Great Drive: Canada’s Sea-to-Sky in a Ford F-150

24/09/2022 21:19

I’m always up for a road trip. They’re my favourite kind of way to see new – and even old – places. Whether it’s as mundane as the 10-hour, straight-freeway schlep between Melbourne and Sydney, or something as scenic as the cliff-straddling Great Ocean Road, there’s always something new to see.

It’s more difficult to have ultimate go-anywhere ability when travelling overseas, what with the lack of a car at your disposal and strict itineraries to stick to, but even still I’ve shared some awesome road trip journeys with friends in several countries.

With this in mind, I was keen to notch up another scenic drive when a trip to Canada cropped up this month. I was headed to Vancouver for a wedding, but was keen to make the most of the 15-hour plane ride by packing in as much as possible into the week.

Thinking about what car would be opportune to drive while overseas, I asked if I could sample what we’ll be experiencing come 2023, with the advent of the Ford F-150 in Australia.  

That had me and my partner’s family behind the wheel of a 2022 Ford F-150 Tremor in Antimatter Blue. While the Tremor isn’t one of variants we’re set to be offered in Australia, it’s still worth getting excited about.

It’s effectively a Raptor-lite, with a 25mm wider stance over a regular F-150, all-terrain rubber, taller ground clearance, off-road-focused shock absorbers, high-grade creature comforts, and an orange colour scheme to signify the whole ordeal.

It sits in the F-150 range with off-road intentions, while bridging the gap between the F-150 FX4 and the full-fat F-150 Raptor. But more on the car soon – this is a road trip story.

Aside from acting as easy transport in a city I quickly learned had poor public transport infrastructure, I had even bigger plans to drive from Vancouver to Whistler via Highway 99, which is more commonly known as the Sea-to-Sky Highway.

The Sea-to-Sky Highway, as you can imagine, treads a path from the waters of Horseshoe Bay in Vancouver, and up towards the mountainous region surrounding Whistler and Pemberton.

Naturally, there are bite-the-back-of-your-hand gorgeous views no matter which direction you look. The entire 120km journey is littered with snow-capped mountains, bright blue lakes, luscious green tree canopies, and rocky cliff faces.

Unlike Australian highways which remain largely straight, British Columbia’s Highway 99 snakes and weaves its way around the land and alongside Howe Sound, a large triangular-ish body of water which is fed by mountain run-off.

The entire area is rich with indigenous history and has played home to the Squamish people for thousands of years. In recent memory, the land has been mined for its copper deposits and by 1929, played host to the largest copper mine in the British Empire.

The region is far better associated with tourism and snow sports today, with Whistler notably playing host to the 2010 Winter Olympics. The Sea-to-Sky Highway was upgraded in anticipation for the event and is now mainly a four-lane highway, with some stretches of single-lane at tighter points.

While the tarmac-only stretch mightn’t be much of a challenge for an off-road-ready full-size pick-up truck, it’s better to be prepared than not – especially in unfamiliar territory.

The Ford F-150 Tremor is a high-specification utility vehicle which sits above the Ford Ranger in terms of size, and below the larger Super Duty.

It’s powered by a 3.5-litre ‘Ecoboost’ V6 engine (which is shared in part with the Ford GT supercar) which runs its power through a 10-speed automatic transmission. Outputs total 298kW/678Nm. It’s the same engine we can expect under the bonnet of Australian-spec Ford F-150s when deliveries, set to start in the second half of 2023, get underway.

Its 4944kg towing ability is far greater than what Australians are used to with the Ford Ranger (3500kg) and raised ride height, off-road protection, and all-terrain tyres see it as the bush basher’s choice too.

You can tell a Tremor by its orange accents and decals, Raptor-style running boards, cut-out rear bumper with high-flow dual-exit exhaust, recovery hooks, and 18-inch matte black alloy wheels wrapped in General Grabber all-terrain tyres.

Inside you can choose from a series of packages which determine the equipment – our car was fitted with the Tremor High package which brought kit including a 12.0-inch digital instrument cluster, 12.0-inch central infotainment screen, adjustable pedals, heated/ventilated seats, leather upholstery, and an upgraded transfer case for the four-wheel-drive system.

Our car also selected one-off options such as the Pro Power on-board generator, two-pane panoramic sunroof, interior work surface, B&O 12-speaker sound system, Torsen front differential, and a power tailgate.

Without options it costs $CAD58,500 ($AU66,318) before on-road costs. By the time you add up all those options and have it delivered, it costs $CAD86,015 ($AU97,510). Phew.

It’s a big package to get your head around, not least because of its long spec list, but also due to its physical size. Particularly daunting is the thought of climbing aboard the wrong side of the car, driving on the wrong side of the road, in a vehicle which is far bigger than we’re used to in Australia. Gulp.

In any case, I took the F-150’s steering wheel with both hands and tried to come to terms with the task at hand. In earnest, confidence and care is key. The F-150 thankfully came with a full array of 360-degree cameras to help when parking, and visibility out of the cabin is very good.

Canadian roads are built for these kinds of cars, more so than Australia’s network. I was surprised to see lower-than-expected speed limits throughout Vancouver – suburban roads are generally 50km/h, built-up shopping areas are 30km/h, while freeways tend to be sign-posted 90km/h.

Though, like Australia, the speed limit changes often. Placarded signs are white and difficult to notice, so it was lucky the F-150 had speed sign recognition which displayed the limit in the big digital instrument cluster.

