Ford F-150 XLT and Lariat tested in Australia

December 16, 2022 admin

Ford Australia has conducted extensive durability testing on F-150, putting it through the same programme as Next-Gen Ranger and Everest

F-150 drove across Ford’s torturous Silver Creek Road durability track hundreds of times. Additionally, Ford replicated some of the world’s most punishing roads in the laboratory at the company’s You Yangs Proving Ground with F-150’s driveline, steering, wheels and suspension punished on a Kinematic and Compliance (K&C) rig.

During local development, the model had to cope with everything from minus-40 degree Celsius and plus-50 degrees Celsius temperatures. Ford also completed trailer towing, mud, ultra-fine sand, water crossings, and corrosion tests. In all, F-150 travel more than 135,000 kilometres, or the equivalent of driving around Australia nine times.

“When F-150 hits Australian showrooms, customers can rest assured it’s been put through the same local durability programme as Next-Generation Ranger and Everest which, of course, is the same programme left-hand drive F-150 went through in the States,” said Dave Burn, Performance and Customisation Chief Program Engineer, Ford Australia.

“We’ve torture-tested, tuned and re-worked the right-hand drive F-150 so that Aussie customers know they’re getting the full factory F-150 experience. We’re doing everything to make sure the truck will be right at home here in Australia.”

More than 8000 Australians have registered their interest since Ford announced plans for local introduction earlier this year.

XLT and Lariat will feature the 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engine, coupled with a 10-speed automatic transmission in 4×4 Crew Cab configuration. Both variants will be available in SWB (145-inch wheelbase, 5.5-foot load box) and LWB (157-inch wheelbase, 6.5-foot load box) configurations.

F-150 goes on sale in Australia in 2023. Ford will announce pricing and final specification closer to market release.

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