Which should I go with? Average use, some towing, but nothing serious.

You'll get lots of responses to this.

I had a '13 3.5 I bought because I had a fairly heavy boat to tow - not huge, but 7k-8k pounds loaded. Loved it for towing and highway driving.

Bought a '19. Don't have to tow the boat much anymore, but still bought another 3.5 because that was what I was used to. People really love the 2.7 now, but I (perhaps in my imagination) could feel a little hesitation on highway acceleration as compared to the 3.5.

Plenty of people love the V8, but I think both the V6s are better.

I believe the 2.7 will tow most anything you need without trouble - you may not like the mileage, but if you don't tow much it won't be an issue. Most people love it for its all around performance and mileage.

Drove a Boost XLT this weekend. That thing is quick, a lot quicker the the Boost in my '16. Got the traction control light to come on a few times gunning in on HWY 290. Haven't driven the V8 over the weekend yet.

Booooost!

One interesting thing about the 2.7 vs 5.0 is they have the same peak torque, but the 2.7's peak occurs 1000rpm sooner than the 5.0, making it quicker off the line with the same gearing. The 5.0 can get 3.73 gears as an option to help

tk for tu juan said:

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One interesting thing about the 2.7 vs 5.0 is they have the same peak torque, but the 2.7's peak occurs 1000rpm sooner than the 5.0, making it quicker off the line with the same gearing. The 5.0 can get 3.73 gears as an option to help

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Or go 3.5 with 3.73s.

The only 3.5 with 3.73s is the powerboost hybrid. The optional gear of the regular 3.5 boost is 3.55, but with 500 lb-ft it is still the obvious choice for converted Mustang drivers

tk for tu juan said:

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The only 3.5 with 3.73s is the powerboost hybrid. The optional gear of the regular 3.5 boost is 3.55, but with 500 lb-ft it is still the obvious choice for converted Mustang drivers

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Guess I was wrong, the 3.73s are available for the 3.5 if you are getting the long bed. I had only built the short bed layout in the build/price tool so it wouldn't let me select the 3.73.

The 5.0 is wasted without a tune to let it rev to it's happy place. I love that motor but it really needs boost to help with low end torque in a heavy truck. With boost and a tune it's a beast.

Few engines sound better than a Ford 5.0. My favorite part of the day was firing up my old coyote F150.

That said I'd go boost. It's getting harder to justify the larger displacement. If Ford would boost the 5.0 that would be killer.

Drive the 5.0 first, then the 3.5. It was a night and day difference when I bought my 19.

Only reason I would go with the 5.0 is if I wanted to put exhaust on it.

CStewTAMU said:

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V8 if you plan on keeping beyond the warranty.

Turbos are expensive. They won't last the life of the vehicle. They put greater stresses on the internal engine components. They operate at very high temperatures, are lubricated by engine oil, and can spin faster than a centrifuge that enriches uranium. They don't get better fuel economy unless you drive it like Grandma Moses. The exhaust sounds like a continuous fart. You can't beat physics.

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The cylinder deactivation on the 2021+ V8's has a lot of people questioning if you can compare to the reliability of V8s without them

Bitter Old Man said:

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I decided to go with the 3.5 boost. Honestly, what sold me was the cylinder deactivation. I had this on an old GMC Yukon, and I hated it.

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I have it on my 2020 Silverado 6.2L and it isn't noticeable at all. Wouldn't even know it if it wasn't disclosed.

My 2020 Challenger 392 has it as well and it's very noticeable. The car vibrates and the engine note changes when in 4 cylinder mode. There's also a noticeable power bump when 8 cylinder mode kicks back in.

Haven't driven the 5.0L with it yet, maybe Ford has it down as good as Chevy.

The auto start stop on the 6.2L is super annoying and completely pointless though.

Have it on my wife's Tahoe. I never notice it but I've heard it causes issues after a while.

The wife's expy max has the boost and I hate the start stop feature. Luckily there is a easy button on the dash

There's no replacement for displacement.

Yesterday said:

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Have it on my wife's Tahoe. I never notice it but I've heard it causes issues after a while.

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Supposedly it was changed for 2019 and they claim it won't cause problems anymore. Only time will tell.

CactusThomas said:

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There's no replacement for displacement.

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Damn straight, I'd swap out my 6.2L for a Texas Speed LT 427 if I had an extra $16K to blow.

Have a 5 v8 and love it in a 2017. Thinking about trading in 1-2 years. Any input on the new hybrid???

I hated my 2012 F-150 V8. It felt very underpowered. But I'm guessing they've made lots of huge improvements in almost 10 years.

easttexasaggie04 said:

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I hated my 2012 F-150 V8. It felt very underpowered. But I'm guessing they've made lots of huge improvements in almost 10 years.

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Yes, that generation F150 5.0L was a dog compared to the Gen 2 and Gen 3 motors. Huge improvements have been made.

aggieforester05 said:

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easttexasaggie04 said:

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I hated my 2012 F-150 V8. It felt very underpowered. But I'm guessing they've made lots of huge improvements in almost 10 years.

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Yes, that generation F150 5.0L was a dog compared to the Gen 2 and Gen 3 motors. Huge improvements have been made.

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But which one more reliable after 100k miles? Heard of issues from the newer generation ones but plenty new models have their issues

I don't really know for sure, but I'd go Gen 1 or 2 for reliability. 2 had better connecting rods. My Gen 2 had 52K miles at roughly 700hp when I totaled it. Was very reliable.

Gen 3 has no steel cylinder sleeve and many had oil consumption issues. I guess new ones are Gen 4 and have cylinder deactivation, so the jury is still out. Both Gen 3 and four have direct fuel injection, which can be expensive to repair.

Boosted 6.2, best of both worlds.