I am looking at 2015+ F150 and I am debating between the 5.0 and the 3.5 Ecoboost. Anyone have any thoughts on the big differences between these engine, or like/dislikes of either of them?
My impression is that the 5.0 might get a little better mileage, but the Ecoboost is going to have a bit more power to it.
I am also considering a Ram 1500, but I really would like the aluminum body of the F-150. I know how the older Rams were with their paint/rust (had an 03′ 2500).
I have owned a 6 new fords I have had the 4.6 the 5.4 the 5.0 and now the 2.3 Eco boost.
I can honestly say I would go with the 5.0 I miss my 5.0 I am not impressed with my current eco boost. Small fuel tank. Good gas mileage but the second you put a trailer on it plan on gettin 13 to 14 mpg and filling up constantly. Go with the 5.0 most reliable engine ford made. Don’t waste your time like I did going with this pos Eco boost. I get a new truck every couple years and I won’t go back to this crap. If you plan on towing a boat get the 5.0. If you plan on going to Home Depot on a Saturday to get grass seed or with the wife to Costco to get groceries get the Eco boost.
Good luck on your search.
I have an 11′ 5.0 and absolutely love it. It is not my daily driver, so I really only purchased it to pull a trailer. It pulls like a dream and the mileage hardly drops when towing. I don’t haul anything heavy, but I can guarantee it will pull it smoothly. I would say all of my towing is 4,000lbs or less and you can barely tell it’s there. I have 2 friends with the eco-boost motors and one loves it (he’s never pulled a trailer) and the other wishes he had the 5.0…
If you plan on owning the truck for the long haul (pun intended), you can’t go wrong with an NA V8. So much less complex and a lot less parts to break…
Below is a copy of something I posted on another site when I was test driving F150s with the 3.5 Eco and the 5.0. Since my initial test drive in Aug 2014, I now have 40K+ miles on the truck with no issues at all. The dealer let me test drive both while towing the boat.
Both new F150’s had the 3.55 rear end, the 5.0L FX4 truck was fully loaded on the inside and 20″ tires/rims. The Eco boost had the standard FX4 interior and 18″ tires/rims (tires on both were all terrain)
I test drove the 5.0L with the boat first. It had good acceleration on the uphill on ramp to the highway with the nice V8 rumble. At crusing speed (70mph) it didnt need to down shift when going uphill on the highway (not a major hill though). When I accelerated to pass someone, it would down shift and you could feel that the boat was back there but is was a definite improvement over what I have been used to. When exiting the highway, the braking was not much different that what I have been used to (no trailer brakes for me). From the highway, we went onto a country backroad with more hills. The truck would downshift more often on this road (55 to 60mph and not using tow haul mode). Regarding any hesitation when towing, when I accelerated to pass someone, the downshift and acceleration was instantaneous but I could tell I was pulling the boat. From a stop, there was no hesitation on acceleration. Overall, I was impressed with the performance compared to what I was used to.
Next we hooked up to the Eco Boost. When pulling out from a stop sign, there is a slight hesitation (I would guess it to be less than 1/4 sec) but then you accelerate very well (better than the 5.0). Going uphill on the same on ramp to the highway, the acceleration is noticeably better than the 5.0 and it seemed to me that if the truck was already moving, the slight hesitation mentioned above was no longer there. Cruising speed on the highway was the same as the 5.0, it didnt downshift at all when going up small hills. When I accelerated to pass someone, you could not feel that there was a boat behind me at all – the acceleration made me think holy $^%#!. I noticed it and the Salesperson was the first to say it out loud. When exiting the highway, braking was no different than the 5.0L. When driving on the country backroad (55 to 60mph), the truck did not down shift at all (not using tow haul mode)
Once I got done with both test drives, there were 3 other people that asked which truck pulled the boat better (dealer employees) as they have never had anyone test drive both while towing something.
Just from research, I expected there to be a little difference between the 2 motors, but I was very surprised at how much the Eco boost outperformed the 5.0 while towing.
It would expect that when not towing, it would be much tougher to tell a difference in performance between them.
F150.
Bigstorm, did you end up with the Eco then? I will mainly be pulling a Sportfish 1850 or a couple wheelers on a sled trailer.
I found a truck I like, and it’s a Lariat with the 3.5 eco in it. Currently waiting to see what kind of deal they are willing to work with my trade. They also have a second truck I like, but it has the 5.0 and no leather and is a little cheaper.
bigstorm, did you end up buying the F150 with the Ecoboost? Just wondering. I have a 2013 with the 5.0 and am very pleased all around. I have heard from others disappointed with the Ecoboost. When I bought mine I just got what they had, an STX with the 5.0. Is there a cost difference, if so how much?
