2025 Ford F-150 Review: Hybrid V6 And New BlueCruise Help Find The Sweet Spot

I could tell you how well the Ford F-150 has sold over the years but, at this point, that seems fairly redundant. Life at the bleeding (sales) edge of pickups in the U.S. gives Ford a perennial marketing boast, but it also puts the F-150 in the sights of every would-be challenger, whether storied or startup. A big bed and some nice seats are no longer enough to be truck royalty: these days you need technology, and useful technology, to hold on to your crown.

Officially, Ford wanted me to test out the latest iteration of BlueCruise, its hands-free driving assistance system for highways. In fact, the F-150 is the first to get the very latest update to the tech, version 1.4, though other models in the automaker's range will follow shortly after.

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The truth of it, though, is that nobody is going to buy an F-150 solely for BlueCruise. And, equally true, the F-150 line-up has expanded over the years into a fairly arcane — and unarguably confusing — array of options, beyond just bed and cab size. With the EcoBoost Full Hybrid also in the mix, just where does the pickup sweet spot now lie?

Though the knee-jerk reaction to not picking a V8 isn't quite so strong — just like Ford's decision to switch to aluminum for the F-150's body now seems prescient, not preposterous — and the truck's various EcoBoost options are sound, I'd still spend my own money on the hybrid. Available on the XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, and Platinum trims, it's a $1,900 option on this 2025 F-150 SuperCrew Lariat.

It bumps the regular 3.5-liter turbo V6's 400 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque to 430 hp and 570 lb-ft, respectively, and includes both 4x4 and a 10-speed automatic transmission as standard. More important, from behind the wheel, it leaves the F-150 feeling more enthusiastic around town. The regular EcoBoost isn't especially prone to turbo lag, but adding electrification gives a welcome shove that helps you ignore the fact you're driving a hefty full-size truck.

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Also present on this particular F-150 was the $1,095 FX4 Off-Road Package. It adds Hill Descent Control and Rock Crawl Mode, off-road tuned front shocks and monotube rear shocks, and extra protection to the fuel tank, front diff, and transfer case. I'm not sure it made much difference to me in the Michigan snow and ice, but the Ford never felt less than sure-footed (and the 4A mode handled all-wheel drive transitions seamlessly).

The 2025 F-150 is the first of Ford's fleet to support BlueCruise 1.4, the automaker's hands-off highway driving assistant. Resolutely not self-driving (regardless of what other automakers might claim of their similarly Level 2 systems), BlueCruise expects drivers to pay attention to the road ahead and be poised to retake the wheel should issues arise. However, on stretches of pre-mapped highway, it can maintain lane position, speed and distance from the vehicle in front, and change lanes for you on demand.

Version 1.4 has a number of improvements, with Ford suggesting better performance in tight curves and narrow lanes — BlueCruise will already offset its lane positioning, if a larger vehicle like a truck is looming alongside — along with more resilience to sun reflecting into the sensors, and during periods of inclement weather. The success of the latter was my biggest question, given the snowy conditions in the Midwest winter that coincided with my loan.

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While nature declined to supply me with anything close to a whiteout or blizzard, the F-150 handled snowy and slushy lanes just fine, as well as reduced visibility. Quite honestly, I wouldn't want my ADAS to be active during weather conditions more tricky: BlueCruise's assisted lane changes (launched in v1.2), which are triggered by tapping the turn signal stalk, are reasonably conservative, but there were still a couple of times when the system would've been content to pull across even though a higher-speed car was approaching on the semi-slippery asphalt. Just as with retaking manual steering control, deciding when is — and isn't — a safe time and stretch of highway to use BlueCruise is down to the human driver.

Generally, I'm a fan of BlueCruise: though there are always a few miles of hesitancy, on my part, with any of these hands-off systems, Ford's tech is a confident and fairly reserved driver. I never had to weigh in for a bad decision, and — though far from scientific — it felt like the system deactivated less frequently due to road conditions, too.

There's still room for improvement, mind. Unlike GM's SuperCruise, which can automatically initiate a lane-change if the vehicle ahead is slower than the speed the system is set to, Ford's version currently won't do that. BlueCruise will suggest you change lane if you're traveling below your set speed for a period — I got the notification after a fairly long stretch at around 64 mph, when I'd set it to 70 mph — but we'll need to wait until BlueCruise 1.5 (likely to arrive later this year, and on the 2025 Mustang Mach-E first) for automatic lane changes.

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That, of course, highlights one of the strengths of these systems, with Ford able to push out new versions to vehicles already on the road. The downside is the subscription fee. Lariat and Tremor trim buyers get a 90-day trial of BlueCruise on the F-150, while King Ranch and Platinum get a full year of use. After that, it's $495 annually, or $49.99 per month.

