2024 Ford F-150 Up Close: Smart, Sensible Improvements

Is there a more fiercely competitive class of the automotive industry than pickup trucks? With the refreshed 2024 F-150, Ford becomes the last to join the newest truck battleground: tailgates. Not horsepower. Not torque. Not towing or payload. We’re talking about tailgates — and the new Pro Access Tailgate might actually be the best of the lot. More importantly, the new tailgate design’s thoughtful touches highlight the smart and sensible improvements Ford has made throughout the new F-150, all of which should help it stay on top of the pickup pile.

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More Tech, But Good Tech

The F-150’s interior doesn’t look much different unless you’re looking at lower trim levels. The 12-inch touchscreen display and 12-inch digital instrument panel are now standard on all F-150s for 2024. The cluster looks great and is easy to configure, and the touchscreen is one of my favorites. It also still uses Sync 4 instead of the more complex Sync 4A, which is welcome. The newly available head-up display is another welcome addition.

Little else has changed, and that’s also good. Roominess is still excellent front and back in crew-cab models (which were all that were on hand for me to sit in), smart features like the fold-out work surface and fold-flat front seats are still available, and materials quality is still good.

Ford’s hands-free semi-autonomous BlueCruise will be more widely available, too, trickling down to XLT variants. Buyers can also choose to activate BlueCruise later if they decide they want it, though I’m not a fan of the subscription payment model for the feature.

Carefully Considered Features

The new Pro Access Tailgate available on the F-150 appears to improve its utility by eliminating the need to reach over a lowered tailgate or awkwardly tilt around a corner to get access to the bed. The detents are obvious and feel unlikely to be unintentionally bypassed, reducing the likelihood someone will bonk the tailgate on an obstacle behind the truck. The integrated bumper step, additional fold-out step and hand hold all feel sturdy, as well.

There are even more thoughtful considerations in the tailgate’s design beyond that. It opens on the driver’s side, meaning drivers don’t have to cross in front of the truck or around a trailer to access it, and it still works normally when needed, too, with power opening and closing when doing so. Trailer wiring on production versions will be moved to the right side of the license plate mount, preventing the wiring from getting in the way. The tailgate will also work with bed and tonneau covers, creating a more useful “trunk” for the F-150. In terms of tailgate innovation, it seems smarter to me than anything from GM or Ram.

Similar consideration went into the new Warn winch accessory on the Tremor variant, which has built-in parking sensors and a relocated front camera, ensuring owners don’t eliminate valuable safety features when adding a useful accessory.

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Handsome Looks

Ford didn’t screw up the F-150’s exterior styling, either. The new “coast-to-coast” grille designs are good-looking evolutions of the F-150’s styling, and the new LED headlight designs on lower trims give the F-150 a subtle retro look. The Pro Access Tailgate stands out visually, but it doesn’t look bad; it’s just different. And the Raptor and Raptor R look even meaner with the new modular bumper design. There wasn’t a bad or silly looking F-150 out of the seven I saw.

We can’t wait to test out the 2024 F-150’s new features or find out the information that wasn’t announced today — namely pricing, fuel economy and the Raptor R’s new horsepower and torque figures. Everything I saw points to the F-150 continuing to dominate the full-size pickup segment.

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