Yes I did go with the Eco. The truck with the 5.0 was also $4K more because of the interior package (heated/cooled leather, moonroof, larger Ford Sync touchscreen and other stuff I didn’t need). That said 50% of the miles I put on my truck, I am towing the boat or the ATV at least 30mi each way so I am very happy with my decision
Mechanically, both trucks I test drove were the same on all aspects other than the motor and the rim/tire size
Real world milage I am seeing is 18 to 19 highway (not towing with cruise set at 73 or so), towing I see 13.5 at same speed. Any headwind or tail wind impacts mileage for the better or worse as expected.
I have heard that the “upcharge” to go with the 3.5 Eco over the 5.0 is roughly $2K but am unable to back with up with any documentation, its just something a Ford dealer mechanic mentioned to me when I was truck shopping
I have a 2015 with the V8…. this was after having a 2012 with the Ecoboost. I went back to the V8 because I simply lost confidence in the ecoboost. Nothing specific, just had some odd flat spots develop, and others I know little issues. I run trucks up to about 50K, then trade them off. If I get stuck running one for the long haul, I personally want the V8.
The Ecoboost was hands down a more fun truck to drive, and it pulled my boat much better, like you didn’t even know it was there – hills, passing, anything, it was all better. I’m a little heavy on the peddle, and still lack a great impression from the V8, even more so with the boat on hills or such. BUT, that said, I am glad to have it… and I get better gas milage with this in any setting than I did with the Ecoboost. Not all apples to apples, as this is the lighter aluminum truck, but I get noticeably better mileage. Long time Ford guy, and every truck I have ever bought is better than the previous for ride and comfort. I did enjoy the 5.4 liter when that was an option.
Like Bigstorm, I had a buddy with a mid sized camper hook them both up, and he was shocked at how much better the 6 was….
I have a new F-150 with a 3.5 EB and my old truck F-150 had the 5.4L I pull a Trophy 175 and like the 3.5 much better, I think it has to do with more torque with the turbo’s. If you get a programmer to open up them Twin turbos up, it will make a big difference with a custom tune.
Don’t do it while it is under warranty…..
I have a ’12 SCrew FX4 with 3.73 rear end. Just over 80k on it now. I think the main difference is noted here, the 3.5 will out accelerate the 5.0 but that’s about the only difference. Up until I changed my tires I would get better MPGs than most reported with their Eco’s but since I have the new tires (Michelin LTX ms/2) I’ve lost about 10-15%. Don’t ask why, those tires are supposed to be good for mileage. Been a great truck, never lacked power towing the boat or otherwise. Personally, I’d only consider a V8, but that’s just me. Lot of happy ‘Boost owners out there.
Also, if I were to buy a new truck today, I’d seriously look at the Rams. The self leveling air suspension would be nice to have not to mention the more powerful Hemi (over the 5.0).
I was in the same boat trying to decide. I drove both, opted for the V8 in a 2014 and am very happy with the motor and pulls my heavy boat great. I’m going to trade up in the next year or two for the aluminum body and will have to decide 150 with v8 or 250 w 6.2 as I plan on pulling a camper as well. I absolutely love the 6 speed tranny, the 10 might be even better. Time will tell.
A friend has a dodge still under factory warranty with 20,000 miles and is rusting through the paint in 2 spots. Dodge won’t do anything about it. It was his 4th dodge I think and he’s finally had enough- they’ve all been traded when the rust started to show but this one was even sooner. In our climate and the amount of road salt they put down I don’t care what dodge has under the hood or suspension- I wouldn’t touch one just for that reason.
In our climate and the amount of road salt they put down I don’t care what dodge has under the hood or suspension- I wouldn’t touch one just for that reason.
That’s been an issue and was the reason I didn’t consider them when I bought my F150. I thought they’d fixed that problem. Guess that’s not the case. Good to know.
It’s really important to decide what you really need in a truck.
Pulling, payload, gas mileage, etc.
I have a ’15 with the 3.5 ecoboost for pulling my 20′ glass boat. I also wanted to buy a pickup camper. The f150 has 2000# payload capacity. This is why I bought the truck that i did.
The newest ecoboost engines do not have the same problems that the older ones experienced. The 2017 trucks now have a gen 2 ecoboost that has more power and lake likely won’t repeat those issues either.
And just an FYI. The aluminum body doesn’t do anything for fuel mileage. Ford did this for gvwr only. They gained payload and room for more “stuff”.
