Big American pickup trucks are perennial best-sellers in the land of the stars and stripes, yet despite the Ford F-Series in particular being the best-selling vehicle in the US for the past 42 years, it's taken until now for it to officially hit our shores. Yes, even though the wave of factory-backed right-hand drive converted American vehicles kicked off in the 2010s, perhaps the most requested of them all – the Ford F-150 – has taken this long to arrive.
But is it too late? In America, the F-150 is the blue collar dream brought to you by the Blue Oval. This is a workhorse vehicle made for building sites, off-road expeditions, and hunting trips. The US anthem says it all: the land of the free and the home of the brave. This vehicle personifies that.
Australia, meanwhile, is now largely built around sky-high urbanism, alternative-milk lattes, and progressive politics. The great southern land might rival the US of A for size, but we all live in mega metropolises on the coast. Pickups – or rather, utes – are also our top sellers, but far more often they're seen on the school run or parked up spotless outside a trendy cafe.
This is simply an acknowledgement, not an editorialisation. I take my lattes with almond milk, I work indoors, and I have to go out of my usual way to get a vehicle plastered in mud. However, I did grow up in small towns outside of the city surrounded by farmland, so I understand the duality the F-150 must be capable of.
There'll be no deer shooting or Bud Light chugging today; I've never shot a gun and I don't drink. Instead, I wanted to see if the F-150 could hunt down what modern Aussies need it to: the best vegan brunch in the city.
To up the ante, this isn't the standard F-150, but rather the long wheelbase model. For an extra $995, taking the price tag of this fancy Lariat model over the $140k mark, it adds another foot to the F-150's already monstrous length. In metric, it measures 6184mm end to end – long enough to not fit a single parking spot in the entire country.
Despite the unwieldy size, it's surprisingly easy to pedal around in traffic. Perhaps it's the fact you can see everything for miles around you, but it's hardly the handful you might expect it to be. It carries itself with a relaxed vibe – chalk that up to the cushioning of the longer wheelbase and its plentiful low-down torque – which does resonate with the more traditional Aussie ideals not just for cars but for our lifestyle as well.
Get a few pints into it – premium unleaded, not beer – and its temperament will change though. You mightn't think it, but this will get from 0-100km/h quicker than some hot hatches. There's no official time, but performance testing by US publications pits it in the mid-five-second range.
Mind you, there's no brutish V8 under the bonnet – or should I say hood – but rather a twin-turbo V6. Yep, the F-150 has gone woke in the name of fuel economy, although the irony is that while it's more frugal than I expected, it's also far faster than an atmo V8 would be.
But that performance wasn't needed as photographer Marcus and I tried to trace down what could be the best vegan brunch in Adelaide. Instead, it was my knowledge of local roads and establishments, as this wasn't going to fit outside many spots – especially not the ultra-urban ones with only a pole to chain your fixed-gear bike to.
Fortunately, my number one pick is located on Greenhill Road in the suburb of Unley where there's apt parking space in the left lane during the middle of the day, meaning the F-150's length wasn't an issue. Ironically, though, the shopfront of this brunch spot is barely larger than the truck itself.
Sporting the Aussiest of names, Just Down the Road feels like the sort of establishment designed to serve Instagrammable sandwiches that more than lives up to the pictures. It isn't specifically a vegan joint, but I knew one sando on the menu which fit the brief perfectly for what I was after.
Dubbed the 'Rainbow Rye', it looks a beaut. Packed with avocado, asparagus, alfalfa, beetroot relish, carrot, and cucumber, it bills as a feast for the eyes and the palate. You might think taste is what's most important, but being photogenic is a particularly important part of what makes a good brunch. After all, if you went out for brunch and didn't post about it, did you even go out for brunch at all?
Fortunately, we struck a home run. The sun was shining, the roomy parking spot right out the front was free, and brunch lived up to the hype on all counts. One of the most visually stunning sandwiches I've ever seen, it's hard to fault on any front.
The flavour balance is spot on – chalk that up to the asparagus shoots and the relish in particular – and the inclusion of avocado made it feel that bit more filling, not to mention millennial-friendly. Plus, two dark slices of rye made for a heavy duty carbohydrate to match the heavy-duty truck I gazed out upon as I sipped an almond latte after. Clearly, this was a one shot hit for pinning down the best all-veg available. That's sustainable hunting right there; no needless harm burning up unnecessary fuel.
However, Marcus and I cheated. We went halves on the Rainbow Rye, but also halves on a fried chicken sando as well. Don't let that take away from the stunning hero sandwich here, but if you put fried chicken next to it, it's going to be hard to pass up.
As for the F-150, it remained true to itself more than our two-man content team did. Even in the most uncomfortable environment you could think of putting it in, it held its own. In Lariat specification especially – the highest offered in Australia, but only one below the US-only Platinum model – it looks surprisingly classy and comes packed with luxuries to keep you comfortable stuck in traffic.
Between its lounge-like heated and cooled seats, phenomenal Bang & Olufsen surround sound stereo complete with speakers in the headrests, big screen with a 360-degree camera to help manage its size, and brutish yet refined powertrain, this is a legitimate do-anything vehicle. It's just as home at the brunch spot as it is on the job site.
I can't think of anything it can't do. Well, except fitting in a parking spot.
2024 Ford F-150 Lariat LWB
Price (MSRP): A$140,945
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V6 petrol
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Drivetrain: Full-time 4WD
Power: 298kW // 405PS at 6000rpm
Torque: 678Nm // 500lb-ft at 3100rpm
Weight: 2555kg (kerb)
Economy: 12.5L/100km (claimed)
