2024 Ford F-150 gets 90% fewer permutations, more hybrid availability

As Ford likes to remind the world at every opportunity, its F-Series trucks (which include both the light-duty F-150 and medium/heavy-duty Super Duty families), have been the best-selling nameplates in the U.S. market. Four decades. While technically accurate, the case can legitimately be made that GM full-size trucks outsell Ford’s, even though they are under two brands, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. Who gets bragging rights is really only relevant to marketers because customers care about what trucks can do. With that in mind, Ford is refreshing the F-150 for the 2024 model year.

The current generation F-150 received a complete makeover in 2020 when it was revealed as a 2021 model year vehicle. Despite relatively few players in the full-size pickup truck market, it remains highly competitive, primarily between Ford, Chevrolet/GMC and RAM, with Toyota in fourth place and Nissan on the verge of falling out. It remains to be seen whether the controversial Tesla Cybertruck can actually make a dent in this highly profitable segment.

The big truck market has always been a source of cash for Ford, GM and Stellantis, and it’s more important than ever right now as those companies have to invest heavily to launch electric vehicles. The profit from the sale of the truck compensates for all the money lost. That’s why Ford and others have to keep trucks fresh.

There are no fundamental changes to the 2024 F-150 and most of the aluminum sheet metal remains unchanged. The only visible exterior changes are to the front fascia, taillamps and wheels. The 2021-2023 trucks had a variety of grille designs for different trims, but all had a similar daytime running lamps that surround the headlamps and evolved to have a C-clamp.

For 2024, the base XL, STX, and XLT get a facelift that’s reminiscent of the F-150 of the early 1980s. The grille now extends to the outer edges of the face and now surrounds the standard LED headlights. A horizontal DRL vertically splits the high and low beam lights. The C-clamp theme continues on the Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum and Platinum Plus, but now extends down to wrap around the fog lamps in the bumper. Revised taillamps improve the look of the rear and the premium trims get LED lighting which looks more upscale.

There are effectively carryovers in the F-150’s cab design, with the biggest changes being the addition of a 12-inch infotainment screen as standard on all trim levels and the adoption of some new colors and materials on premium trims. Earlier lower trims had 8-inch screens. The SYNC 4 system has now been upgraded with a 5G modem, replacing the previous 4G LTE connection. The previous Limited trim is being replaced by the new Platinum Plus for 2024.

Features enabled by connectivity include stolen vehicle services. When enabled, the truck will automatically alert the owner’s phone if any attempt is made to tamper with or steal the truck. As GM’s OnStar has done for more than 15 years, the stolen vehicle service can also allow police to track and recover the vehicle.

Ford is also updating the BlueCruise hands-free driver assistance packaging on the F-150 for 2024. BlueCruise hardware will be included as standard on all trim levels from Lariat and above and will be optional on the XLT. Owners get a 90-day free trial of BlueCruise and after that they can opt for various monthly or annual subscriptions to continue using it. The 2024 launches with version 1.2 of BlueCruise which adds automatic lane change assist and lane repositioning when passing larger trucks. The use of BlueCruise on the F-150 should be improved with the optional head-up display that is offered for the first time on this truck. The HUD will have different display modes when used during normal driving, towing and BlueCruise.

Automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, and blindspot monitoring with cross traffic alert are also standard this year. Exit Alert is a new feature that uses the blindspot radar sensor to detect if a vehicle is approaching when the door is opened and provides an audible warning.

Under the hood, Ford is removing the previous base 3.3-liter naturally aspirated V6 and a 2.7-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 is now standard. The 2.7, 3.5-liter EcoBoost, 5.0-liter V8 and 3.5-liter PowerBoost hybrid are all unchanged for 2024. The most notable change is that Ford plans to double production capacity for hybrids.

Possibly the most interesting exterior change is the availability of the new Pro Access tailgate. In addition to the traditional swing down, the middle 36-inch part of the tailgate can now swing sideways to the right. The hinge has three detents to allow the center portion to open to 37, 70 or 100 degrees. The 37-degree position ensures the gate will not hit the trailer when towing, while the wider position allows easy access to items in the bed. A new optional pop-out step under the bumper also makes it easier to climb into the bed.

On off-road oriented Tremor models, there is a newly available modular front bumper that is chopped at the ends to allow a larger approach angle when tackling tough terrain. Another off-road ready option is the Ford Performance Winch Kit which includes a $12,000 winch. This kit is designed to bolt directly to the modular bumper and is dealer installed, unlike the winch-equipped bumpers now offered on the Jeep Wrangler. However, because the kit was designed by Ford, it includes a new front camera that is mounted on a bracket around the hitch to replace the grille mounted unit that would otherwise be obscured with ultrasonic parking sensors.

The Raptor and Raptor R also continue for the 2024 model year. When the third generation Raptor was launched it introduced new Fox live-valve dampers with active electronic compression damping adjustment. These remain standard on the 3.5-litre V6 Raptor with 35-inch tyres. Customers who select the optional 37-inch tire package or the supercharged V8 Raptor R will get new versions of these shocks with dual valves that also provide advanced active rebound damping. The supercharged V8 in the Raptor R is also being upgraded with more power, but Ford hasn’t yet said how much more power it will have than the current 700-hp.

While there are still plenty of trim levels available for the F-150 with standard, extended and crew cabs and multiple bed lengths, Ford is working to reduce the complexity. More features are packaged together and made standard on various trims. The number of manufacturable assemblies for the 2024 F-150 has been reduced by 90% compared to 2023. For example, there are now only 6 permutations of Raptor (not including colors) compared to more than 40 last year.