So my wife has a rental 21 Lariat

[865RangerVol]

I have a 2020 XLT Sport 4x4. Wife’s explorer is getting some recalls worked on.After driving her lariat rental I have some strange takes I need answered:

The cab/doors sound metallic and reverberate with a strange clang. Road noise is louder with this one. However, the overall ride is smoother. The Engine is quieter (no engine cover), shifts smoother, and the noise coming from the hood is smoother.

Literally the only thing I wish my truck had that the lariat does is the ‘21 Sync with navigation and all the doo dads “Sirius xm app with weather, traffic, sports scores,” and the mood lighting.

Thoughts?

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[slowmachine]

Assuming a reasonable service life for the truck (10+ years) the Sync 3 technology will age out and become annoyingly obsolete long before the truck itself. History says there will be no simple upgrade path, so you will want to trade-up to new much sooner than with a simpler truck. For me, the integrated navigation and excellent headlights are the most compelling Lariat features. Only you can decide if the extra cost is justified.

 

[Tom_C]

Agreed about sync. All the tech is cool, but the sync is a bit clunky. I like the keyless access on my lariat, and the adaptive cruise is the bomb.

 

[Joeiconic]

I test drove my XLT fx4 and a lariat fx4 back to back and i felt the cloth seats in the XLT were much more comfortable. I also have the tech pakage, so I have the nav, etc. I don’t feel like I’m missing anything I would actually use by going with the XLT.

 

[TBR17]

Went from a '20 Lariat 501A to a '21 XLT 301a with tech pkg and the only thing I miss is the push button and remote start (can remote start from ford app though), LED headlights/fogs. Wasn't worth the extra 4k+ this time. This truck is more comfortable to drive.

 

[VAMike]

The mood lighting is stupid, and clashes with the dash lighting. I haven't paid for a satellite radio subscription since podcasts became a thing. Nav is nice as a backup if you spend time in the boonies, but Android auto and waze are better most of the time. Best parts of the lariat imo are the auto brights, dual zone temperature, push button start, led lights, visor lights, rain sensing wipers, and body colored handles and bumpers. At least those are my memories of the differences from a couple of years ago, don't know how much Ford has taken away. Obviously these are all subjective.

 

[AuburnRanger]

I just went from a 2019 XLT 302A to a 2020 Lariat 501A. The engine to me definitely seems quieter with the engine cover. I have kids, so the leather was a big upgrade for me. The cloth seats are more plush, while the leather is more firm. For longer trips the leather is better on my back, but the cloth was more comfortable to sit in. Considering you can get Katzkin leather for around $1K installed, to me the only real benefits of the Lariat are the keyless entry and start, better radio, LED lights, and overall higher end feel in the interior with the leather wrapped dash. There are lots of little extras here and there that add up too I guess (Color matched handles, LED ambient lights, magnetic dash accents, garage opener, etc.) The Lariat has an "upgraded" dash cluster with 2 screens, but the XLT gauge cluster with analog speed, tach, gas, and temp gauges is miles better than the Lariat IMO. The 1 center screen shows more useful info that the 2 on the Lariat. All things considered, I'm really happy I upgraded to the Lariat, but it comes down to value to for me. Do I think it's worth an extra $4-5K you typically see in MSRP? Not really, but MSRP isn't really relevant. It's what you actually have to pay for it. It's definitely worth the extra $2K I paid to upgrade to upgrade to a 1 year newer truck and a higher trim level. When I originally bought my 2019 XLT, the price difference was close to $10K because of rebates. I wanted a Lariat, but it would have been stupid to pay that kind of premium.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I have a 2020 XLT Sport 4x4. Wife’s explorer is getting some recalls worked on.After driving her lariat rental I have some strange takes I need answered:

The cab/doors sound metallic and reverberate with a strange clang. Road noise is louder with this one. However, the overall ride is smoother. The Engine is quieter (no engine cover), shifts smoother, and the noise coming from the hood is smoother.

Literally the only thing I wish my truck had that the lariat does is the ‘21 Sync with navigation and all the doo dads “Sirius xm app with weather, traffic, sports scores,” and the mood lighting.

Thoughts?

Ford didn't put any type of anti-vibration or sound deadening material on the inside of the doors. With them being made from aluminum they sound much different than good old steel doors when being closed. The engine noise is hit/miss and all depends on the HPFP and injectors. Some are crazy loud while others are relatively quiet. The smoother shifting is likely the result of the transmission's adaptive learning system and how the truck has been driven. Most people tend to take it easy with loaner cars and the system would have adapted to this resulting in smoother shift points.

 

[slowmachine]

Ford didn't put any type of anti-vibration or sound deadening material on the inside of the doors. With them being made from aluminum they sound much different than good old steel doors when being closed. The engine noise is hit/miss and all depends on the HPFP and injectors. Some are crazy loud while others are relatively quiet. The smoother shifting is likely the result of the transmission's adaptive learning system and how the truck has been driven. Most people tend to take it easy with loaner cars and the system would have adapted to this resulting in smoother shift points.

The doors are not aluminum. You can grab a magnet and verify. Hood, fenders, and tailgate are aluminum. The rest is steel.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

The doors are not aluminum. You can grab a magnet and verify. Hood, fenders, and tailgate are aluminum. The rest is steel.

Huh.. I figured they were since they are on the F150's. Either way a bit of dynamat makes a world of difference.

 

[WhyNot21]

... Most people tend to take it easy with loaner cars...

Yeah, just like rental cars.

 

[Trigganometry]

Ford didn't put any type of anti-vibration or sound deadening material on the inside of the doors. With them being made from aluminum they sound much different than good old steel doors when being closed. The engine noise is hit/miss and all depends on the HPFP and injectors. Some are crazy loud while others are relatively quiet. The smoother shifting is likely the result of the transmission's adaptive learning system and how the truck has been driven. Most people tend to take it easy with loaner cars and the system would have adapted to this resulting in smoother shift points.

Doors are all steel. Aluminum is front hood, front fenders and tailgate. Everything else is steel

 

[slowmachine]

Huh.. I figured they were since they are on the F150's. Either way a bit of dynamat makes a world of difference.

Yeah, not sure of the rationale. At first, I thought it might have something to do with the structural strength of the passenger space for crash safety, but it seems like that would apply equally to the F150. I'm not losing any sleep over it. My new Toyota has a carbon fiber rear hatch that costs more than many used cars I have owned. Steel is fine.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Yeah, just like rental cars.

Not everyone drives loaner and rental cars like Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder.

 

[VAMike]

Yeah, not sure of the rationale. At first, I thought it might have something to do with the structural strength of the passenger space for crash safety

entirely cost driven--aluminium is more expensive than steel, so the less they have to use the happier they are (especially since the volume on the ranger is 1/10 that of the f150 so costs for more expensive production equipment aren't spread across as many units).

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