I came back to the top of my comment to start off with, "yes, I love this truck." Here's a full review of my likes and dislikes. Hope it helps.
I can't compare to the V6 because this is the first ST I've owned. Mine is a 4WD, not AWD, with the ability to lock in 4WD (for off-road or snow). The 4WD is not suitable for dry pavement. It's an auto 4WD, kicking in when it detects wheel spin, and you can't turn that off.
When I found this truck, I was excited because I previously owned an 2004 Mercury Mountaineer with the 4.6L (it was AWD), and quite frankly, it ran like a scalded dog. I've also owned 1996 and 2003 Mustangs with this engine, and the Mountaineer felt like a mustang engine in a heavier truck. My ST does not. It's most likely a throttle control issue. When you "get on it," the power comes in a rushing wave at higher RPM, almost like a turbo engine where higher RPM causes higher compression and power is non-linear.
That being said, it's a truck - not a Mustang. I just wish for more power off the bottom. As for towing, it'll pull more than it'll stop. I plan to add bigger brakes. (I've had plans for upgrades for a year since I bought it, but I've had other projects get in the way first. My wife thinks I have too many toys.)
For gas mileage, I usually get about 17 mpg combined, and I posted my record for an all-highway trip on here a while ago. I don't remember exactly, but it was around 21 mpg.
For 4WD, it's very capable. I haven't dogged it, and it does have low-profile tires with more of a highway tread, but the 4WD is priceless on boat ramps and pulling a trailer on wet grass. I will probably never go off-roading just for the hell of it, but when I've needed 4WD, it's been great.
The ride on the highway is great, lots of passing power, pretty quiet, and comfortable. The A/C is fantastic and had no problem with high 90's in temp and humidity here in central SC. The navigation is terrific, the SYNC works great with my Samsung GS4, and the SIRUIS has a feature that lets you put in a couple dozen favorite artists and songs and then notifies you when they're about to play on a different channel. It also has a SIRIUS Traffic/Link feature that includes weather info and radar, sports scores, and local movie listings. I consider this feature more novelty than useful, but that's mostly due to smartphone ubiquity. The stereo sounds great, there's bottle holders in the door pockets, there's no cubby hole for loose change, the seats are very good, the floor is hoseable (all rubber), there's a 12v charger, a USB connection, and a 3mm aux input inside the console, and there's a CD holder inside the console that holds a .380 perfectly.
The bed-liner has three built in storage compartments with rubber gaskets (that claim to "not" be waterproof, but mine have been so far), there's plenty of tie-downs, moldings for using 2x4s to create compartments or a flat surface on top of the wheel wells, and a 12v power supply in the bed. Mine came with a Class III/IV hitch with the seven-blade and the 4-pin connectors. The truck comes with trailer sway control which can be turned off. Thankfully, never had to see if it worked.
I had a mysterious, intermittent transmission fluid leak that finally went away for good. It would drip a few drops over a few days, and then disappear for a month. Other than that, I have had exactly zero "problems" with the truck. Oil changes are easy, and the rest of the fluids in the driveline are zero-maintenance until 150K miles (that's been debated on this forum a lot though). I have 76K miles on mine and there isn't even a rattle. It sounds as tight as a new truck.
Plus, it looks great and I get compliments on it all the time (when it's clean anyways).
That's about it, if you have any specific questions, fire away. I like talking about this truck.
