Hello All,
I had a silver 2012 that I bought brand new and drove for 6+ years, I traded for a silver 2018 last week. Here are my thoughts after 300 miles of driving the new one. Let me start by saying these are my opinions and I don't want to start a nasty discussion over the whole Gen 1 vs Gen 2 thing. I loved my 2012 (both screws) but I had some tranny issues and then my AC went out and it was out of warranty so I decided to get a new one ( that truck only had 61K miles). I usually don't keep vehicles that long but I really liked that truck. That being said, here is my initial opinions about the 2018: 18.6 MPG!!!!! WTF?? I have been getting 11.9 when I baby the '12. The '18 is much faster and it just feels better to drive (perhaps the lighter weight?) They both have their exterior appeal and I would have to say the '18 wins only because of the cool LED lighting around the front end. The running boards definitely look better on the 12 IMO. Interior very similar but on the 12 I removed the rear headrests in order to see better out of the rear window. With the 18 they seem smaller and it is not necessary to take them out. The toggle switches are now overhead and seem to be in a better location. Overall the interior is about the same (18 has a cool "performance ford" in red on the door sill the does look nicer but the 12 floor matts seem to be heavier and look better than the 18. The 18 has paddle shifters that I doubt I will ever use and you can also choose the steering feel, something I won't use that much. The lumbar in the 18 is either electric or pneumatic where the 12 was mechanical. It does seem that the seats are a bit more comfortable in the 18. I got a nice trade-in value on the 12 so it wasn't a big deal for me to upgrade to the 2018. And yes I did say "upgrade" because many of you have ragged the Ecoboost but after driving it I say if you are contemplating on getting the Gen 2, you should go for it and I am sure you will be happy. These are only my opinions so please don't tell me how wrong I am. Full disclosure, I am a motorhead and have owned a 2006 Ford GT and currently have a 2015 Viper, (which is a superior vehicle performance-wise btw) also I still have my high school car- 1969 Mach 1 428 CJ 4 speed which used to seem quick but the old saying "there is no replacement for displacement" has been debunked. Probably half the cars today would beat that Mustang in the 1/4 mile when it used to smoke almost everyone back in the early 80's. Look at the new Ford GT and tell me you would rather have a Coyote under the hood. I am only putting this post up to help anyone that is looking for a firsthand account of comparing the two trucks. Thanks for reading if you made it this far!