Our Thoughts Exactly: 2023 Ford F-150 Tremor

When I found out that Ford added the Tremor package to the F-150, I got pretty excited. They have been adding this off-road upgrade across their pickup truck lineup – including the Maverick. 

The Tremor takes the idea of the FX4 Off Road package to a space somewhere short of the F-150 Raptor. You can certainly do almost everything the Raptor does and save a few bucks in the process. 

Keep in mind that the truck business has yielded the highest price hikes in the automotive business in the past few years. The challenge of supply chain issues, resulting in pent up demand for pickup trucks that were stuck on the assembly line, certainly whetted the appetite of consumers. 

Now that the flood gates have opened, you are now pipped for choice. You can now find the F-150 of your choice on dealer lots right now – including the Tremor. 

Having driven the Tremor package in the Maverick, Ranger, and F-Series Super Duty, it was my chance to see how the off-road ready upgrade worked on the most popular vehicle on the planet. 

What is so different about the F-150 Tremor than anything else? In the other Ford trucks, it is offered as a package on several trim levels. For the F-150, it becomes its own trim level. I believe this is a better way to offer the Tremor to its customers.

Mechanically, the suspension gets beefed up with monotube shocks all around. On the outside, you will find bronze accents on the grille, headlamp units, and the side badge. There is a Tremor decal of the side of the bed. A set of 18-inch alloy wheels and 33-inch General Grabber all-terrain tires finish out the exterior details.

Inside, the bronze accents are found on the stitching and seat inserts. The word Tremor is stitched onto the upper part of the seatbacks.

The result is a distinctive F-150 that should never been seen as a “Raptor Lite” not an attached package to another trim. The Tremor has its own personality – and that is the way it should be. And, it is quite handsome. The bronze trimmings kick up the white-gray paint to another level. 

One thing we often forget to discuss are headlamps. On the F-150, the LED units are good at emitting the right amount of light at night. They also have a function that swivels on turns, which is highly appreciated. Another part of the lighting package is the Exterior Zone Lighting. This enhances illumination around the truck especially when there’s a lack of lighting in the area. 

Sometimes, details do make the difference in a vehicle. And, sometimes, they do not simply work out. We found that the edge of the seat belt receptable felt sharp. The B&O audio system sounded a bit flat, perhaps missing a subwoofer. Further, the rear speakers did not get very loud even when adjusting the front/rear fader. When streaming audio through the Bluetooth system, we noticed sometimes when other vehicle system sounds were to be played, it instead got a harsh distortion like sound instead. Maybe something might be wrong with the system in our tester? 

However, the 12-inch digital instrument screen was easy to read. The speedometer and tachometer simulated dials without all the speed markings make it easy to read. Also, the 12-inch SYNC 4-driven Infotainment screen was responsive. Wireless Apple Car Play was good, and it automatically reconnected when returning to the vehicle. 

The climate control system was good. We even love the available panoramic roof. Although, the vented driver’s seat could have used a little more oomph. In all, the F-150 Tremor’s interior was quiet from outside sounds, but there is a bit of tire hum noise that comes through the cabin. 

How does the F-150 Tremor drove? Throttle has quite a bit of initial response of the 440-horsepower 5.0-liter V8 when first pressed, then is less linear when pushing down through the pedal range. That was also attributed to the 10-speed automatic transmission. Yet, we did observe a fuel economy average of 16.9 MPG. 

We also found the ride quality and brakes to be good. Yet, we did find some “classic” pickup truck vibration and reverberation along the way. 

As for pricing, the 2023 Ford F-150 Tremor starts at $60,970. Our tester came with a sticker price of $74,040. 

One thing to explain why we focused on some things rather than others in this article. Well…someone was in the hospital during the time of the F-150 Tremor’s time with us. With that, I want to thank the other half of V&R, George, for diving into duty and worked with this truck. His observations were keener than mine sometimes, which is helpful (just watch the videos on our YouTube channel to see why). He also did the photos for this story. 

With that said, we certainly have our thoughts on the F-150 Tremor. I still believe that the pickup truck market has plenty of room for a rugged half-ton hauler that can do the task and deliver the fun. That’s all we want from a vehicle, such as the Ford F-150 Tremor. 

DISCLAIMER: Vehicle was provided by the Ford Motor Company

All photos by George Torline