There are more reasons to like the hybrid F-150 than just its on-road performance. Ford's Pro Power system basically turns the pickup into a mobile generator, capable of powering work sites, homes experiencing outages, and campsites.

While the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 — standard on the King Ranch, Platinum, Tremor, and Raptor trims — gets Pro Power with 2kW output, the more potent versions are saved for the hybrid engine. That means 2.4 kW standard (or 7.2 kW optional) is available on the XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, or Platinum trims with that engine. Now, an all-electric F-150 Lightning can deliver more juice — up to 9.6 kW — and tie into Ford's special home backup system that automatically switches over to the EV's battery if the grid goes down, but that doesn't make the hybrid systems disappointing.

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In the case of the 7.2 kW version on this F-150 Lariat, for $850 you get two 120V/20A outlets in the bed, capable of 2.4 kW apiece. Or, you can plug into the 240V/30A outlet, to get the full 7.2 KW. That's enough to run proper workshop equipment or, with a generator interlock kit or similar, keep the essentials in your home running during a power outage. It's a huge advantage, especially given most full EVs still don't have 240V output support yet. Ford also adds a number of 120V outlets in the cabin.

Inside, the middle-of-the-trim-walk Lariat straddles the worlds of work truck and a little luxury. The seats are clad in sturdy faux-leather, but they're still heated and ventilated in the front, paired with a heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel. There's a 12-inch touchscreen running SYNC4, dual-zone climate control, an embedded 5G modem with optional Wi-Fi hotspot, and a 360-degree camera, together with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support. Power-adjustable pedals, an 8-speaker B&O audio system, remote start and remote tailgate release, and a power-sliding rear window are also included on the Lariat.

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This particular example had the $7,725 Lariat High Equipment Group (502A), too. It adds a head-up display, an upgraded B&O audio system with 14 speakers, heated second row seats, and the Mobile Office Package. Press a button to lower the transmission shifter — it slowly whirs down flush with the console, like a Transformer taking a cold plunge — and you can unfold the front center armrest into a flat desk. 

Apparently F-150 drivers still like the reassurance of a physical shifter, hence Ford not replacing it with buttons, though I can't say I found its action forward and backward particularly satisfying.

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Ford is, at least, liberal with its cubbies and storage bins. In the back, the split rear bench folds up; the resulting floor isn't entirely flat, though. A twin-panel moonroof is $1,495, while the Pro Access tailgate is part of the $1,620 Bed Utility Package. $430 adds a retractable rear center step, while the FX4 Off-Road Package sensibly swaps the Lariat's carpets for tailored (and easy to clean) rubber floor mats.

Roaming higher through the F-150 trims certainly gets you a more lavish truck (or, in the case of the Raptor, a more aggressive one), but I can't help but feel like the Lariat is the sweet spot. It's not exactly cheap — frankly, no full-size pickup is cheap these days, unless it's in barebones work truck spec — but it's the cheapest way to get both the full hybrid drivetrain and BlueCruise.

With the electrification, a year of the hands-off driving assistance, and the 7.2 kW Pro Power Onboard upgrade, you're at $70,065 including destination. Ford's current incentives slice that down to just shy of $68k. Weather conditions over the week meant I couldn't do my usual gauge of economy, but the EPA's quoted 23 mpg combined comfortably nudges the hybrid V6 ahead of even the smallest 2.7-liter EcoBoost and the 5.0-liter V8 (20 and 19 mpg combined, respectively, in their 4WD forms).

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Chevrolet, meanwhile, will only sell you its Super Cruise option (currently around $6k after promotions) on a top-spec Silverado High Country (from $67,990 plus destination). While there's an all-electric Silverado EV, Chevy doesn't have a hybrid engine for the regular pickup.

For many truck buyers, what Chevrolet (or Ram, or anybody else) is doing in their dealerships won't make a jot of difference: brand loyalty arguably sells as many F-150 as the pickup's own talents might. The real question, then, might be whether Ford's updates on the tech side for 2025 leave this a more appealing vehicle, regardless of whether you're using it for work or play.

I continue to find BlueCruise — and similar hands-off highway assistance systems — compelling, though as always there's the important note of being thoroughly aware of just what the tech can, and can't do. For now, with its ability to automatically perform lane-changes in response to slower traffic ahead, GM's Super Cruise still has a practicality edge. However, the fact that Ford makes its system far more available across the F-150 line-up, and that its roadmap includes adding that functionality, means this particular horse race is far from a done-deal.

Combined with the full hybrid EcoBoost, though, it's a struggle not to recommend the F-150. Short of going for a fully-electric truck (at which point the F-150 Lightning wades into the fight), its combination of on-road enhancements and power features when parked are very nearly enough to have me wondering if I need a full-size pickup in my life (spoiler: I don't, but that doesn't stop me wanting one).