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2015 Ford F-150 Borrows Mustang's Sport Mode, Was That Necessary?

Ford are calling their engineers "crazy-smart" because they blended the sport mode feature introduced by the new Mustang with a more industrious area, namely the F-150 pickup truck.
Ford F-150 1 photo
Photo: Ford
If you're wondering how did that happen, Ford's explanation might be the answer you want. The new 2015 Mustang and F-150 share certain automatic transmission components and engineers drove test mules of the two vehicles on the same roads used for testing.

“Our team realized how well the new F-150 handled and responded to acceleration due to its reduced weight,” said Karl Jungbluth, Ford transmission calibration engineer. “So we decided we could adapt the sport mode capabilities of the six-speed automatic transmission from Mustang to F-150 to enhance the overall driving experience for truck customers.”

Therefore, abracadabra, the utilitarian F-150 truck has a Sport Mode. Drivers can activate it by pushing the tow/haul mode button twice, and they receive confirmation about the change via an amber S located in the lower-right portion of the tachometer.

Once the Sport Mode is active, the magic starts to happen. In other words, the system changes the frequency of gearshifts, so the truck stays in the “sweet” spot of the powerband and holds lower gears longer, which, in theory, should translate into a more fun driving experience.

Although electronics calibration for this feature comes straight out of the 2015 Mustang, this is a truck we're talking here, so we won't take that for granted before we actually get to drive a Sport Mode-imbued Ford F-150.

In practice, this means less shifting on engaging drives, such as twisty roads with rolling hills. Also, you don't have to step on the pedal that often in the search for peak torque.

Ford claims the new gizmo offers similar performance and feeling similar to what an aftermarket modification might add to the truck, but with the benefit of maintaining the Ford vehicle warranty. Nonetheless, you can turn it on in two-wheel drive, four-wheel-drive automatic and four-wheel-drive high settings.
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