FORD F250 KEEPS WORKHORSE CAPABILITY WITHOUT SACRIFICING COMFORT OR STYLE
Heavy duty pickups are not for everyone, not even all truck enthusiasts, but if you really do need a bigger truck, the Ford’s 2020 F250 Super Duty certainly should be on your shopping list.
A real workhorse, the F250 lists a conventional towing capacity of up to 20,000 pounds, depending on the engine. cab configuration and box, and a maximum payload of over 4,200 pounds, which is a little more than you’re going to need for those weekend Home Depot/Lowe’s runs.
According to Ford, maximum capacity for conventional towing with the F150 is 10,500 pounds, though that goes up to 12,500/13,200 in select configurations and wheels/tires.
The new 7.3-liter V8 engine in the F250 is mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission featuring normal, tow/haul, eco, and deep sand/modes. It is rated at 430 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque for extra punch.
A 6.2-liter V8 is rated at 385 horsepower and and 430 pound-feet of torque and is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission only, not the 10-speed.
The 5.7-liter diesel V8 gets the 10-speed tranny, however, and is rated at 485 hp and a whopping 1,050 lb.-ft of torque! That’ll tow your boat!
All that power and capacity may be what separates the F250 from its popular smaller brother, the F150, but it is not the only thing the former has in its favor. While heavy duty pickups of the past were relatively short on creature comforts, the new F250 has all the trappings of a high-end family SUV.
Technological features available include Ford’s Pro Trailer Backup Assist for getting trailers into tight spaces. Trailer Reverse Guidance shows the trailer angle and direction while providing steering assists. Ford says the systems accommodate all trailer styles, including conventional, fifth-wheel, and gooseneck designs.
With its 4G LTE modem, standard FordPass Connect provides Wi-Fi access for up to 10 devices as well as wireless charging and charging through USB-C ports. Other features like lane-keeping alert, blind spot information, and pre-collision assist with automatic emergency breaking also are available as well as standard on some trims.
When it comes to standard equipment, XL models are fairly bare-bones (windows are manual) but include A/C, vinyl upholstery, telescoping tow mirrors, and a four-speaker sound system, but the list expands as you go up the line.
Limited trims up the comfort ante with two-tone genuine leather interior, wood and brushed aluminum trim, and decorative stitching on the leather-wrapped instrument panel top, leather-wrapped armrests and center console lid. A suede headliner adds a touch of class to the cabin
Lariat and King Ranch also add distinctive design touches.
That, of courses, jacks up the bottom line considerably from about $34,800 for the XL 4X2 regular cab to well over $60,000 or even $80,000 for loaded high-end trims and specialty models.
What I liked about the 2020 Ford F250 Super Duty pickup: The F250 is a great highway/expressway cruiser, and the interior is exceptionally nice. Gone are the days when comfort took a backseat to work chores in pickups. The Sync (XL) and Sync3 (other trims) infotainment systems are very user-friendly.
What I didn’t like about the 2020 Ford F250 Super Duty pickup: I don’t like having to wrangle a vehicle of this size around mall parking lots or through narrow city streets. Fortunately, the mirrors fold in for particularly tight squeezes.
Would I buy the 2020 Ford F250 Super Duty pick? It’s not for me and probably most pickup buyers, but not because it isn’t a good vehicle. It is. But the need for a Super Duty pickup isn’t going to be there for most consumers. Ford’s F150 fills the bill for them. But if you need the extra power to tow your yacht, the F250 will do it for you in style.
No comments:
Post a Comment