I went back and forth and did a lot of research. Like others have said. The eco will be more fun to drive and will leave the other trucks in their dust at the stop sign. It will also tow much easier, however the MPG while towing with the eco takes a big hit. Lots of power requires more BTUS. I’ve also read about the issues with the turbo and guys drilling weep holes and using catch cans and thing like that to reduce carbon buildup and such. I wanted to drive my truck a long time and went with the old school thinking of bigger is better and lasts longer, plus I must admit the throatier sound of the 5.0 is more pleasing. 
ECO VS 5.0 is the most popular question asked and there is no right answer. I can only tell you that I like mine and I’m getting 17-19MPG with a mix of hwy city. I REALLY like the 36 gallon tank too!
I have 2 years and 24k miles on a 2015 3.5 EccoBoost and have had zero issues. Max tow package pulls my 175 Tourney sport like a dream. Tows much better than my old (’03) 5.4L ever did, both with the same 3.55 gears.
Knowing that I drive them a long time, 12 years on the last one, I splurged for a 7 year warranty this go round just in case.
Good point on the 36 gal tank. They are very few and far between. That was one of the must haves when I bought mine. It really narrowed down the field. I think my dealer was getting a little ticked because i wouldn’t consider anything without a 36 gal tank.
This was the first truck I had ordered and I wish I would have added the bigger tank option. With the bigger tank I could probably get to Mille Lacs and back to the south metro on one tank, while pulling the boat. That trip is easy to do on a single tank without the boat.
Good point on the 36 gal tank. They are very few and far between. That was one of the must haves when I bought mine. It really narrowed down the field. I think my dealer was getting a little ticked because i wouldn’t consider anything without a 36 gal tank.
Both my super crews W/ 6.5 box had the 36gal tank
I have 2012 SuperCrew with 6.5 box and towing package and payload package. I currently have not had any issues with this truck after 90K on it. The only thing I did was changing plugs at 80K because of recommended maintainance due to carbon build up. I have always been a Chevy guy but at the time I was going back to a half ton mainly because of ride and I needed the 6.5 box in a real crew cab. Chevy didn’t have it. Went with the Eco as I had heard nothing but great things as far as pulling power. I also thought it would get better mileage than the 5.0 but I am not getting any better mileage than I did with my 6.0L Chevy HD’s. Quite honestly pulls just as good pulling my 20ft boats.
Hopefully it runs good for another 60K. I will say that I will be going back to Chevy now that I can get a real box in a crew cab. Plus I will get the 6.2 with the new transmission and get better gas mileage than the Eco. All personal preference.
Thanks,
RVRDUX
A friend has a dodge still under factory warranty with 20,000 miles and is rusting through the paint in 2 spots. Dodge won’t do anything about it. It was his 4th dodge I think and he’s finally had enough- they’ve all been traded when the rust started to show but this one was even sooner. In our climate and the amount of road salt they put down I don’t care what dodge has under the hood or suspension- I wouldn’t touch one just for that reason.
If this is true, send him to me… at 20K with rust that is not chipped off primer and paint, I can get RAM to pay for that all day. (I have never seen this at 20K under 3 years, love to see it) The perforation warranty is 5 years 100,000K. PM me and I can help him.
I can get 500 miles pulling 175 Alumacraft with 36 gal tank.
I can get 500 miles pulling 175 Alumacraft with 36 gal tank.
I think I get over 400 pulling my 20′ glass boat. I filled up only once going to rainy river and back home.
“I took it to JEFF BELZER’S and they attempted to fix it twice under warranty. After the second time Belzers gave up and so did Dodge! They told me there is nothing else they can do”
Water under the bridge at this point. It’s gone.
36 gallon tank? Wow, that would be nice except when filling it!
36 gallon tank? Wow, that would be nice except when filling it!
Yeah $4/gal gas is not going to be fun…
Thanks everyone, this is good info for me to consider. Still haven’t made up my mind, the rust issue is really the #1 issue for me with the engines on the Fords being the next decision. I am going to have to test drive in the next few weeks.
Ford – Aluminum=no rust – factory limited warranty.
Dodge – Possibly rust, but can get a lifetime warranty.
As long as there is no rust on the body I plan to drive the truck a long time and will rack up the miles driving to work daily (60 miles/day). For this reason the lifetime warranty could be a big benefit.
Ford will have a diesel in their half ton next model year, it’s the motor they designed for land Rover when they used to own them a few years ago, sounds like a good option as well.
I have always been a Chevy guy but at the time I was going back to a half ton mainly because of ride and I needed the 6.5 box in a real crew cab. Chevy didn’t have it.
Funny, because that is the sole reason I bought my 11′ Screw 6.5′ 5.0…I will also be going back to Chevy on the next go-around. Seriously contemplating a gas 2500 Crew 8′ for the simple fact of a longer bed, not for towing.
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