We're living in an interesting age when it comes to vehicle technology.
We still have to pay attention to the road, and stay vigilant at all times. We're not exactly cooking up breakfast on a hot plate during a commute yet, although somehow I think someone has done that. Yet, cars are also making things easier, albeit gradually and one mile at a time. There are safety features in cars today that worked OK a few years ago, but are now almost commonplace and working behind the scenes.
One good example of this? I recently tested the 2018 F-150 4x4 Supercrew Platinum truck, which has so many new tech features it's a little overwhelming. There are cameras scattered all around the truck, which are stitched together to give you a surround view in the touchscreen. There's even a camera pointed back in the truck bed. Lane-keeping is now common on luxury cars like the Audi A5 or maybe BMW and Acura models, but in a truck it's even more surprising--and maybe more helpful, given the massive size and weight of these load haulers or if you are towing a yacht.
However, I was most surprised to find out that the F-150 uses adaptive cruise control and can adjust to the speed of traffic, even all the way down to a full stop. In my testing, this meant I was able to drive in a morning commute to a coffee-shop without having to constantly speed up and slow down on my own. The truck handled those duties for me, and it worked amazingly well.
Why is this helpful? In a large truck, it's hard to be 100% vigilant at all times. I'm not saying we can now glance down at a phone and let the truck do the driving--keep that smartphone stashed away. And, we should pay attention at all times. But we're also human. In my drive, I glanced over at a snowmobile racetrack as one rider flipped in mid-air. I noticed a beautiful and sleek Alfa Romeo roadster driving next to me. I looked up at the sun rising off in the distance. During all three of those instances, my multi-ton behemoth coasted gently to a stop, then resumed without my intervention.
Up until this test, I'd never tested a truck with full-stop adaptive cruise control. If other trucks use the technology, I've never seen it or heard that it is available.
In most cases, if a vehicle has adaptive cruise, it works only on the highway or at slow speeds, but not down to zero and without any resume. I tested a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime recently, and it really only works at highway speeds. Volvo was one of the first to offer adaptive cruise in traffic and around a city, but you won't be loading carpet into the back of one of those sedans or wagons anytime soon.
My only real complaint here is that you do have to pay for all of this innovation--the long bed version of the F-150 costs $58,715. For comparison, the 2018 Ram 1500 truck costs just $26,495 in the base model. The tech features don't compare, but then again, if your goal is to move a couch and some chairs, both trucks will work just fine. I'm partial to the tech features in the Ford F-150 in the same way I prefer a high-end laptop and the iPhone X, but you might have to justify spending the extra cash for the tech perks.
As it stands, even in heavy traffic, the Ford F-150 handled the boring chore of constantly speeding up and slowing down, and has plenty of other impressive tech features. It's the best Ford pickup I've ever driven, and I've driven many of them. With and without a sunrise.