PHOENIX, Ariz.—Has
the definition of leadership in the heavy-duty/super-duty truck segment
changed since the last time Ford, Chevrolet/GMC, and Dodge brought out
new truck bruisers? Make no mistake: Horsepower, torque, towing and
payload are still the primary fields of battle for winning over
ranchers, construction workers and contractors. But we can add another
event to the heavy-duty Olympics, according to those customers—fuel
economy. That's right. Even with gas and diesel comfortably below $3.00 a
gallon in most parts of the U.S., fuel economy has become the new
torque when it comes to impressing customers. Ford, in fact, named fuel
economy as its leading concern when it set out to build a new diesel
engine after severing its relationship with diesel-engine supplier
Navistar. The results are surprising, and may well entice Dodge and
Chevy owners.
The Specs
The best bits of the redesigned Ford Super Duty are under the hood, in
the bed, and behind the instrument panel. Cosmetically speaking, the
front end has been redone to get the SD in line with the new Ford
F-Series design introduced for the 2009 model year. That means a front
fascia and grille that looks like Ford bought a few warehouses of chrome
cheap last year when companies were throwing over ballast to raise
money. Bigger headlamps are at the corners. The hood features a new
inverted power dome sculpted to conceal an all-new, Ford-designed
Powerstroke diesel engine.
Inside, the flow-through center console (aka contractor's desk drawer) has 60 percent more storage space, with 70 possible configurations. A handy 12-volt power point is inside the console, as well as a second power point and AC plug in the rear of the console, making laptops easy to plug in without an adapter. The rest of the interior layout is sharpened up, with evolutionary changes, which isn't bad considering the interior of the outgoing Super Duty model was more than respectable, especially in the top-of-the-line King Ranch edition. In the center stack, there's a new 4.2-inch "LCD Productivity" display that not only shows data like fuel economy and exterior temperature, but also allows drivers to log accumulated mileage on different trailers. Checklists for various trailer connections pop up as well. The input from customers on how to make it all user-friendly is in abundance.
Under the hood, the powertrains are all new. The 6.2-liter 16-valve V8 replaces the 5.4-liter. It's rated 385 hp at 5500 rpm and 405 lb-ft at 4500 rpm of torque. It's mated to Ford's new Torqshift six-speed automatic transmission. Even with the higher displacement, Ford said it managed to improve fuel economy by 15 percent. The optional diesel engine is the big story at Ford. Divorced from Navistar as its diesel supplier, Ford developed its own new Powerstroke engine. The diesel is rated at 390 hp at 2800 rpm and 735 lb-ft. of torque at 1600 rpm. Ford offers no manual transmission in the SD.
Conventional towing for the flex-fuel spark-ignition SD maxes out at 15,000 pounds of trailer weight. The Powerstroke diesel maxes out at 16,000 for the F-450 4x4 Crew Cab. That's for hitch-mounted trailers. Use a fifth-wheel trailer that connects to the bed above the rear axle and the Powerstroke tops out at 24,400 pounds. Maximum payload rating for the flex-fuel SD is 4600 pounds, and the max for the Powerstroke diesel is 6520.
Especially useful, if not downright ingenious (for the category) is the first-ever factory-installed and warrantied fifth-wheel and gooseneck substructure directly attached to the frame. Now, instead of paying a dealer or converter over $1000 to literally tear up the bed and understructure of a brand new truck to install cross-bracing and the gooseneck receiver, Ford has made it a clean $400 factory-installed option that only requires prying up a bed plug to access. We'd still like Dodge's bed-storage system in every truck, but this is a pretty big "gee-whiz" item for fifth-wheel towers. And let's not forget the availability of Ford's SYNC system and Ford Work Solutions. With these systems, the driver can wirelessly tie into a work office computer through the dashboard display.
Ford has a dizzying number of packages and versions, and too many combinations to list here. The styling packages, though, carry over from the outgoing SD: XL, XLT, Lariat and King Ranch. Dual rear-wheel versions are, of course, available. Prices will be very similar to today's trucks. The XL starting price today is $25,875, while the King Ranch version will be north of $60K.
Inside, the flow-through center console (aka contractor's desk drawer) has 60 percent more storage space, with 70 possible configurations. A handy 12-volt power point is inside the console, as well as a second power point and AC plug in the rear of the console, making laptops easy to plug in without an adapter. The rest of the interior layout is sharpened up, with evolutionary changes, which isn't bad considering the interior of the outgoing Super Duty model was more than respectable, especially in the top-of-the-line King Ranch edition. In the center stack, there's a new 4.2-inch "LCD Productivity" display that not only shows data like fuel economy and exterior temperature, but also allows drivers to log accumulated mileage on different trailers. Checklists for various trailer connections pop up as well. The input from customers on how to make it all user-friendly is in abundance.
Under the hood, the powertrains are all new. The 6.2-liter 16-valve V8 replaces the 5.4-liter. It's rated 385 hp at 5500 rpm and 405 lb-ft at 4500 rpm of torque. It's mated to Ford's new Torqshift six-speed automatic transmission. Even with the higher displacement, Ford said it managed to improve fuel economy by 15 percent. The optional diesel engine is the big story at Ford. Divorced from Navistar as its diesel supplier, Ford developed its own new Powerstroke engine. The diesel is rated at 390 hp at 2800 rpm and 735 lb-ft. of torque at 1600 rpm. Ford offers no manual transmission in the SD.
Conventional towing for the flex-fuel spark-ignition SD maxes out at 15,000 pounds of trailer weight. The Powerstroke diesel maxes out at 16,000 for the F-450 4x4 Crew Cab. That's for hitch-mounted trailers. Use a fifth-wheel trailer that connects to the bed above the rear axle and the Powerstroke tops out at 24,400 pounds. Maximum payload rating for the flex-fuel SD is 4600 pounds, and the max for the Powerstroke diesel is 6520.
Especially useful, if not downright ingenious (for the category) is the first-ever factory-installed and warrantied fifth-wheel and gooseneck substructure directly attached to the frame. Now, instead of paying a dealer or converter over $1000 to literally tear up the bed and understructure of a brand new truck to install cross-bracing and the gooseneck receiver, Ford has made it a clean $400 factory-installed option that only requires prying up a bed plug to access. We'd still like Dodge's bed-storage system in every truck, but this is a pretty big "gee-whiz" item for fifth-wheel towers. And let's not forget the availability of Ford's SYNC system and Ford Work Solutions. With these systems, the driver can wirelessly tie into a work office computer through the dashboard display.
Ford has a dizzying number of packages and versions, and too many combinations to list here. The styling packages, though, carry over from the outgoing SD: XL, XLT, Lariat and King Ranch. Dual rear-wheel versions are, of course, available. Prices will be very similar to today's trucks. The XL starting price today is $25,875, while the King Ranch version will be north of $60K.
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