Manoli Katakis 
If you only gave this 2021 Ford F-150 interior photo a brief scan, you may not even notice anything different. Which, honestly, is fine. Pickup truck buyers – especially fleet buyers – are notoriously conservative in their preferences, and tend to value familiarity, consistency and quality over revolutionary, sometimes disruptive, changes. But look a little closer, and you will see some major differences from the outgoing pickup truck.
Starting with the center console touch screen, it’s clear that the new truck – in this case, the 2021 Ford F-150 Lariat – looks to make a big ‘wow’ factor with impressionable automotive media and consumers alike. Just by eyeballing it, we wouldn’t be surprised if that screen was somewhere around 11 inches diagonally measured. A fully digital instrument panel appears to be on the way, as well.
Perhaps the most interesting and innovate feature we see here is a “stow away” shifter. As pointed out by the original post on F150Gen14.com, the 2021 Ford F-150 will have the capability to fold the shift lever down in order to flatten the surface of the center console. This could come in handy for users looking for a flat surface to rest something such as a laptop, or for any other reason that requires this erect protrusion to get out of the way. Sometimes, it can be an inconvenience.
Anyway, beyond that, the overall layout of the 14th generation Ford F-150 appears to be much of the same as the previous generation. The HVAC controls are located on the bottom of the center console, just above the storage bin, with quick-access radio controls just above that. The steering wheel appears to be completely overhauled, but the ignition button may be a carryover part from before.
The 2021 Ford F-150 is scheduled to debut this year, as is the 2021 Ford Bronco and 2021 Bronco Sport. But the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted priorities, and Ford Motor Company has otherwise focused its resources on building masks, respirators and ventilators. We’ll see the official debut of the new F-150 soon, no doubt. But for now, there are much bigger things to worry about.
