A light-duty pickup truck like the Ford F-150 or the Chevy Silverado 1500 can be a great daily driver for those who split time between the metropolitan area of Jackson and the many rural surrounding regions. Either of these trucks will get good enough fuel economy not to earn you too high of a bill at the gas pump, so if you have to drive long stretches up and down Route 45 to job sites, your fuel budget won’t be too much of a concern. Plus, they both have dimensions that are easy to manage when navigating congested downtown streets.
It’s no surprise that as a Ford dealer near Jackson, we here at Steve Marsh Ford sell a lot of light-duty pickups to local drivers. For many shoppers, the choice comes down to the Ford F-150 or the Chevy Silverado 1500. Below, we’ll go over some important features to be aware of and why we think the F-150 is the better choice for Jackson drivers. And if the Ford F-150 piques your interest, we invite you to come in and our friendly and knowledgeable team will walk you through our extensive selection of F-150 models. They'll answer any questions you have and show you exactly why the F-150 has dominated the full-size truck market for decades.
The F-150 Has the Pro Power Onboard
A stand-out feature of the F-150 that drivers, car authorities, and critics everywhere can’t stop talking about is the Pro Power Onboard. This is the F-150’s onboard generator that essentially allows you to turn your truck into a mobile generator. The amount of power you’ll get access to will depend on the model you purchase, with the hybrid offering the highest output of 7.2 kilowatts. Overall, there are three power levels you can access that allow you to charge small devices like laptops and printers, midsize appliances like mini-fridges and coffee makers, and even power tools like a circular saw or hammer drill.
While Jackson is a bustling city where you always have plenty of access to outlets, as soon as you move to the smaller towns and areas like Humboldt or Medina, you don’t know what sort of electrical support you will find. So, if you have to set up for work at a remote job site where there are few or no power sources, you’ll love having this generator built into your vehicle. You can plug in portable lights to keep a job site illuminated after the sun sets or run important power tools to get the job done.
The Pro Power Onboard has everybody talking and empowers you to do more. Unfortunately, the Silverado 1500 does not offer a feature like this at this time. It has some outlets in its cab and bed, such as 120-volt outlets. You can plug small things like laptops and mini-fridges into these to handle some light tasks when you’re away from a wall outlet, but if you use your truck for serious jobs at remote job sites, only the F-150 will ensure you have the power you need for nearly any level of task.
The F-150 Has BlueCruise, One of the Best Hands-Free Driving Technologies
The F-150’s hands-free driving system, BlueCruise, has also been making headlines. In fact, Consumer Reports named it the best current hands-free active driver assist system. So, what makes BlueCruise so special? Like Chevy’s SuperCruise, it can take over steering, accelerating, and braking. It works with your adaptive cruise control system to maintain your desired speed while making necessary adjustments to maintain a set gap between your vehicle and the one in front of you. The systems rely on sensors, cameras, and GPS data to handle their tasks, including lane changes.
Both systems also have driver monitoring systems that supervise the driver to make sure you’re paying attention and alert you if they sense you taking your eyes off the road. They both work on many highways, freeways, and expressways. So, if both systems share these traits, what makes BlueCruise special?
Sometimes, you’re using your hands-free driver assist system and realize that you need to take over the wheel. Perhaps you see a pothole ahead, an object in the road, or something your system can’t detect and adjust for. So you grab the wheel. With BlueCruise, the system allows you to take over steering momentarily, and once you take your hands off the wheel, the system remains active. However, if you touch the wheel with Super Cruise, the system automatically deactivates. You have to re-engage it if you want to continue using it.
If your days involve long drives across Route 70, you might find it a nuisance to reactivate your hands-free driving system each time you touch the wheel. In fact, you might simply forget to do so, which can create a risk where you think the system is managing things like speed and distance, but it isn’t because you touched the wheel. Only BlueCruise relieves you of having to remember whether or not the system is on.
The F-150 Has Superior Seats
If you spend a lot of time in your pickup, then it’s important that you get comfortable. Achieving the ideal position not only helps you see better and fight aches and pains, but it can also fight fatigue on the road. Both the F-150 and the Silverado 1500 boast 10-way power adjustable driver seats with a memory function. That gives you plenty of options when it comes to getting your seat angle and height just right. Plus, it means that if someone messes with the seat settings, the memory function will recall your preferred ones.
The F-150, however, has something the Silverado 1500 doesn’t, which is available multicontour seats (found on the Platinum trim). These provide extra bolstering where you need it to prevent lower back pain, leg numbness, and other issues that come up on long drives. So when traffic backs up at South Highland Avenue near the Carl Perkins Civic Center (as it often does during rush hour), you won’t find your body dealing with aches and pains from sitting in the congestion for a half hour.
Find Your Ford F-150 With Us Today
If we’ve convinced you that the F-150 has the right features for commuters in and around Jackson, then we hope you’ll visit us at Steve Marsh Ford to get your own model. We carry this terrific full-size pickup and have a team of experts on the Ford family. We can assist you in selecting your ideal trim, whether that’s the work-ready XL, the off-road Tremor, the luxury Platinum, or one of the other models.
Just a short trip away from Jackson, we understand the road conditions and city layout of the Hub City. So we can confidently help you find the F-150 that fits your needs. Our team members will know the right questions to ask you to understand the features you want and which model will suit your needs and budget. There’s a reason the F-150 is one of the top-selling vehicles in America. Actually, there are plenty of reasons, and we think that once you get yours, you’ll understand why.