New Tranny In Town

It was a telling drag race up a hill with a 7 percent grade while towing a 9,900-pound trailer: a 2016 Ford F-150 with the original 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 and six-speed transmission versus the 2017 F-150 with the second-gen V-6 and new 10-speed transmission.

- Alisa Priddle

We don’t have official test results, but suffice it to say, it was a rout.

As it should be. The outgoing 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 has been available since 2011 and was getting long in the tooth. The new V-6 benefits from lessons learned on subsequent EcoBoost engines, such as the 2.7-liter V-6 for the 2015 model year. The result is a 10-horsepower boost to 375 hp while torque increases by 50 lb-ft to 470 at 3,500 rpm—plenty of grunt for its 12,200-pound tow rating.

The second-gen engine has the same displacement and bore centers, so it can be built on the same assembly line. Beyond that, every component is new, and the engine now has both direct- and port-injection (two injectors per cylinder), new turbochargers with lighter turbine wheels, and standard auto start/stop technology.