Road Test - May, 2008

Road Test - May, 2008

Written by Tonya Kerr Friday, 23 May 2008

 

Just one look at the 2008 King Ranch version of Ford’s legendary F-150 and you’ll know times have changed in the world of pickup trucks. This is Texas-style luxury at its best and made for folks with one foot in the saddle and another in the board room.

I test drove a gorgeous Mahogany and Pueblo Gold 4x4 with a 5.4 liter V8 engine, and at first glance it looked larger than life sitting in my driveway next to the family SUV. This is Ford’s top-of-the-line F-150, although sneak-peeks of the 2009 Platinum edition already rivals this model. And while a lot of automakers are shifting into this luxury pickup market, the King Ranch stands out.

If you’re not from these parts, King Ranch is a 148-year-old Texas success story sitting on 825,000 acres southwest of Corpus Christi. King Ranch brings to mind a legendary hardworking enterprise with a little refinement and hospitality. Apparently this cross-marketing venture (also with Ford’s Expedition SUV) is already a proven success for Ford this year as it’s one of the top selling vehicles in its class.

That southern refinement hit me square in the face when I opened the door and caught an unmistakable whiff of the Castano leather, which is similar to the leather on the saddles used on the legendary ranch. It’s amazingly soft and covered everything from the seats to the steering wheel to the seatback pockets, which even had flaps like saddlebags. The new leather is beautiful, but even the rivots on my jeans caused scratches and scuffs, so just like a new pair of fine leather boots, it won’t look new for long.

The King Ranch “Running W” brand is stamped everywhere inside and out. Exterior trim is similar to Lariat F-150s (other models include XL, STX, XLT, FX4), but all of the branding, even down to each wheel, sets it apart. And at this model level, items such as luxury carpet, heated power seats, and power-folding mirrors come standard.

The King Ranch is SuperCrew only, which means it comes with four full-size doors. The truck’s bed comes in short or standard versions with a retail price from $35,495-$38,795. My truck, with several extras like a navigation system ($ 2,295), reverse camera ($450) and 20”aluminum wheels ($895), just to name a few, listed at $45,310. As with any new car, once you start adding features which don’t come standard, the sky’s the limit on how expensive the final price tag will be.

So, how does it drive? It was as smooth as any large SUV. It’s not the fastest or quickest half-ton tow vehicle in its class because it’s still a four-speed, but the engine was quiet on IH-35 as I put my pedal to the metal on a road trip to San Antonio. Five adults on a 200-mile roundtrip had no complaints and even raved about the cab’s great legroom. (The entertainment value of Sirius satellite radio was much appreciated when we got stuck in a two-hour traffic jam coming home).

I only averaged about 12 miles to the gallon on that adventure, so I decided to take advantage of the “flex-fuel” option, which meant the truck could also run on a blend of ethanol (E85). It was about 30 cents less than regular unleaded gasoline at the Tech Ridge H-E-B; however, the truck guzzled that fuel even faster. While there’s never a loss in performance when operating on E85, a gallon of ethanol contains less energy than a gallon of gasoline. That means FFVs (flex-fuel vehicles), like this King Ranch, will typically get about 20-30% fewer miles per gallon on E85. Needless to say, I switched back to regular gasoline on the next fill-up.

One feature worth mentioning is Ford’s “Cargo Management System.” It includes rails that can bear up to 1200 pounds each, two insulated storage bins, which kept my groceries cold. My favorite feature was a step that flipped down from the opened tailgate with a tailgate-mounted staff that popped up vertically, so I simply had to grab the staff and step up into the bed of the truck.

“High cotton,” as my granny would say, is a southern term to reflect the best of times, and it also aptly fits this 2008 King Ranch F-150. It’s a whole lot of luxury and utility combined, which also makes the King Ranch a great family vehicle for any super-mom who has a secret yearning for the Wild West.

Covert Ford the first auto dealer in Austin

Frank M. Covert, Sr., founded the first auto dealership in Central Texas.

“Back in 1909, my great, great grandfather was successfully selling real estate in Austin when someone walked up to him on the street in downtown and suggested he consider selling cars,” said Kenny Covert, general sales manager of Covert Ford. “It was the first car dealership in Central Texas, and a risky undertaking back then. But he put the family name behind it and concentrated on making customers happy.”

Kenny says that philosophy helped the family build the Covert Auto Group, which is composed of Covert Ford; Covert Cadillac/Buick/Pre-Owned; Covert Saturn; Covert Ford of Hutto; Covert Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac in Hutto, and Covert Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac & GMC in Bastrop.

“Without sounding too corny, we care about our customers,” said Kenny. “We count on referral business and generations of families who keep coming back because they can count on us.”

The dealership’s success is proudly displayed in a “Wall of History” with banners boasting that Covert Ford has been the #1 volume Ford dealer in Central Texas for several decades.

“We sold 2300 new Fords last year at this dealership alone. We were 36th in the nation,” said Kenny. “Already, year-to-date, we’re the 16th best selling Ford dealer in the nation.”

Kenny said Covert Ford has low turnover with the newest employee hired more than two years ago, and several more who have been there for decades.

All the Covert dealerships are closed Saturday so they can be open on Sunday.

“We figured out that farmers and ranchers are still working on Saturdays. Families with kids are playing soccer or Little League if they’re not at a UT football game,” Kenny said. “You can go almost anywhere for a good deal, but you won’t find the same family atmosphere that stands behind what we sell and service, like we do at Covert.”

Dealer facts:

• Covert family has been in business 99 years
• Older showroom with updates like Internet access and free popcorn

  

• Wall of History depicts business achievements such as No. 1 Volume Dealer in Central Texas
• 150 employees
• 600 new car inventory
• Community Involvement: Dell Children’s Hospital, Austin Smiles and youth-oriented programs

Area Ford Dealers

1. Covert Ford, 11514 Research Blvd. - Austin

2. Covert Ford of Hutto, 1200 A. Hwy. 79 East - Hutto

3. Mac Haik Ford Lincoln Mercury, 7201 S. IH 35 - Georgetown

4. Leif Johnson Ford, 501 E. Koenig Lane - Austin

5. Maxwell Ford, 5000 S. IH 35 - Austin

Kerr is a former TV news anchor and congressional press secretary . Contact her at roadtest@impactnews.com.