Ford F150 Super Crew and Ford F150 Regency Conversion

                                                                               By Dave Hamby

      Pickup trucks today have a degree of refinement I wouldn’t have dreamed possible twenty years ago. The 2003 FordF-150 Supercrew XLT I test drove exemplifies this to an extreme.

      This became obvious to me when I opened the door and looked into a large, spacious, luxurious interior. “Well thought out” are the words that keep coming to mind as I try to describe this truck. The front seats are large and extremely comfortable. I can see myself driving this truck for stretches of 500 miles at a time without feeling like I had been rode hard and put up wet. The rear seats are equally up to the task of providing maximum comfort for the occupants. The spacious interior provides plenty of head room, leg room, shoulder room and width for dimensionally challenged posteriors like my own.

      The adjustable steering wheel is exactly where I like it and all of the controls fall easily to hand and are easy to operate. The power seats are infinitely adjustable and this truck even has electric, adjustable pedals. I consider this a significant safety feature as well as a comfort item. There are too many folks driving around just inches away from an explosive air bag because they can’t reach the pedals. Should they be involved in an airbag deploying collision they’re certain to be injured by the safety device that’s supposed to protect them. These adjustable pedals allow everyone to access the pedals comfortably without being crunched up against the steering wheel. This is a feature I’d like to see in every vehicle.

      This truck has enough cup holders to throw a fraternity party in it, as well as numerous side pockets to allow you collect stuff (junk) and a large center console with the same volume of storage as a small suitcase. There’s also a large glove box and overhead storage for sunglasses. . It also has a pickup bed should you ever decide to haul a load of trash to the dump in high style.

      Outside viewing is excellent and the stereo is great. The air conditioning and ventilation and, I assume, heating is also superb. I say assume on the heating because I tested this truck on a warm day and I sure wasn’t going to sweat on the high quality leather the seats were covered with.

      After sitting in this lap of luxury, enjoying the A/C and digging some oldie moldies on the stereo for about fifteen minutes, Ray Garza, the salesman at Covert Ford who was helping me, tapped on the window with a worried look. I rolled the glass down and he asked, “Is everything OK.” “Sure,” I replied. “Why do you ask?” “I thought you were supposed to test drive it or something,” he responded. “Oh yeah!”

      Well, this Ford drives as good as the interior is comfortable. The engine is powerful and smooth, the transmission seamless, and the suspension has a comfortable ride as well as sure-footedness that you wouldn’t expect in a vehicle this size. There is very little wind noise unless you do something foolish, like roll down a window.   The only complaint I have is that the large General tires, (255/70/16) that this truck is equipped with have a lot of road noise for a vehicle that’s otherwise so refined.

      With a sticker price of under $30,000 and an EPA mileage rating of 16 mpg city and 20 mpg highway, this truck offers a lot of luxury for your money.

       After cruising around in high luxury, Ray had me check out a screaming yellow F-150 regular cab, step-side bed, Regency conversion. For an extra $6,000 over this V-8 truck’s $18,000 base price you get a truck with some really neat 20” wheels and fat tires, a Flowmaster cat-back exhaust with a really cool rumble, a two-tone charcoal interior with bright yellow face plates and switch bezels, and some neat stitching on the seat. There’s also a whole host of smaller add-ons like a window boulder that says “Regency”, license plate frames, Regency stickers, and so on.

      Cranking this super-flash truck up really made my pulse race.   Sadly though, this truck is all show and no go.   The Flow masters made it sound like a real hot-rod, and the wheels made it look low and mean. I measured it and it was actually about ¼ inch higher off the ground than the Supercrew.   When I drove it didn’t feel any more powerful. I’ve got to tell you though; it really looks and sounds good. I’m guessing this truck’s targeted for the young man who wants the Mustang but can’t afford the insurance. I couldn’t help but notice that it turned a lot more heads than the Mustang did.

      Twenty four years of driving a Ford truck, actually the same Ford truck, tells me that both of these pickups are going to be safe, dependable transportation. I can’t see me driving the Regency, but I can imagine some young man wanting to date one of my daughters in it. Me, I’ll take the luxury of the Supercrew.

This article originally appeared in the Round Rock Leader in a special automotive insert.