New 2007 F150

I've had this truck for about 6 weeks now, but haven't had time to take pictures and write something. So I'm sitting here in Florida watching football and thought I should write something. It just a basic extended-cab 4x4 5.4L V8 XLT with the towing package and skid plates. It's pretty well equipped with power windows and locks. The windows on the little half doors are power also. Here's a couple of pics.




The dealer always wants to sell you add ons. I took the extended warranty ($1795) and the spray in bedliner ($395). Here's a shot of the bedliner.


They had a couple of other options that intrigued me, but I couldn't justify them. One package was a 3-year no mileage limit dings, glass and tires coverage. It was $399 with no deductible. My insurance covers glass damage and the dings coverage doesn't include any reapirs requiring bondo or paint. And tire blow outs (normal wear not covered) are too low risk to be considered.

The other package I thought would be interesting is the 3 year Oil, Lube, Filter (OLF) package. It covers OLF every 5,000 miles. I average about 20,000 miles. So thats only 12 OLFs and it was $599. Nearly $50 per OLF and Albuquerque is a harsh environment, which means Ford recommends OLF changes every 3,000 miles. But the package is only every 5,000. Seems to hard, so I passed.

I burned through my first tank of gas -- 15.9 MPG. Not too bad for the first tank. I drove a good mix of highway and city miles. Mostly driving back and forth to work. If this keeps up or even increases a little as the engine matures I'll be happy. I drive a 2006 4.0L V6 XLT at the moment and it gets around 20 MPG on the same drive. On long road trips, the Explorer gets near 21 MPG. It's a pretty solid vehicle, even though it's more car than truck these days.