks when they are in fact daily drivers in lieu of cars/SUVs.

FCA realised this with the Ram...........and look at the numbers.

@Big Al from Oz
I absolutely agree with you this time. RAM 1500 fits your description. For anything else is RAM 2500 and RAM 3500

@svina
You are incorrect. Judges from truck trend loved the f150... They also rated the power wagon best in offered in there test out of the vehicles they tested. You can google it if you like (PUTC auto blocks linked from its competing websites) or you just ignorantly agree with a car mag that rates the Ram cars high instead of looking a truck focused staff and evaluators in truck focused testing procedures.

Here is another great vid on the 2015 f150 by truck enthusiast... Not car enthusiast. These truck and offered guys have a complete different opinion then the Car guys report....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhlD3ZLTlpo

correction to my above post offroad instead of offered.

" Go bigger to a 2500 and get horrible fuel mileage or get a F150 that gets better fuel mileage and the same payload."

Posted by: Hecho En Mex-Ico V8 | Jun 29, 2015 7:42:15 PM

Nice theory. Can you show me some MPG numbers to back that up. All the tests I have read have shown the Eco bust gets horrible gas mileage especially when loaded or towing. Didn't the big 6.2 Chevy V8 gas get better MPG? How about a diesel?

Constipation report is a Japanese magazine and they dont know nothing on truck.

@Scott
Like I said, I have my own brain. New F150 has no better, safer, more controlled ride than RAM1500 and no better , safer , more controlled ride , payload and towing capacity than RAM2500. It's a brand new truck, so it would be expected, but CR is right. New materials didn't cut it. It's still century old shortened leafs.
It's more expensive than RAM 2500 . Let's wait and see June numbers .
Even Honda Ridgeline knows where market is . Driving refinement is the key. Not aluminium body.

The whole point is Svina is truck publication online or paper love the new F150 and even rank them above the ram. Car publications love the Ram. Four wheeler even took an ecoboost for 2400 miles on and off road. Best MPG was around 21.8 while the worst was just above 17. It meet the EPA targets for there 3.5. PutC test the 3.5 got better economy then any V8 when towing while performing better. The only V8 to get better MPG's empty was the GM v8's..... Both of them. Ram's V8 got near the bottom on there test both loaded and unloaded. Those are hard facts that you can't dispute. Your Facts on Hemi's and such are BS. SBYL.

As far as sale numbers ford will sell more then Ram and GM will have to combine the sale of 2 different brand to best ford sales numbers..... Ram has good sales numbers and increases for them with one month over month decrease so far this year. But if ford or GM sold the Ram numbers then those companies would be in trouble as they aren't use to making so few trucks like Ram.

@Lou!
Just admit it. Ford needs to update their suspension to a better ride when empty on the 150. While they may be better at handling payload better than others how often do people really haul that much in their trucks?? We all get your a Ram hater on here! And in fact I don't care if you never ever will buy one. Just like I would never buy a Ford. But sometimes Ram just does things better than Ford! Just like Ford sometimes Ford does things better than Ram. That doesn't mean Ford can't come up with a better ride quality especially on a F150! Personally the roads where I live are very rough and I hate riding in our company F150 as it jars the hell out of your body compared to a Ram or a GM!

CR means nothing to me or Ford. Would you buy a road miller or a high-lift based on what Martha Stewart tells you?

Those granola-munching suck-ups at CR have their own agenda for sure with their inert "layperson" jargon and goofy chart hieroglyphics aimed at effecting outcomes. If you don't think they're swayed by outside influences, you're smoking some good banana peels, friendo. Example: that whole Nissan CVT transmission snafu? Boom!--virtually un-reported. The GM switch disaster? Never acknowledged while there were cases pending at the time of their tests on those vehicles.

This truck does what truck owners need it to do, and with aplomb. Any of you on here who really know trucks get that. The rest of you will buy 900 lb. payload Rams or are GM lifers. Real truck buyers are who Ford markets to. And--the next Super Duty will demoralize the competition, again, as predicted.

In the end Fiat and GM will follow--as they always do--and CR will still be offering their 2-cents worth on washing machines and food processors.

