The interior of the Saleen is essentially a Ford F-150 with dark leather seats, brushed-aluminum trim, the FX2 instrument cluster, Saleen badging, and a boost gauge and air charge temperature gauge on top of the dash.
The experience of driving the Saleen was very similar to the Roush, except that either a finer suspension tuning or the larger, 23-inch wheels and lower profile BFGoodrich g-Force 305/40R23 tires served up a more solid ride that was steadier on the bumps and more precise on the turns. The supercharged 450 hp and 500 lb-ft 5.4L engine pulled us satisfyingly through traffic with an unusual exhaust note that roared like a T-Rex in the Jurassic Park film. Ford enthusiasts who can't stand the idea of driving a supercharged truck unadorned by the Blue Oval can take heart. Ford is now offering an optional Saleen-supercharged engine for the Harley-Davidson Edition F-150. This is the same setup as that in the S331.
Luckily, driving the Saleen is a satisfyingly rowdy affair that will shake you out of the sticker-shock stupor induced by this truck's $80,000 price tag (rounding down), thanks to a base price of $53,999 and these options: the lusciously pearled $19,000 Speedlab Yellow paintjob, $2,499 15-inch rotors and six-piston calipers, $1,499 Class III standard-duty tow package of up to 5,000 pounds, with hidden hitch and cooling package, $1,395 retractable tonneau, which is a handy feature that can be partially or fully rolled shut, and a $299 drop-in bedliner. Tack on the cost of the transportation to the dealer in an enclosed trailer and you're paying a total of $80,241.
We tried to emulate the 0-60 performance of the Roush by taking the Saleen pickup to the same spot for acceleration testing. But, we got lousy times, which we attributed to the fact that we were doing this during the heat of the day rather than in the evening when it's cooler, which is when we tested the Roush. So, we took the vehicle out in the cool of the night and did get better results by more than half a second, but still not the times we were expecting. The best time we got was 7.3 seconds. Granted, the Saleen was heavier than the Roush by 300 pounds, taking into account the base-curb weights, the weights of the drivers of each vehicle, and any gear in the vehicles. If you get better numbers, let us know!