Four Reminders of Why the F-150 Is Our Favorite Truck

The battle for supremacy between full-size trucks has been going on for literal generations of drivers at this point. And yet, the Ford F-150 has been America’s top pick for the best truck on the road for more than 40 years, showcasing just how remarkable it is. This is a record that no other vehicle can come close to, and it’s one of the biggest reasons why so many people choose a Ford F-150 for sale when shopping for their next pickup. Even though the Ford lineup offers other great trucks, too, like the compact Maverick and midsize Ranger, we still turn to the F-150 any time we need serious power and performance, robust capabilities, and a truck that can handle anything we might imagine throwing at it. Even if you compare it to other impressive full-size models like the Chevy Silverado 1500, the F-150 still comes out on top, proving that nothing out there can top it.

First Reminder: The Amazing Engines and Performance

Many important things go into making a tremendous full-size truck, but we’d say the engine should always be at the top of the list. Whether you’re looking for a daily driver to get to work each day or need a pickup that can help you get your job done, the engine is responsible for all that. Ford understands this better than anyone else, which is easy to see when looking at the engines offered on the 2025 F-150. For starters, you have a 2.7L EcoBoost turbocharged V6 clocking in at 325 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque, paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission shared across all other engine options.

Then there’s an available 5.0L V8 engine with 400 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque, immediately taking performance up to another level. What’s even more impressive, however, is the 3.5L EcoBoost turbocharged V6 that’s available, which provides 400 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque, to say nothing of the insane High Output engines available on the F-150 Raptor models, but those are a little more specialized. Our favorite pick is the 3.5L PowerBoost hybrid V6 engine that delivers 430 hp and 570 lb-ft of torque, balancing remarkable power and fantastic performance.

When you compare these engines to something from another brand, like what Chevy offers for the 2025 Silverado 1500, they look even better. Chevy’s standard engine gets less horsepower but slightly more torque, making it a bit of a trade-off. Unfortunately for Chevy, its second offering is a 5.3L V8 engine with just 355 hp and 383 lb-ft of torque, which is generally worse than anything Ford offers. The available 6.2L V8 is better, with 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque, but you can see that it can’t compete with Ford’s V6 and its 500 lb-ft of torque. Even worse, the 495 lb-ft of torque offered by Chevy’s diesel engine is dragged down by a mere 305 hp. Meanwhile, that 3.5L PowerBoost hybrid V6 engine we mentioned earlier, at 430 hp and 570 lb-ft of torque, still manages to beat the diesel.

Second Reminder: Serious Towing and Payload Capabilities

Big performance numbers are great, but they don’t mean too much without some real-world capability behind them. Ford’s engineers work hard year after year to ensure the F-150 comes out on top in terms of its payload and towing potential, which we absolutely love. It’s one thing to feel massive horsepower and torque when you’re behind the wheel; it’s another thing to be able to haul a tremendous amount of weight in the bed or easily pull a big boat behind your truck. No matter which engine you want, Ford has you covered with impressive capabilities.

The starting engine on the F-150 has more than 8,000 lbs of towing capacity and more than 1,750 lbs of maximum payload. Going up to the turbocharged hybrid gets you more than 11,000 lbs of towing and more than 1,700 lbs of payload capacity while giving you an incredibly fun truck to drive. However, the EcoBoost turbocharged V6 is the winner with 13,500 lbs of towing capacity and 2,445 lbs of maximum payload capacity. By comparison, the Silverado 1500, with its most potent engine, tops out at 13,300 lbs of towing capacity but only 1,980 lbs of payload capacity, placing it almost 20% less than Ford’s maximums.

Third Reminder: Incredible Trim Levels and Options

Undeniably, there’s a lot to like about the Ford F-150, but when our minds are wandering, and we’re not sure what our favorite truck is, the selection of trim levels for this pickup is the perfect reminder. There are well over half a dozen trims for you to choose from if you’re considering a Ford F-150 for sale, starting with the XL, which is the ideal choice for a great work truck. From there, we see numerous upgrade options like the STX, XLT, and Lariat that all build on the starting model and take things further each step of the way.

One of the best things about this selection of trim levels is that Ford offers a couple of excellent off-road options, including the Tremor and the Raptor—you can’t go wrong with either one, each designed to meet different kinds of needs on the trail. You then have the King Ranch for enhanced comfort and tech features or the pinnacle Platinum trim that gives you the best of everything available for the F-150. Across these options, you can easily pick and choose the features you want, putting together the perfect truck you’ll love driving each day.

Fourth Reminder: Stunning Interior Features and Technology

Not only does the Ford F-150 have a great selection of trim levels, but you’ll also find incredible features and technology across them. Looking at the starting XL model, for example, we find a gorgeous 12-inch infotainment display joined by a second 12-inch Digital Productivity screen for you as the driver. Cruise control is standard to improve your time on the road, fade-to-off interior lighting, comfortable seating, and much more. By comparison, the Chevy Silverado’s standard features include a seven-inch infotainment screen and a 3.5-inch monochromatic Driver Information Center display. You can see that’s not even close to what Ford gives you.

If you want to talk about high-end features, we can look at the 2025 F-150 Platinum and everything it brings to your time on the road. It has Intelligent Access with Push-Button Start, so you can get in and get going quickly, with adaptive cruise control, rain-sensing windshield wipers, and even a heads-up display that projects information onto your windshield. You also get a wireless charging pad, ambient interior lighting, and a stunning B&O Unleashed sound system to enhance every moment you’re behind the wheel. We’ll admit that Chevy also offers some good stuff on its higher trim levels, like wireless charging and a seven-speaker Bose sound system. However, Ford still has the advantage in our book.

Ready to Meet Your New Favorite Truck?

With just the handful of things we’ve looked at today, it’s easy to see why the F-150 is our favorite truck—and the favorite of many other drivers out there. We didn’t even get into how gorgeous it looks, your options for different wheel sizes or interior upholsteries, or advanced functional technology like the Pro Power Onboard system and BlueCruise hands-free highway driving technology. Once you bring all these things together, you get a powerful truck with lots of muscle to handle anything you need and amazing features designed to improve your time with your pickup. That’s everything we look for and more in this type of vehicle, which is why we’re so sure the F-150 will be your favorite truck, too.