Ford's F-150 Diesel Goes Downmarket

by Steph Willems

Published: May 31st, 2019

As rival General Motors prepares to tempt a broad swath of pickup buyers with its late-arriving 3.0-liter Duramax inline-six diesel, Ford Motor Company is changing its tactics. When the company’s 3.0-liter Power Stroke turbo-diesel V6 launched for the 2018 model year, Ford saw fit to relegate its new engine to truck buyers with deeper pockets.

This has now changed. Starting right away, the company plans to offer diesel propulsion to the mainstream (read: volume) truck buyer.

Announced Thursday, the Power Stroke V6 will soon appear in pickups bearing XLT lettering — Ford’s most popular F-150 trim. Until now, the oil burner was only available on the loftier Lariat, King Ranch, and Platinum trims, pushing the out-the-door price of those models even higher.

Making 250 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque, the mill’s output falls behind that of the Duramax, which boasts 277 hp and 460 lb-ft. However, the Power Stroke is available to order today.

Speaking to Roadshow, Ford’s truck communications manager, Dawn Mckenzie, said, “Customers and dealers told us they wanted the diesel on XLT, so we decided to expand the offering. Now, the 3.0-liter Power Stroke diesel will be available on 75 percent of our offerings, including XLT, which is our most popular series.”

Getting into an XLT diesel is not as simple as checking a box for the engine and its associated 10-speed automatic. The buyer must select an equipment group that brings to the table things like heated front seats, remote start, 18-inch wheels, and chrome trim. Ford’s not about to offer a diesel stripper.

While the price floor for an F-150 XLT is $35,755 after destination, the diesel isn’t available in regular cab models. Just SuperCab and SuperCrew. A base XLT SuperCab 4×2 retails for $38,655 after destination. Adding the diesel and 302A package brings the price of the cheapest sparkless F-150 to $46,255 — a price just above that of a Lariat SuperCrew with a 2.7-liter Ecoboost engine.

Still pricey, just not as pricey as before.

[Image: Ford]

#Engines #F-150 #Ford #FordF-150 #PowerStroke #ProductPlanning #Trucks

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12 of 18 comments

Jerome10 on May 31, 2019

Im glad the choice for consumers is there but I still don’t see the point of diesel outside regular towing. So at least trucks there seems to be a use case, unlike passenger cars. Still I wouldn’t touch this thing.

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EBFlex on May 31, 2019

Ford is so stupid. Do they really think people are this dense? "“Customers and dealers told us they wanted the diesel on XLT, so we decided to expand the offering."" Really? All you focus grouping you did prior to offering this diesel that you said was not needed and you just now realize that offering it to more people is probably a good idea? Ford and Tesla. Both are in a race to out stupid the other one.

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- See 9 previous
- Conundrum on May 31, 2019
  
  Does anything anywhere suit your otherworldly criteria? Like, what bag o' sh!te do you deign to daily drive yourself?
  
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- Deanst on May 31, 2019
  
  I suspect that the engine costs more than Ford can charge for it, so they’re only willing to take the hit if you’re willing to buy a high margin truck.
  
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- EBFlex on May 31, 2019
  
  @conundrum What I drive or what I desire to drive is irrelevant to the fact Ford finally removing their head from their rectal cavity ever so slightly and doing they should have done from the start with the engine they said was unnecessary.
  
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- JohnTaurus on Jun 01, 2019
  
  @conundrum He drives a rusty old Silverado.
  
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- EBFlex on Jun 01, 2019
  
  @JohnTaurus Says the guy driving a Mercury Topaz. See? I can lie too Johnny
  
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- JREwing on Jun 02, 2019
  
  I'm sure this was more about limiting production until Ford could ramp up engine assembly, and preserving the marketing aura by making it exclusive until they could push out higher volumes. If you only have X number of units you can push out the door at one time, make the most profit you can on them.
  
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- Scoutdude on Jun 03, 2019
  
  @JREwing Yup might as well maximize the per truck profit while supply is limited to take advantage of those that have to be the first.
  
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- MiataReallyIsTheAnswer on Jun 03, 2019
  
  I was going to post the exact same thing. As if no XLT buyers told you they wanted it 2 years ago. Idiots. In any case, 250 HP is a joke when it costs MORE than the 400 (plus) HP options. Yeah yeah, torque blah blah.....
  
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- MiataReallyIsTheAnswer on Jun 03, 2019
  
  @deanst High margin, except you can get 10 to 12 Grand off without even trying-
  
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- DenverMike on Jun 03, 2019
  
  @MiataReallyIsTheAnswer If you could only have one spec, the torque figure says way more vs. "HP" alone that leaves you with questions. This is true on gas engines too. It's a $6,000 engine all day long but $3,000 almost sounds rational, if you were going to get mid/upper trim loaded with gadgetry and bling anyway. Then it's the price of the EcoBoost or just a $1,000 hit over the V8. It's mind games, but if I wanted the diesel in a base/base stripper (retail buyer), even with a required long bed (for safety), I'd offer to pay the $6,000 to have it built, or a final $4,500 after rebates.
  
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