Ford Australia says since plans for the local introduction of the F-150 were announced earlier this year more than 8000 Australians have registered their interest with thousands of prospective orders already placed with dealers.
Pricing and final specification will be announced closer to market release in 2023 but Ford Australia says it will market the F-150 in 4×4 crew cab configuration in XLT or Lariat trim.
Both variants will feature the 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engine, coupled with 10-speed automatic transmission. Customers can choose from two lengths being the short wheelbase (SWB) (145-inch Wheelbase, 5.5-foot load box) and long wheelbase (LWB) (157-inch Wheelbase, 6.5-foot load box) configurations.
“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 the left-hand drive F-150 went through in the States,” Ford Australia performance and customisation chief program engineer Dave Burn says.
During local engineering and development it had to cope with everything from -40° Celsius and +50° Celsius temperatures, trailer towing, mud, ultra-fine sand, water crossings, and corrosion tests.
The durability tests in Australia saw the F-150 travel more than 135,000 kilometres, or the equivalent of driving around Australia nine times.
It has been driven across Ford’s torturous Silver Creek Road durability track hundreds of times. Similarly, some of the world’s most punishing roads were replicated in the laboratory at Ford Australia’s You Yangs Proving Ground with F-150’s driveline, steering, wheels and suspension punished on a Kinematic and Compliance (K&C) rig.
“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,” Burn says.
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