BlackBetty18

Lariat if the wife is gonna drive it to, xlt if its more for work/off-road use. Less to go wrong. Go with your gut, both the same truck seperated by a name and do dads.

Muskiez

My last 2 trucks were both 302a packaged trucks. I was very happy with both trucks but always wished I had a couple of the Lariat options. About a year ago I bought my first Lariat. It’s a 501a as you are looking at. I must say this is hands down my favorite truck that I have ever owned. Mine doesn’t have the fake engine noise but all other options you listed are super enjoyable. Honestly for me it would be very tough to back to an xlt. The only problem is this truck has me wanting a 502a next which is considerably more money!

Westbayou

501A owner here, but a 2015. I can say this truck hit the happy spot for me in the budget/options space. Love the cooled seats and keyless start/entry. My truck doesn't have a sunroof (I hate them), and it didn't have the Sony upgraded stereo (that part sucked but I upgraded it to the factory Kicker system for like $250). It has navigation, but anyone who pays for that these days is nuts. Its useless.

When I bought my truck, all of the XLT rebates applied to the Lariat as well. I'd check with your dealership on that.

I've had the truck about 3 years and I'm happy with it still. I did however start looking at ordering a Raptor only to realize you have to order the 802A package on it for $9500 to get the same options I have on my 501A Lariat now. That's an expensive truck!!! Thus my truck got new wheels and tires and I'm gonna drive it for a while longer.

Fx2.7

Which Lariats have the fake engine noise. Does my favorite engine the 2.7 have it? Thanks

firecadet613

I've had two 302a trucks so far. Really was temped to get a 501a on this last one, but the big difference in rebates made that few thousand dollar difference grow to be $8,000 or so. Only thing I'm missing out on is the 4A, keyless, auto climate control and the leather.

The sport cloth heated seats warm up really quick - I was just in a rental Explorer Limited and the leather took much longer to let the heat through. The keyless was very nice but the auto climate control in my wife's Fusion - 71 is too cold and 72 is too hot, so I am ok with the manual in my 302a.

Slowly pricing out my next truck as I type this and it's about a $2600 difference, built with the same features. Rebate difference is $2450 so $5,000 from a 302a to 501a. Doing the math on trade ins, you'll get the money back when you sell - but you'll have that bigger payment while you own. Hard to say what I'll do - but if this is the tough decision I have to make - I'm truly blessed.

jserr68594

I went through and very carefully optioned the trucks the same. Here are the figures.


Lariat: $54,360 MSRP
Rebates -$2,550

Lariat Total: $51,810


XLT: $52,840 MSRP
Rebates: $5,500

XLT Total: $47,340


$51,810 (Lariat) - $47,340 (XLT) = $4,470 difference

If you take of $1,000 for the leather upgrade, the two trucks are only $3,470 apart. Also, with ford A plan, there is about an extra $500 that comes off a Lariat over and above the XLT (Lariat $6,000 off and XLT $5,500 off).

This really makes Lariat only $3,000 more leather aside. I think I've made my decision typing this. For $3,000, it is almost a no brainer!

WestOGuy

Only thing I wish I had were the LED headlights, and maybe 360 camera. I wanted tow mirrors, and it wouldn't fit in my single side garage, that's why I went Lariat -to get power fold. I then found out about a few extras you can't get on XLT (without a lot of work, expense, and/or time). No regrets going Lariat here - my previous 3 F150s were XL, and XLTs...but this Lariat is nice! (...oh, and pricey)

And I could be wrong, but I thought the augmented engine noise required the upgraded (b&o play)

SCrewYou

my 5.0 doesnt

naplesbill

I have owned a '15 and a '17 XLT. I am not a fan of the keyless entry or automatic climate controls. I also live in the South so 4A has very little appeal.

If you are just planning to buy and drive your truck the Lariat probably makes sense. I have never bough any vehicle and left it stock.

The higher the trim, the more I will throw away. I have replaced headlights, taillights and Sync 3 already. All those Lariat upgrades would have been a waste of money for me. I did put on tow mirrors, and I did replace both door harnesses to do so. I wish Ford offered the power folding tow mirrors as a dealer installed option. Honestly, replacing the harnesses was a piece of cake for me. It may seem overwhelming to many though.

I just ordered replacement leather seat covers. I will be doing the install myself. I truthfully prefer sitting on cloth, but it's too hard to keep them clean.

Sorry for the long post. My only point is that it really depends on what matters to you most, and how much you enjoy modifications. Also, there are often dealer incentives that you will not find when building on Ford's website. When I bought my '17, there were 10k in incentives on the XLT and only 2500 on the Lariat models.

Jfabes

I had a 17 302a and traded it for a 17 501a. Best decision ever and worth taking it in the *** on my 302a trade with only 5k miles. Besides what you listed the Lariat has the 8" dash display - much nicer, plus a 501a has blis, mirror spot lights and led tail lights. You really do get quite a bit more. Push button start is great.

Shop around you should be able to get $8-$9k off that Lariat and $10-$11k off that xlt.