I went to the dealer today, and obviously being closed I was surprised that they left a beautiful FX4 unlocked over the weekend for me to take a look at. Am I envious? Yes. As soon as I got in the truck the interior WREAKED of new car and fresh leather. The second thing I noticed was the perforated leather seats which also happened to be air-conditioned. A couple other little things like home-link and lockable diff in 2wd caught my eye. Another thing that pissed me off was the tuxedo black color which my salesman said they wouldn't see for 2-5 years after the Japan crisis. Maybe I'll email him and get a quote on a trade lol

Anyway, I thought I'd post a picture of the changes this year to show the differences.

Softer leather with an extra decor crease along the sides.


Perforated leather seats


****ing Air conditioned seats


2WD locking diff


New FX gauges (starting to like them)


Homelink


Tuxedo Black


Another FX4 with a nav unit, Definitely regret not getting this option; clears up the dash nicely.

 

And you can go one step further with the FX Appearance Package:

 

That appearance package is fugly!

 

I like the exterior and black dash trim. The red piping on the seats took some getting used to on my truck. Otherwise it's not so bad. I've gotten a lot of compliments about how nice the inside of my truck looks from people who don't usually compliment but if I had my choice I would not have gone the route Ford did with the seats. The dash trim looks a lot nicer IMO with it's brushed black aluminum look and metallic black panels.

 

That's odd your saleman said there won't be tuxedo black for 2 to 5 years. When I ordered my sterling gray I was told because of the japan quake, sterling gray is still possible just a much longer wait. I had to wait 3 months for my order because of it, but well worth it.

 

Not to sound ignorant or anything, but what do these colors have to do with Japan? Is it because of the flakes in the paint or something?

To the OP: Why would u go and sit in a new truck when u go to the dealership. That's just plain torture right there! haha

 

The paint additives for the sparkle of the tuxedo black are mfg in Japan. It was a major issue in 2011.

 

.......

 

I learned that the hard way....Never doing that again. The smell itself brought me back to day one when I got my truck lol. Oh well.


Regarding the appearance package, there's too much I don't like about it to ever consider it.

What I like: black trimmed grille, side stripe, PTM fender flares, running boards, emblems, red piping on the edge of seats
What I don't like: black dash trim, satin finish on what used to be chrome like dials and bezels, and the red inside the perforation on the seats reminds me of adidas gym shorts.....

I believe that the original FX interior is the perfect balance. 4 silver "columns" and shiny black door/dash trim. To me it's the best F-150 interior, especially with nav, and the appearance package just doesn't have a good balance to me. It's too black, almost bland looking to me. If I got a 2012 it wouldn't be the appearance package solely because of the interior.

 

I was at the dealer last week for an oil change. Sat in a harley davidson. As soon as I opened the door and the step folded out, I realized how much of a pos my XLT is lol. I need to save up some money...