There are new grille designs for each of the F-150’s seven trim levels; higher trims get the “twin I-beam” design and lower trims and some Sport packages get a large mesh opening with “nostrils.” But even these seven designs can be modified with paint and coatings to create much greater differentiation between trim levels. Enthusiasts will likely amuse themselves by learning the different ones and playing “spot the Platinum” when these trucks hit the streets in the fall.
At the rear of the truck, there’s a massive new F-150 logo stamped into the tailgate sheet metal on lesser trim levels, probably a nod to Toyota and Ram, which have been stamping nameplates and huge logos on tailgates for a couple years now. On Lariat and higher trim levels, that stamped logo is replaced by a plastic applique trim piece. The F-150 logo was removed for those trims, a Ford designer said, because it looked too busy with the applique and trim level script.
There isn’t much to talk about inside, as the only visual changes are the addition of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to the Sync 3 multimedia system, some new leather colors on the higher trims, new seats for the King Ranch and a new B&O Play premium audio option.
As to the new additions under the hood, we’re stoked. However, we’ll have to wait a bit longer to see just what kind of improvements the new powertrains will feature. The all-new base 3.3-liter naturally aspirated V-6 seems small for a truck this size, but Ford insists that it’s an advanced engine with the same power and torque as the outgoing 3.5-liter V-6, but with better fuel economy. The one we all want to drive is the new turbo-diesel 3.0-liter, but that’s not arriving until nearly nine months after the 2018 F-150 hits dealerships in fall of 2017.
