Could the star of the 2023 Detroit Motor Show be the star of your fleet? John Challen ponders the merits of the Ford F-150.

New Ford F-150

Once the envy of automotive gatherings around the world, the Detroit Motor Show took place recently with such little fanfare that I only found out it was on days after it opened its doors. The US city – and its once-thriving auto industry – has suffered in recent years, but the domestic manufacturers did their best to make the best of what seems like not an ideal situation.

Star of the show from Ford was the brand new F-150. A few years ago, there was a lot of excitement about the ‘Lightning’ version of the pickup – mainly because it was an EV. A bold move by the ‘Blue Oval’ some said, but it was a concept that flew (not literally, of course – although that would be a sight to behold) initially and is now being churned out of a Michigan factory at a rate of 150,000 units a year.

However, none of that was enough to stop the demand for the ICE-powered version, which got a makeover ahead of its Detroit debut. Make no mistake – this is a big vehicle, in every sense of the word. In fact, Ford’s revenue from F-Series products in 2022 ($41.5bn) was more than Starbucks and Netflix – $32.3bn and $31.6bn respectively.

Far removed from its battery-powered brother, the standard F-150 had lots of options when it comes to engine choice. For starters, out goes a 3.3-litre six-cylinder, but a 5.2-litre supercharged V8 lives on. Elsewhere, drivers can go for a 2.7-litre EcoBoost (compare and contrast with Europe’s 1.0-litre engine of the same name), three 3.5-litre motors (one of those is an EcoBoost, too) and a 5.0-litre V8.

It’s the 14th generation of best-selling pickup in America, but aesthetically, the new model is very much a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. There’s a new bumper and different wheel options, while a new ‘Pro Access tailgate can now be opened like a standard door, as well as dropping down in the traditional layout.

Pickups have come a long way since the original Ford F-150, so the inside of the 2024MY one is more akin to a mobile office. There’s a plethora of storage spaces, fold-flat beds – if you feel the need to sleep at the ‘office’ – and the gear shifter can even be folded down to create a larger flat workspace between the front seats. Out the back, there’s an onboard generator that offers up to 7.2kW of power, which should prove useful if you need to chop some trees down for firewood because you’ve spent all your money fuelling the truck.

There’s something inherently cool about pickups but, given the fact that some European models only just squeeze onto the driveway at Challen Towers, the F-150 would be a struggle to live with. At nearly 6m long – and over 2.0m wide and almost as tall – navigating the streets of any UK city – let along one of their multi-storey carparks – is not a challenge many would relish, I’m sure.

Ford F-150

Price: c.$37,000-$86,000 (plus import costs…)

Towing capability: 13,500lbs (6.123 tonnes)

Expected amount of hybrid F-150s: 20%

Fuel economy: Given the price of fuel over here, let’s not go there

Forward gears: 10

Available: Early 2024

Likelihood of making it onto the fleet? 1/10