J.D. Powers APEAL study offers insights into brands like Ford and what owners think of the vehicles they purchase from its dealers. This year, drivers who bought the F-150 rated their top likes about their recent purchases. Here, we’ll compare them to rivals like Chevy Silverado 1500 and Ram 1500 to see if Ford’s truck beats them out or not. 

What did 2023 Ford F-150 owners like about their purchase?

J.D. Power’s APEAL study showed that, after 90 days of ownership of the 2023 Ford F-150, owners decided they liked these three things the most: 

• Fuel economy
• Infotainment screens
• Headlights

Let’s look at each one a little closer. When it comes to fuel economy, Ford offers 20 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway (Lariat trim). If you compare that with the 2023 Chevy Silverado, which gets 19 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway, it’s no surprise that owners are happy with their F-150 pickups. The Ram 1500 comes in a close second out of the three with 20 mpg/25 mpg (city/highway). 

As for infotainment screens, the F-150 has an 8.0-inch screen standard on the lower trims. Some of the higher ones offer a 12-inch display. Ram’s 1500 also has a 12-inch display, which is standard on the higher trims, but the lower-level models get a 5.0-inch touchscreen. The Chevy Silverado beats them both, though, with an available 13.4-inch infotainment display.

Ford F-150 owners liked the effectiveness of the headlights on the truck. When it came to the Silverado, owners actually rated them as one of the things they didn’t like about their pickup. While there’s no data on what the owners of the 2023 Ram 1500 thought about them, we do see that the IIHS reports it has ‘Good’ rated headlights with decent visibility. 

How does J.D. Power’s APEAL study work?

J.D. Power associates send out surveys every year to gauge how owners feel about their vehicles after having them for approximately 90 days. The publication looks for the driver’s emotional attachment (or lack thereof) to see what they like and dislike about the vehicle. 

Drivers, like the Ford F-150 owners, are asked what they think about 37 aspects of the vehicle, including comfortability when climbing behind the wheel and their level of exhilaration when stepping on the accelerator. The site associates then gather the data and rate the top likes as well as the dislikes. 

The 2023 study showed that the four top brands for this year were Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, and BMW for premium brands. When it comes to mass-market brands, the site notes that Dodge, Ram, and GMC were the top three. 

How Ford F-150 owners rated their pickups

J.D. Power looks at the four main areas of Quality and Reliability, Driving Experience, Resale, and Dealership Experience. When it comes to reliability, the truck scored 86 out of 100 points, meaning it had few problems noted. Driving experience was rated 83 out of 100, showing that drivers felt it was comfortable as well as fun to drive. 

The resale value of the popular 2023 Ford F-150 got a score of 81 out of 100, which says that the truck will likely hold a good portion of its value over the next year or so. The last area, which concerns the purchasing experience at the brand’s dealership, shows that owners thought their experiences were a little above average, with a score of 79 out of 100. 

Ford F-150 owners seemed pretty pleased with their purchase, liking its headlight effectiveness, fuel economy ratings, and large available infotainment screens. J.D. Power notes that it received fairly high scores for reliability, driving and dealership experiences, and resale value.