Ford Goes Positively Bonkers With Tech Infused 2016 F-150 Limited Pickup

Remember when most pickup trucks had metal dashboards, rollup windows, and a radio (and possibly a cassette deck if you splurged)? Even things like power windows and A/C were often luxuries just 30 years ago. But the times change, as does customer taste. Today, many of the pickup trucks that are bought today are better equipped than most entry-level luxury sedans.

To that point, Ford has introduced its most advanced F-150 to date and the company has thrown nearly every tech tool in its arsenal at its best-selling vehicle. The new 2016 F-150 Limited topples the already lush Platinum trim in the light-duty pickup truck range. On a purely cosmetic level, the F-150 Limited comes with 22-inch polished aluminum wheels, satin-finished chrome badging and door handles, a new grille, and fiddleback eucalyptus wood that isn’t shared with other members of the F-150 family.

While all of those frilly add-ons are nice, it’s the tech that Ford has included that makes the F-150 stand head and shoulders above its lesser siblings and the rest of the light-duty pickup truck fray. Inside, you’ll find heated, cooled, and multi-contour massaging black leather front seats, a 10-speaker Sony sound system, a panoramic moonroof, and SYNC 3 with AppLink.

As you recall, SYNC 3 is the BlackBerry QNX-based infotainment system that is replacing the oft-maligned MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch. SYNC 3 includes a faster 1.7GHz OMAP 5 processor, vastly improved UI, and voice recognition that is more adapt at deciphering conversational speech. The 2016 F-150 is among the first vehicles in Ford’s lineup to receive SYNC 3.

Moving on, the F-150 Limited features quad-beam LED headlights, remote start, power-deployable running boards, remote tailgate release (man, we’re really being pampered these days),Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) with Cross Traffic Alert, automatic lane keeping, dynamic trailer assist, and a 360-degree camera system. You’ll also find the nifty Pro Trailer Backup Assist functionality that we discussed back in late May.

As for the F-150’s powertrain, we hope that you like the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, as it’s the only engine available in this trim. The engine puts out a respectable 365hp and 420 lb-ft of torque, which helps contribute to the vehicle’s tow rating of 10,100 pounds. Ford’s 8-speed automatic transmission isn’t quite ready yet for truck duty, so you’ll find the old six-speed automatic on the F-150 Limited.

Ford hasn’t released pricing details for the 2016 F-150 Limited yet, but it the 2015 F-150 Platinum starts at $51,885. We could easily see the F-150 Limited approaching or even surpassing the $60,000 mark. If you think that’s too much to pay for a truck, you clearly don’t understand the desires of today’s truck buyers. The average transaction price for the F-150 has soared 9.2 percent ($3,700) year-over-year in June to $44,100.