I spent a lot of time playing with the BlueCruise adaptive cruise control system which allows you to take your hands off the wheel. It only works on pre-defined divided highways and lets you know the function is available by making the entire cluster blue. It works well by keeping a sensible distance to the car in front and reacts quickly to changing conditions ahead.

But the Sea-to-Sky highway is a proper do-it-yourself drive which required full attention. The aim of the drive was to leave Vancouver early in the morning and end up in Whistler. With family in tow we left our accommodation early and headed north through Vancouver to start the journey just past Horseshoe Bay, which borders the west coast of the city.

Traffic is moderate leaving the city and it takes some time to battle our way out to Highway 99, but the scenery is fantastic nonetheless, even from the city. As soon as you hit Horseshoe Bay the highway snakes north alongside Howe Sound, leaving you with picturesque bay vistas on the left-hand side and rocky cliffs to the right. Not unlike the Great Ocean Road, in fact.

There’s a constant left-right-left-right rhythm to follow on the highway which satisfyingly flows. Whether its saltwater from the bay or freezing cold glacial lakes, there’s almost always a stunning body of water to look at. The panoramic roof was a favourite feature of the car which made looking directly upwards at the towering mountains a real treat.

It’s also a comfortable tourer. The seats might have rigid leather like the new Ford Ranger’s but they’re certainly not uncomfortable, and cater to all types of bodies. There is minimal bolstering meaning wider people won’t get pinched, though on the other hand there is minimal bucketing to keep you in your seat around corners.

Ride comfort is very impressive, as the big ute trundles over big bumps and undulations without getting bucked about. However, it does tend to shudder over small imperfections  and road joins which are reverberated through to the cabin. Yet, it doesn’t take away from the big truck feeling planted and sure of itself.

After all, there isn’t much of that experienced on the Sea-to-Sky Highway which is an impressively maintained piece of blacktop. After about an hour of travel on the we pull off to the town of Squamish for a coffee pit-stop. The town of roughly 30,000 inhabitants sits at the foothills of even larger mountains such as Black Tusk and Mt Garibaldi.

From here, the Sea-to-Sky Highway does away with the bay views to the west and replaces the scenery with thicker forest. It’s from this point that you start to notice sign posts warning of bears and wildlife, which I’m more than keen to spot. There are regular sightings of black bears and squirrel-like marmots, and there are even grizzly bears out there too.

The tree canopies fold away at various intervals to reveal snow-capped mountain peaks and brilliant-blue lakes, unfortunately there’s not too many lookout areas to stop and appreciate the view.

Just as well the F-150’s cabin is spacious enough that you don’t feel cramped or tired after hours of driving. There is a wide divide between driver and passenger, plus a huge space behind for second row passengers. In addition to fitting the family, the F-150 swallowed all accompanying backpacks, plus luggage in the tray.

You can easily access the spray-in bedliner tub by a powered tailgate, which folds down again to reveal a step ladder with handrail.

On the entertainment front, the SYNC infotainment system is still a highlight of any Ford product and displays detailed maps. Interestingly it’s not the same SYNC 4 portrait-mount screen found in the new Ford Ranger, but navigating between the various menu screens is simple, thanks to shortcuts along the bottom of the 12.0-inch screen. There is a healthy amount of physical buttons too, which we love.

The digital instrument cluster features cool graphics to show which driving mode you’re in. A wide array of storage is available for vehicle occupants, whether it’s the deep centre console, wide door pockets, large cupholders, or two-panel glovebox. In our car the gear selector folds out of the way, allowing the centre console lid to fold backwards and act as a flat-top work surface.

USB ports are on-hand to charge devices, as is a full-size AC port, 12-volt outlet, and a wireless phone charger.

Traffic becomes lighter the closer we get to Whistler village as it turns to a two-lane highway, but there are adequate overtaking lanes for the few cars that need to be dispatched. Much like the Ford Ranger in Australia which uses a 10-speed transmission, the F-150 takes a bit of time to work out the correct gear to serve up on accelerator prods.

But once the F-150 kicks down you get a wave of power to propel the 2320kg vehicle forward. This is accompanied by a meaty exhaust note from the 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine, something we miss from the diesel-powered utes in Australia.

Coming up on Whistler it’s obvious the area is busy year-round with the village full of people on a sunny 26-degree Celsius day. That said, the town obvious swells to adopt the hordes of snow-goers throughout winter. We stop to take the gondola up to Blackcomb Peak, then across the void on the peak-to-peak gondola over to Whistler Mountain proper.

Though there’s some ice still glistening atop the mountains the valley below is lush green with life. You’re spoiled silly in terms of views from the top, with 360-degree vistas showcasing incredible mountain ranges and aqua blue glacial lakes below.

After a day’s adventuring around Whistler we came back down the mountain, to the village, and set off back to Vancouver in the late afternoon sun. The soft evening light plays beautifully over the surrounds and makes the two-hour journey home a breeze.

Unfortunately, I didn’t catch much of a glimpse of a bear close-up, though I spied two black bears from the gondola on the mountain, which meant I could return to Australia happy.

As for the transport, the F-150 Tremor is an all-purpose weapon I know Australians will love. It’s packed with just about everything you could want in a ute – stocked-up with useful tech and amenities, contains copious amounts of space for passengers and all their things, and boasts a characterful engine which even churns out a nice sound.

It’s a gargantuan pick-up whose size might prove cumbersome on our tighter roads, but the people interested in a full-size Ford pick-up won’t let that get in the way.

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