Coming down to Texas allowed us city folk, who wonder what the big attraction of pickup trucks is about, to put the new F-150 through its paces in on-road and off-road driving. The route included twisty turns on two-lane asphalt roads, stretches of four-lane highway, as well as private "roads" -- in some cases, glorified cow paths -- that cut across cattle ranches. In some cases, we had to ford (yes, ford) across the shallow parts of streams.

This F-150 SuperCrew gets muddy in this publicity shot, which recreates some of the conditions that automotive journalists got to experience on a recent ride-and-drive near San Antonio, Texas. (Photo: Ford Motor Company)

Through it all, the F-150, even the luxurious Lariat version, which I personally wouldn't want to scratch up in the bush or slog through a mud hole, performed well.

The new Ford was noticeably quieter inside when compared to the current model and the competitor models that were available to drive.

The F-150 is the first pickup coming on the market to feature four doors on all three cab styles. With the rear-swinging rear door open on this regular cab model, it's easy to gain access to the extra six inches of storage space that Ford has added behind the seats. (Photo: Ford Motor Company)

The 2004 F-150 offers three cab choices, all with four doors. The Regular Cab has a single row of seats, while the rearward-swinging access doors reveal a behind-seat stowage area up to 13 inches deep. The SuperCab also has rearward swinging doors to access the second row seating area, along with optional rear door power windows and an optional power sliding rear window. And, the SuperCrew has two rows of seats and four forward-swinging full-size doors.

"The most important piece is the packaging, stretched the regular and SuperCab by six inches, giving them additional storage space inside" Davis said. "The SuperCab Lariat looks at rear passenger comfort, with seat backs at a 21 degree recline, the same as the front seats. And, we are the first to have four doors on all our cab styles."