TEST DRIVE : FORD F150 SUPERCAB PROVES MAJOR MOVER.

Byline: John R. White The Boston Globe

The caller asked: Did I have a truck? Meaning, of course, a truck under review.

Yes, I had a truck, a Ford F150 Supercab - which led to the inevitable second question and the purpose of the call: Could I pick up a couple of file cabinets for the museum?

Having written about the no-frills F150, the job offer sounded like a good chance to test the Supercab, a bells-and-whistles edition.

This is a significantly different truck. It is a midlength, so to speak, an extended cab and a 6.5-foot box on a 139-inch wheelbase - you can have shorter (120-inch wheelbase) or longer (157-inch).

The hauling job turns out to be bigger, too. Far more than ``a couple of filing cabinets,'' there are three heavy tables with steel legs (to be disassembled), file cabinets (still full of files), a shop vacuum, wooden tool carts on wheels, an air compressor, fire extinguishers, a hand truck for moving barrels (with one square wheel), odds and ends of office equipment, and a drill press.

With a half ton of stuff to secure, the wisdom of Ford's tie-down design is readily apparent; cleats set into the box sides at all four corners, about a third of the way up from the floor, offer quick means of attachment - wrap the rope around or tie it.

It's fast, in both senses of the word.

Now it's off to deliver the goods. ``Smooth'' is the operating word driving with a mixed load. The 4.6-liter V-8 up front offers plenty of power, smoothly distributed through a 4-speed overdrive transmission. No problem with smooth acceleration or deceleration.

Empty, you can floor it and enjoy brisk acceleration; loaded, it is better to engage your brain and go easy on the foot. Anti-lock brakes at all four corners assure straight, smooth stopping.

For tough going, there is the electronically controlled all-wheel drive shift - Ford calls it full-time four-wheel drive but it's AWD any way you look at it.

Handling empty was fine; the ride was gentle - not exactly carlike but not a kidney-banging truck either. Under a load, the ride is smoother still and handling is still good, very carlike in its feel.

There is a bench seat for passengers behind, a seat that offers something less than the superlative comfort up front but enough room so that kids probably won't complain (except perhaps for constant cries of ``Are we there yet?'') and adults will weather short hauls without cause for complaint. Plenty of head room, folks, but knee room is a tad shy.

On the passenger side of the Supercab, a third door opens to expose the rear and affords easy entry for rear passengers.

The rear bench seat folds down to reveal a hard back that becomes a load floor. Unlike some of the competition, the front passenger shoulder belt is anchored to the truck body, not that third door. Rear outboard passengers have shoulder belts, too. And that third door cannot open unless the front passenger door is opened first.

The cab has a small glove box, big door bins, five cup-holders and two power points - one's a working cigar lighter. There's a lot of convenience built in.

THE FACTS

Base 4WD Supercab starts at $23,790, plus $615 destination (down from $640 in '96).

4.6-liter V-8 and 5-speed manual transmission (the regular cab comes with a 4.2-liter V-6).

Mileage: 14 miles per gallon city, 18 highway.

Tested model options: gearbox, AM/FM stereo cassette, air conditioning, power mirrors, tilt wheel, speed control, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes (rear-only is standard) and a trailer towing package for $26,597 delivered.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

Photo: The 4WD supercab starts at $23,790.

Box: THE FA CTS (See text)