New for 2008 is the Ford F-150 Lariat Limited 4x4 catering to the truck owner who wants to ride in style and arrive to the golf course with darn-near every option available for a fullsize truck. This Limited package is strictly a cosmetic package and includes 22-inch aluminum wheels with painted accents, Limited badging, two-toned leather seats, and polished tubular running boards. Combine this, with the F-150 Lariat 4x4 MSRP of $38,160 and the Limited will cost you $45,040. This staggering price tag provides amenities more commonly associated with a luxury SUV, but fails to deliver comparable fullsize truck performance.
Certain characteristics of the new F-150, however, are segment leaders; such as the overall ride quality, quietness inside the cab, and the ability to tow 11,000 pounds. Those are important attributes for America's best-selling truck; however, once those factors are overlooked, the Ford begins to fall behind the fullsize pack. Its Triton 5.4L rated at 300 hp, only laid down 263 hp on the all-wheel-drive dyno. If you're curious as to why it was tested on the all-wheel-drive dyno, the Limited is only available in full-time AWD mode. Another sore spot is the older four-speed automatic transmission that literally feels as if it is sucking horsepower from the V-8 and expelling it into thin air. Driving the F-150 required patience as the horsepower and acceleration weren't close to its competitors that have stepped up with bigger and better engines with transmissions featuring at least five speeds.
Areas where the F-150 was praised came mostly from the interior. Very comfortable, heated, two-tone leather seats look like custom additions; and the look and feel of the materials used inside are in a class all of their own. The overall look of the truck, with its white-sand metallic paint scheme--albeit the only available color--billet-like grille, black headlights, and 22-inch wheels were received with mixed feelings. Most of us couldn't believe the size of the Limited badges located on the rear of the bed sides, and we were all very curious how our Limited placard inside read 8,334 of 5,000 vehicles. Perhaps we had a super-limited-edition Limited?
The F-150 Limited we tested is $100 less than a similarly-equipped Lincoln Mark LT, and we think it is no coincidence the Limited was released the same year Lincoln announced the demise of the LT. If performance comes second to pomp and circumstance, perhaps the Limited is just the truck for you. But we can't overlook a truck that hasn't received any new technologies since 2004.