We’ve been in the midst of a 2021 F-150 blitz around the various Autoblog home offices lately as Ford has fired its overhauled half-ton into the waiting arms of critics across the country. This was your author’s second look at the new F-150, having had the opportunity to sample a handful of variants late last year, but my first chance to live with it for a few days straight, in a winter in Michigan, no less.
As an added bonus, it happened to be equipped with pretty much all the cool new options from the 2021 F-150, including the Max Recline folding seats, the center console interior and Pro Power Onboard, all of which I’d seen in action at least once, but never had the chance to play on the same truck. The video above is the more comprehensive overview of that experience, but here are some of the written highlights.
The Max Recline seats are a fun gimmick. They actually fold almost flat, and where you place the base before reclining the back will ultimately determine how close you can get to the “Max” area. Even giving up a few degrees to have your seat a little lower probably won’t be your primary comfort issue. Those are your legs, which still hang well in the foot unless you find a way to comfortably bridge your upper body all the way to the back seat. Hey, whatever works for you.
The interior work surface exudes a similar vibe, but I saw some buyers make great use of it, maybe even in additional aftermarket accessories. Multiple AB employees (myself included) are 100% convinced that owners will inevitably throw that shifter recess with spilled liquor, crumbs, trash, semi-melted hard candies – you know, the trash common to any mode of transport often does too serves as a dining room and home office.
Pro Power Onboard, I must say, is just plain old handy and a great selling point for potential hybrid customers who have really practical use cases for mobile power connections.
All of this comes at a price. This 4×4 SuperCrew Platinum retails for over $ 60,000 excluding options (including all the cool features mentioned above) and destination, and while each of these options only costs a few hundred dollars each, that’s all adding up quickly. All in, our tester is said to grace a showroom with a $ 68,420 price tag.