2021 Ford F-150 Max Recline Seats go flat out for sleep comfort

We've all needed to take a snooze in our vehicles at some time or another, and while a normal car seat is just OK for a nap, it's no mattress. But Ford took a look at the front seats in the new 2021 Ford F-150 and decided they could be improved for customers who need to snooze at a job site or some remote location. Hence the all-new F-150 is getting optional "Max Recline Seats" that really lay it all out for you.

The seats were "inspired by those adjustable beds you see on TV," said seat engineer Ben Kulhawik. Ford says its seat team took hundreds of hours of video and thousands of photos of customers using their trucks in the field, and more to the point, sleeping in them. Which surely has to be the most boring video and photographic collection ever assembled, but we're told the payoff is a more comfortable bunk for anyone who has a few minutes, or hours, available to slumber.

The secret is not just in the seat's ability to recline. When the seat back drops, the back of the seat cushion raises by 3.5 inches to provide a more level surface and to support the lower back. Meanwhile, the upper part of the seatback can be tilted forward to support the neck. 

“There are no additional motors in these seats – just a simple mechanism that relies on the customer moving the seatback using the power recline function,” said Kulhawik. “It’s simple, it’s effective, and we believe our customers will love how much more productive they can be just by getting a little more rest during downtime.”

Ford, in the video above, compares the seat to "a first-class experience on one of the better airlines." So it's no wonder that at the moment, the Max Recline Seats are an option only on the King Ranch and Platinum trims — but at a discount airline price of $340. No word on whether they might filter down into the lesser trim levels.