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How Does the 2021 Ford F-150 Compare to the Others On Paper?

Competition among trucks has been fierce in recent years, and the latest new model to raise the game is the 2021 Ford F-150. Ford just announced the new F-150 at the end of June but hasn’t yet released its full specs. MotorTrend compared the new truck against its current competitors. Here’s how the 2021 Ford …

Competition among trucks has been fierce in recent years, and the latest new model to raise the game is the 2021 Ford F-150. Ford just announced the new F-150 at the end of June but hasn’t yet released its full specs. MotorTrend compared the new truck against its current competitors.

Here’s how the 2021 Ford F-150 is expected to stack up against the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and the 2020 Ram 1500.

Engines for the 2021 Ford F-150, 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500, and 2020 Ram 1500

The 2021 Ford F-150 will have more engine options than the 2020 Silverado or 2020 Ram 1500, with six. The F-150 will have a new hybrid option, combining a V6 engine with a 47-hp electric motor. The hybrid F-150 is expected to offer the most horsepower and torque of all the light-duty, full-size pickup trucks, although exact numbers haven’t yet been released.

The Ram 1500 has a mild hybrid eTorque rather than a hybrid option. The motor is paired with a 3.5-liter V6. The Chevy Silverado doesn’t offer a hybrid version.

The new F-150 has six engine options, including the hybrid. The Silverado has five engines, while the Ram 1500 has three. Along with the 3.5-liter hybrid V6, the F-150 will have a 3.0-liter diesel V6 plus a 3.3-liter V6, a 2.7-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6, a 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6, and a 5.0-liter V8.

The Silverado and Ram 1500 both currently also have 3.0-liter diesel V6 engine options. For its third engine, the Ram 1500 offers a 5.7-liter V8 with or without eTorque. The Chevy Silverado has a 4.3-liter V6, a 5.3-liter V8, and a 6.2-liter V8. It’s also the only one to offer a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine.

All of the new Ford F-150 models will be paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. The Ram 1500 has an eight-speed automatic transmission. Silverado uses a six-speed, eight-speed, or 10-speed automatic transmission, depending on which model you choose.

The 2021 Ford F-150 just might win in towing and payload capacities

Currently, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 has the highest maximum towing capacity, which is 13,400 pounds when equipped with the 6.2-liter V8 engine. However, the new Ford F-150 is expected to beat that, although no new number has been provided yet.

The current 2020 F-150 is able to tow up to 13,200 pounds when equipped with the 3.5-liter V6 engine. The Ram 1500 with a 5.7-liter V8 engine is able to tow up to 12,750 pounds.

The new 2021 F-150 should have the highest payload capabilities as well. The 2020 F-150 already tops its competitors with the ability to haul up to 3,270 pounds. The Ram 1500 can haul up to 2,300 pounds, and the Silverado can haul up to 2,250 pounds.

Pickup bed space

The 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 wins for most bed space in all three bed lengths. The Silverado has 63 cubic feet in its 5-foot-8-inch bed, 72 cubic feet in the 6.5-foot bed, and 89 cubic feet in the 8-foot bed. The Ram 1500 offers two bed lengths. The 5-foot-7-inch bed has 54 cubic feet, and the 6-foot-4-inch bed has 62 cubic feet.

The smallest of all three bed lengths, the new F-150, will have 53 cubic feet in the 5.5-foot bed, 62 cubic feet in the 6.5-foot bed, and 77 cubic feet in the 8-foot bed length.

The new 2021 Ford F-150 is expected to best the competition in engine options, horsepower and torque, towing capacity, and payload capacity. Bed space is the only category it lags behind in. While it’s fun to speculate about the new 2021 Ford F-150, we won’t truly know how the truck performs and feels until the truck is available and MotorTrend and others can do real-world testing. This first year of the 14th-generation Ford F-150 will be available for sale in Fall 2020.

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