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The 2021 Ford F-150 Tremor seems like a perfect adversary to Ram’s 1500 Rebel and the Chevy Silverado Trail Boss. Oh, and don’t forget the half-ton GMC Sierra AT4, either. It looks certifiably tough, playing on the new generation’s revised styling with bright orange accents and 33-inch General Grabber all-terrains. Still, even with its off-road tech that’s arguably more impressive than its competitors’, it’s lacking a key option—a V8 engine.
Ford won’t sell the F-150 Tremor with anything other than the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. That means no 5.0-liter V8, no 3.0-liter PowerStroke diesel and no electrified PowerBoost variant. It makes you wonder why, then, if you can equip most other F-150s with any of these engine choices, excluding the top-shelf Limited.
It makes sense that Ford would leave lower-tier powertrains, like the 3.3-liter naturally aspirated V6 and the smaller 2.7-liter EcoBoost, off the shelf. The F-150 Tremor is a relatively premium trim all its own, after all, rather than a package that can be added onto any truck in the lineup like with Super Duty. As you’d expect, it was all done on purpose—no accidents here.
When The Drive hit Ford up asking if there were any mechanical reasons for the lone engine offering, a spokesperson replied, “No, not mechanical. More simplifying.” Ergo, it makes more financial sense for Ford to build the F-150 Tremor with only one powertrain option. This is nothing new and, if you’ve been in the market for any factory-fresh vehicle recently, you’ll know that certain options are only available when bundled with others. It’s done for the sake of manufacturing simplicity.
Still, it’s a shame you can’t pair the rugged four-wheeler’s special suspension with an easily modulated V8 for technical off-roading. While the EcoBoost may be better for Raptor-like Baja running and speedy trail action, the 5.0-liter’s grunt is arguably better for crawling over rocks and through tricky tight spots. And what’s more, it’d be great to have this—Ford’s most capable 4×4 pickup short of said Raptor—with the PowerBoost’s 7.2-kilowatt Pro Power Onboard generator. Instead, it comes standard with the 2.0-kW system you can get on any other F-150 with the big EcoBoost.
It’s a matter of preference, of course; the F-150 Tremor still has 400 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque. It’ll still tow 10,900 pounds, which is sure to be far better than the next-gen Raptor, and it boasts a max payload of 1,885 pounds. You get Trail Control, Trail One-Pedal Drive and even the Bronco’s handy Trail Turn Assist, all in a trusty F-150.
Just don’t expect a Coyote exhaust note.
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