The Ford F-150 pickup truck is the best-selling vehicle in the USA. With the 2021 model, Ford has put in a giant interior upgrade. There’s a bigger touch screen, new HMI logic, improved connectivity, an innovative motorized desk—see how it works in this online video—and sleep worthy fold-flat seats.
According to Ford, customers are spending more and more time in their [trucks], using them for work and recreation. This reality led Ford to focus on comfort, versatility, and connectivity.
The ’21 truck has the newest version of Ford’s Sync infotainment system, with over-the-air software update capabilities. It will come with a larger central touch screen, with a much-simplified HMI. Breaking away from digital clusters that mimic the look and behavior of physical analog gauges, Ford has got rid of artificial needles and simulated chrome. Instead: simple, clean design with a focus on legibility. The amount of information presented simultaneously is greatly reduced, and key elements remain in one place so the driver’s eyes needn’t hunt and re-learn where to go with every variation.
Ford set up a partnership with navigation specialist TomTom to supply the Sync in-car navigation system; the F-150 is one of the first two models to be equipped (the other being the Mach-E).
It’s a global multi-year deal to power real-time traffic service, with twice the computing power of the previous generation. TomTom claims they can predict traffic changes such as congestion before they happen by processing more than 70 million driving hours every day, from millions of connected devices, and leveraging Sync’s increased computing power to update navigation systems every 30 seconds.
As for that desk, it’s available even if a bench front seat is specified. The bench-seat version of the moto-desk rotates into position from the back of the middle seat when it’s folded down. And speaking of seats, there’s now an option for what Ford calls Max Recline Seats. These front seats fold into an almost-completely- flat sleeping surface, nice for a nap to refresh from long hours on the road or job site.
