2024 Ford F-150 Hybrid smooths out

• The Ford F-150 Hybrid powertrain has been updated for 2024
• Hybrid F-Series models no longer shudder and judder
• The F-150 Hybrid costs $59,345, delivers good value for money

Ford fixed the F-150 Hybrid. Based on how well the Hybrid now drives, hauls, and generates its way to higher mpg, it probably should have been the headline all along. 

The 2024 Ford F-150 lineup arrived with a refresh that can be classified as mild but meaningful. The headlines crowed about the new tailgate that can have a door in it, and some nicer interior materials, but beneath it the real news is the Blue Oval refined the hybrid option.

I put the hybrid truck’s powertrain to the test by shoving my dad and some buddies into a leather-lined Platinum hybrid model and headed to Canada to go fishing. But first I ran the kids all over town to their various activities.

Throughout it all, I found that America’s best-selling vehicle now has a hybrid powertrain that’s a smooth operator bringing real-world fuel savings. It’s also a rolling generator to boot.

Ford F-150 Hybrid irons out the shivers

The hybrid version of the F-150 debuted for 2021 with a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 spitting out 400 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque on its own. That was paired with a 1.5-kwh lithium-ion battery pack that juiced a 35-kw (47-hp) electric motor sandwiched in the 10-speed automatic transmission. Total output clocked in at 430 hp and 570 lb-ft of torque. Those power ratings haven’t changed, and it’s still among the most powerful light-duty full-size pickups money can buy, without looking to a Raptor or RHO badge.

While the powertrain had plenty of power that came on instantly with torque from the electric motor filling the gap as the turbos spool, it wasn’t butter-smooth. The power handoff from the electric motor along with the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts were rough enough to shake the driveline. 

Ford has fixed the shivers and paved over the roughness partly with a new powertrain software calibration for the hybrid system. Ford also simplified the powertrain by eliminating the second starter that had been integrated into the accessory belt drive. Ford spokesperson Dawn McKenzie told EV kind of cars the new powertrain calibration enabled Ford to make the hybrid motor take on the task and spin up the engine through the transmission. The result is smooth power handoffs along with 1-2 and 2-3 shifts that were barely discernible in the $87,625 F-150 Platinum hybrid test truck, even when the transmission and powertrain were cold.

Unfortunately due to the hardware changes that go beyond software McKenzie told GCR that 2021-2023 F-150 Hybrids won’t get the new calibration. Those trucks are stuck with the rougher power handoffs and 1-2 and 2-3 shifts.

Ford F-150 mostly hits EPA fuel economy ratings

Today’s F-150 Hybrid checks in at 22 mpg city, 24 highway, 23 combined. Depending on how you drive, you might actually see that kind of efficiency. Around town over the course of 76 miles of mixed suburban driving the truck claimed an average of 18.4 mpg. On the highway with four adults and a bed nearly overflowing with fishing gear the truck showed an average of 20.4 mpg over the course of 686 miles while going over 70 mph. But at 65 mph with the same load the truck averaged 24.4 mpg. There’s a lot of power here, and if the driver’s able to keep their foot out of it, and keep the speed at or about the speed limits, the current EPA fuel economy ratings seem within reach. A 5.0-liter V-8 in this truck would average in the mid teens around town and upper teens on the highway, giving the hybrid a solid 3-5 mpg improvement.

Ram still bests Ford’s interior and ride quality

The powertrain’s improved, but Ford’s still not going to win the interior or ride quality contest with the Ram 1500.

Inside the improved materials are still a full step behind what’s found in a Ram. The leather isn’t as soft, the plastics aren’t as nicely grained, there are fewer real metal bits, and the plastic grab handles on the A-pillars staring you in the face aren’t leather-wrapped. But Ford’s 12.0-inch digital gauge cluster is the best in the segment, with big numbers and easy-to-read data for the truck’s system at a glance. The 12.0-inch touchscreen’s interface is also one of the best, with the ability to easily split-screen even with wireless Apple CarPlay. The menus are easy to navigate and it’s like using an iPad.

Ford says it retuned the adaptive suspension for a more comfortable ride. But the Ram’s still smoother—by a lot. The Ford’s rear leaf springs are set up to haul a ton of weight (in certain configurations the F-150 can tow up to 13,500 pounds) to the point the truck sits with the front end lower than the rear when unloaded. The adaptive shocks paired with stiff leaf springs simply can’t match the ride control, or comfort, of the Ram’s rear coil springs.

BlueCruise remains in second place

Despite multiple enhancements that have smoothed rough edges in straight-line tracking and handling of curves Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driver-assist system remains solidly in second place. The system is a full league behind GM’s Super Cruise system.

My buddy, a systems engineer, riding in the back of the F-150 to Canada nearly had a heart attack as the Star White Metallic F-150 struggled to track a straight line down the road. His heart rate only raced faster as the truck found the edges of our lane multiple times around slight curves, and entirely bailed out and handed back control of the truck to me mid-curve on I-94.

That’s before addressing the struggle the infrared camera system had to see my eyes with my polarized sunglasses. An issue I haven’t experienced before in other BlueCruise vehicles. The system struggled so much it demanded I take control of the truck, even though I had a hand on the wheel already.

The Ford F-150 hybrid shows value is relative

The average transaction price of a pickup truck is about $66,000.

The 2024 Ford F-150 hybrid costs $59,345, which isn’t cheap, but also is less than the average cost of today’s average pickup truck. That’s for an XLT model, and the standard 2.4-kw onboard power supply including standard household AC outlets in the bed. 

My truck was a far cry from that. At $87,625 as tested my Platinum tester had everything from a color head-up display and leather-lined interior to heated, cooled, and massaging front bucket seats, 22-inch wheels, and wheel well liners. But importantly it had the higher-output 7.2-kw external power system, with four 20-amp, 120-volt AC outlets in the bed along with the 240-volt 30-amp outlet. 

Buy the truck, get a generator. Or just option the 7.2-kw system on a less expensive Lariat. Either way, it’s the F-150 Hybrid’s killer app. On the Lariat that higher output costs only $850. I’d be the first one to tell my wife that’s less than I’d buy a good generator for. 

With updated software and hardware, the hybrid F-150 pickup truck finally feels ironed-out and like the segment game-changer it was destined to be. Who needs a rolling generator that happens to haul four adults and all their fishing gear? The F-150 hybrid is ready.