I had three 10th gen F150's
1997 Lariat Supercab 4.6 auto 2wd 3.55 non-LS diff - got about 15mpg all the time, driven hard. Very hard. Super reliable, but extremely under powered.
1999 Lariat Supercab 5.4 auto 2wd 3.55 LS-diff - Keep in mind, that 99' was the first year for PI heads on 5.4 engines. 99' was also the only year for aluminum intake manifolds on PI head 5.4's. Whether they flow better than the 00'+ plastic intake manifolds was always debatable. Compared to the 97' 4.6 F150 I had previously, the 5.4 threw the F150 around effortlessly. Burnouts, doughuts, and powerslides were just a throttle blip away. Ah, I was so young and stupid. LOL. Having a limited slip diff no doubt helped too. When it was stock, fuel economy was around 18 highway and 16 in town. After I lifted it with 33" Super Swampers, it dropped to about 13 in town, 15 highway.
2001 Lariat Supercrew 5.4 4x4 3.55 LS - Compared to the previous two trucks, this one was underpowered and you could 'feel the weight' of the truck as you drove it. It fell in between the 97 4.6 and 99' 5.4 as far as passing power and acceleration. Granted, it had the weight of a crew cab, transfer case, front diff, etc. to haul around too. Fuel economy was dismal - 13 on the highway, and about 11 in town. And that was at stock height with factory-sized tires.
I've been debating selling the ol' diesel and getting back into a 99-03 F150 Supercab. To me, it represents the best "cheap" all around truck to buy right now. They're old enough that finding a good one for under $3k is easy, but not so old that good ones are hard to find (i.e. 9th gen 92-96 F150s). They're also not plauged with the problematic cam phasers and two-piece spark plugs of the 04'+ models. Sure, the 2v 5.4 is only rated at 260hp, and doesn't put out much more without serious mods, but is about as reliable and easy to work on as an engine can get. When it's not spitting spark plugs, lol.
