We were in this exact scenario. We went new for the warranty and so we could break it in properly. The improvements are a bonus, and we are very happy with our purchase.
Being an old school guy I went with the Ecoboost, and I have been amazed at the gas mileage. We got 38 MPG on our first road trip and we are averaging 27. If most of your driving is in the city they hybrid is definitely worth considering though. Drive both and choose the one that suits you best...
I just installed mine, only took an hour. The hardest part was figuring out the correct location and orientation of the two L brackets. I did need my breaker bar to get the two frame bolts out. Glad I have a '25 so I didn't have to work around the muffler!
Do yourself a favor and use a 1/4"...
Your picture looks like what I saw when I looked at mine a few days ago. The shield comes in two pieces and it looks like one has a drop down to clear the silver tube. Mine should be here is a couple days, I will let you know if there are any clearance issues.
It is, but I dont drive much at night and when I do it is in the city, I cant remember the last time I used high beams. If I did this I would want to do it in a way I could remove it though.
I talked them into programming mine but not mounting it, they seemed reluctant to do it bit I am not sure where I am going to mount it yet. In another thread a member mounted it on top of the bed rail behind the rear window, looks like a good spot.
I like the new front end, don't love it though. I have some black vinyl left over from putting stripes on my Mustang, and was thinking of blacking out the "ski jump" and maybe smoke the vertical part of the headlight, but this might be too much black on the front. Maybe someone with more skills...
I recieved a call, that mine was in and it is being installed tomorrow. Not sure where I want it mounted though, hoping they can just program it and hand it to me so I can figure out the best spot.