@redbloodedxy
So when , ford will get 10 speed , small diesel in 2 years, multilink suspension, air ride....it means RAM follows?
Everybody follows with something, but aluminium and short leafs is not what I expect and not what I want from RAM.
I expect updated HEMI with direct injection, which would be my next engine, or smaller 8 cylinder designed on V6 base ,turbo gasoline engine which I won't buy .Maybe I will ,because of clean low sulfur gasoline next year and lean running turbo engines since then.
I expect beefed up rear frame RAM 1500 version to handle single point heavier coils or air ride, for more payload, just to shut up ford crying babies finally, not that I need it, because RAM 2500 vipes the floor with F150 and F250 with payload and confident ,safer ride empty and fully loaded. With new HEMI or new V8 is going to be one of the best packages for many.
Don't forget, that RAM has no more production capacity and needs to build another factory.
So yes, RAM is lacking payload and aluminium body in RAM 1500 model now.That's it. Selling numbers say, that nobody cares, because there are different options from RAM to satisfy any customer. Even ALLLL1 has been satisfied by RAM. It tells you right there, why ford is loosing customers and RAM is gaining.

They act like the new f150 is like driving an old jeep. I own a 2015 F150 and its super easy to drive I could fall asleep. I also love the steering wheel feel and steering effort and feedback is great IMO. I prefer it over the RAMs thicker steering wheel and more lazy more difficult steering ratio. The RAM does have a more plush ride I can't argue that. However you can feel the weight of the RAM in almost all of its driving dynamics. The F150 feels more agile and the chassis feels more solid or ridged. After driving my 2015 F150 many other vehicles don't feels as nice. Shutting the doors on the F150 is much quieter and solid than a RAM.

RAM may be leading with the current 8 speed transmission but lets focus on the fact that they needed it more than any brand. Ford and GM actually had real 6 speed transmissions. The so called RAM 6 speed is really the same 5 speed it had been forever. RAM 6 speed never shifts through all gears unless you do it in manual shift. It has two second gears that are never used in succession. That's why RAM got such a huge advantage when the updated to 8 speed. They literally went from an outdated 5 speed to an out sourced 8 speed because they in fact had to. Fords ecoboost engines and a real six speed transmission didn't need more gears nearly as bad as the HEMI with a 5 speed. Especially since Ford shaved weight on new generation truck. Which brings me to the point that Ford going aluminum changed many dynamics of their truck without even changing the powertrain. This is just the start for this F150. The 10 speed and possible diesel will further put Ford ahead.

@Hemi V8

"Nice theory. Can you show me some MPG numbers to back that up. All the tests I have read have shown the Eco bust gets horrible gas mileage especially when loaded or towing. Didn't the big 6.2 Chevy V8 gas get better MPG? How about a diesel?"

Theory? Oh it is not theory. Look at PUTC'S tests along with Truck Trend, Edmunds, Car and Driver, and Autoguide's average furl economy when they test they 6.4L. The highway fuel economy was worse that what most other half tons get combined. The combined fuel economy numbers were a dismal 12-13 mpg. Go look it up if you don't believe me. Then there is towing.

Funny how you keep saying that the Ecoboost gets horrible fuel mileage towing yet it gets better fuel mileage than the Hemi towing the same weight in every comparison. Look at the last PUTC annual physical numbers versus the V8 challenge. The Ecoboost got better fuel mileage than ANY of those V8s loaded and unloaded and it didn't need migrade fuel like the Hemi does or premium fuel like the 6.2L does to get it. Again, go look for yourself if you don't believe me.

Although I will tell you something that might aka you happy. I have made up my mind to trade this POS Ram back in for a new Super Duty when they come out. I love the engine but I am tired of taking it back to the dealer for repairs on the rest of the truck. I have taken it in twice for transmission issues, a few times because for the TPMS sensors, and the last draw was just recently when the cruise control stopped working which is apparently a common problem with these trucks according to the Ram forums. The closest Ram dealer is in another town so it is a PITA to coordinate getting this truck in for service. This is the most I have every haven to take any of my trucks. I never had to to take my 2011 F150 in and only had to take my 05 F150 in once. So you and your too much of a joke to acknowledge brethren will be glad to hear you will no longer have to put up with me driving a high end Ram that you guys wish you had. My wife was a little mad because she liked the interior, even she commented on how many times I had to take it in. Too bad that Cummins is wrapped in such a truck. It deserves better.