Which Ford F-150 Engine Is Best? All 5 Powertrains Compared Back-to-Back

[My New Baby]

I'm an old school loyalist to Henry's V8. It might be a dinosaur about to go extinct, but with the addition of a super charger these things will put out 800+ hp all day. and with a factory warranty!

If Ford would start putting a supercharger on the 3.5 ecoboost it would produce about the same HP and you would enjoy better fuel mileage than with the 5.0. I asked the factory to add a supercharger to my 2011 Ecoboost but they would not do it. I don't think I will need a supercharger on my 2022 Powerboost. It has more HP than the 5.0 and a lot more toque than any that they offer except for the Diesel option. I love my new Powerboost.

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[EricR]

Was that a ZF 8 speed?

No. It was on a 2008 Laramie. IIRC, it was a 4 speed overdrive.

It worked fine for my father-in-law for years. He mostly just drove it around town - thus the low mileage.

We bought it and started towing a 22ft travel trailer in 2020. It died on our second trip out.

We were heading to Bryce Canyon and ended up spending half the week at a KOA in Fillmore, Utah without a vehicle waiting for the re-manufactured one to arrive and be installed.

Yes, this event was a downer. But it led to us buying our 2021 Lariat PB, which we absolutely love!

 

[HammaMan]

If Ford would start putting a supercharger on the 3.5 ecoboost it would produce about the same HP and you would enjoy better fuel mileage than with the 5.0. I asked the factory to add a supercharger to my 2011 Ecoboost but they would not do it. I don't think I will need a supercharger on my 2022 Powerboost. It has more HP than the 5.0 and a lot more toque than any that they offer except for the Diesel option. I love my new Powerboost.

A supercharger wouldn't add better mileage. It's continual parasitic drag which is what makes turbos a better option. The issue with turbos is heat management. One of ford's solutions is to run it overly rich. The number of competent tuners that could actually program a safe tune for it can be counted on 1 hand unfortunately.

As for torque, the powerboost has them all beat. It's a great powertrain I don't think many understand.

 

[Suns_PSD]

I've mostly been in diesels my entire life and one drive in a 5.0 made me go NOPE!

The Powerboost was about power and performance for me.

 

[SteveP150]

I get it if one just likes V8s for historical purposes or the sound.
But in terms of measurable performance on most important things, the PB comes out on top: more horsepower, a lot more torque, and better gas mileage despite those first two things. And you get the generator option. Only unknown would really seem to be long term durability.

 

[Mtnman1]

Lol, if you are looking for old school the 5.0 Coyote isn’t for you. The 5.0 uses about every modern engineering marvel in the book as its dual overhead cam, direct injection, high 12:1 compression, displacement on demand. It’s an Americanized European style sport motor —but in V8 form. Looks very different from the good ol’ classic pushrod V in my boat that’s for sure lol. But where a classic pushrod V8 falls on its face the 5.0 will put serious power down right on up through 7 grand.

As far as a purge I don’t think that’s coming, GM just invested $1 billion into the small block V8 program and Ford just totally redesigned a new 5.0 Coyote for the 2024 Mustang. The V8 engine will likely be turning the lights out on ICE vehicles as a whole.

If you are looking for old school while it’s here that’s where the GM LT series would come into play. That or the Hemi.

Or the 7.3 in a f250.

Man, they need to offer that in the F150.

 

[JExpedition07]

Or the 7.3 in a f250.

Man, they need to offer that in the F150.

I looked at the 7.3L F-250 but Ford could not apply the college grad discount to SD’s, no reason to give up 800 bucks. So my belated college graduation gift to myself was a 2023 F-150 with the 5.0L. I got in the EcoBoost and said “nope no way” immediately on the test drive, did not fit my personality at all. I’m a young red blooded gym going American…I’m all about displacement just like these pythons. Just thinking about it makes me want to rip my shirt off and beat on my chest. I love my V8 . At the end of the day I think the 5.0 was a better choice for me over the Godzilla 7.3. It throws down 400 horsepower and gets 22 MPG on the highway, I would have been lucky to break 16 with the Godzilla.

 

[HammaMan]

Can't miss the V8 sound, but I get enough nascar wannabes driving by to tickle that urge. I've grown accustomed to silently winning the stoplight wars. All too often they default to sound instead of speed. I've yet to give a fellow gearhead a ride in the MME that doesn't 'get' it. I enjoy spirited driving more than I like listening to exhaust drone. Now take the silence down considerably while still having the spirited driving and one get's to do what they love without any of the attention. You'd be surprised at how much more spirited driving one can get away with when it's done quietly. There's no "hey, look at me" going on w/ the mayhem.

 

[bgalakazam]

The hybrid is nice, but I didn’t want the upfront premium and lower payload. I also don’t want to deal with batteries in 5-10 years. But if you lease or trade up every 3-5 years - go for it. Or just give me v8 hybrid like other brands do.

 

[JExpedition07]

I get that, that is why choice is super important. I’ll never diss the EcoBoost, it’s just not for me. I think I’ll be running 8 pistons until I decide to go for an EV, something about having this free breathing beast under my hood is just magic. I could listen to this video on repeat all day… Fun fact, the upcoming Mustang Dark Horse puts down 500 horsepower out of the 4th generation 5.0L. Twin intakes, twin throttle bodies, and Boss 302 rods!

 

[HammaMan]

The hybrid is nice, but I didn’t want the upfront premium and lower payload. I also don’t want to deal with batteries in 5-10 years. But if you lease or trade up every 3-5 years - go for it. Or just give me v8 hybrid like other brands do.

When you configure in the options that the hybrid comes with as a package, the difference is $1300. Keep in mind the locking 3.73, tow hitch, max tow's springs, and PPOB are part of the package (as well as the most heavy duty frame outside of the raptors). Even the PB's smaller inverter lays waste to the twin alternator 2kW unit the non-hybrids come with when optioned.

 

[Snakebitten]

That "expensive" Hybrid battery in the Powerboost is warranted 8/100,000

But even out of warranty, it's NOT the Hybrid battery that you might think.

 

[Kidder]

I believe my PB is 2,243 lb with 11,600 tow. I tow a 29 ft. fifth wheel I think it tows better than my 1st gen Duramax but maybe its just much more refined though. It is not lacking in power one bit though.

I would like to see your window sticker and payload (yellow sticker). That's HDPP territory.

 

[Kidder]

I looked at the 7.3L F-250 but Ford could not apply the college grad discount to SD’s, no reason to give up 800 bucks. So my belated college graduation gift to myself was a 2023 F-150 with the 5.0L. I got in the EcoBoost and said “nope no way” immediately on the test drive, did not fit my personality at all. I’m a young red blooded gym going American…I’m all about displacement just like these pythons. Just thinking about it makes me want to rip my shirt off and beat on my chest. I love my V8 . At the end of the day I think the 5.0 was a better choice for me over the Godzilla 7.3. It throws down 400 horsepower and gets 22 MPG on the highway, I would have been lucky to break 16 with the Godzilla.

Yes, but the Godzilla could pull twice as much of your plates and tractor tires as your F150. How are you supposed to maintain those pythons with such little payload?

 

[HammaMan]

I would like to see your window sticker and payload (yellow sticker). That's HDPP territory.

The PB has the triple leaf spring in it, but it does have about 90% of the HDPP's spring rating. It's the same spring of the max tow package. The PB's GVWR is under rated by 5% compared to other F150s despite having a stronger frame. It's a beast underneath, only gimped by sticker. My sticker shows 1450 payload, but by ford's own calculations its 1900lbs.

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