The 2017 Ford Super Duty packs 925 lb.-ft of torque, a chassis Ford says is 24 times stronger than its predecessor, and the implements and hardware to tackle virtually any towing or hauling job you might throw its way. It’s also jam-packed full of clever and thoughtful feature touches you’ll appreciate on the daily.
This is the latest in a line of the most big-ass trucks Ford sells, and a line of trucks very popular in my Northern locale, where people use giant diesel powered towing rigs as equal parts work truck and daily driver. Usually, you buy a hot car if you have a pile of cash for a vehicle burning a hole through your pocket like a Samsung smartphone. But where I come from, you buy a great big truck, with as much torque and chrome as possible, instead.
Don’t be fooled by its size, the 2017 Ford Super Duty (an F-350, in this case) is actually pretty relaxing and peaceful to drive.
And that’s nearly in spite of some pretty considerable specs and hardware. By making the 2017 Ford Super Duty out of things that weight less and are tougher, it’s a few hundred pounds lighter, but over 20 times stronger. Rancho shocks, skid plates, and oversized everything contribute to toughness and capability.
The 6.7 litre PowerStroke Turbodiesel V8 generates 445 horsepower, and a simply whopping 925 lbs. of torque. You can tow well beyond 20,000 lbs, and even more if you’re using a gooseneck, which the tester was built ready to accept via factory installed implements within its monster box. That’s accessed with an assisted power tailgate, and Ford’s handy step ladder gizmo, if you’ve got to get in back to do truck guy things. Funny—finally a Ford truck that really needs a step ladder, though it’s not quite long enough, or maybe I’m too short.
Climb aboard and you feel like you’re sitting in a great big glass box—thanks to the nearly seamless rear window, the panoramic roof, the downward swoop of the front window lines, and the tall windows. Layers of detail, colour and texture give the cabin a richness and depth that pull towards the price-tag, in this case, being the better part of a $100,000.
That’s a lot of money for a truck, say many folks, but unlike that hundred thousand dollar sports car, this thing is very useful, and just as much of a fashion statement where I come from.
Useful for the towing capacity, useful if you’ll use it to make money plowing or hauling, and useful too, if you’ll use it for daily life. In back, you’ll find room galore for big adults. Or, flip the seats up and snap this divider box into place to keep your gear and supplies organized. Fold it away, and you’ve got room for bikes, a week’s worth of camping gear, or a couple of large canines.
And this is only the start of the useful features you’ll find in the 2017 Ford Super Duty, to surprise and delight you on the daily.
Here’s a VIDEO highlighting some more.
Other notes? The new Ford Sync system has moved light-years ahead, it’s now a whole lot more logical, easy to use, responsive and clever than before. Much simpler to interface with, and it never crashed once on my test drive.
The engine? Well that’s the best part of the truck. It’s smooth, refined, very potent but despite its size and output, is hardly any louder than a Chevy Impala during gentle acceleration. And gentle acceleration off the line is hard to do, with all that torque engaged by just a millimeter of throttle application. But there’s huge output. It’s a bit of a hot-rod, actually. And all that power is a key reason many loyal Ford Super Duty shoppers keep coming back.
The ride? Rigid, jouncy and very leaf-springy on rough roads as can be expected, but notably forgiving and laid-back during a highway cruise, too. Like the engine, the suspension could get away with being a lot less refined, keeping its goals in mind.
Complaints? Some cabin materials seem a little low budget for use in a truck with this sort of price-tag, the steering is a little too light, lazy and vague to really lock the truck into its lane on the highway, a problem exasperated by the lane departure warning system. This vibrates the steering wheel, like a rumble strip, if you accidentally leave your lane, but the warning is so subtle, you’d hardly notice it’s there.
End of the day, a combination of upscale driving space, very handy and thoughtful feature touches, and very refined capability to spare really stand out here. If you’re in the market for a big heavy duty pickup, for whatever reason, and if clever touches, handy features and refined delivery of immense power are priorities, the new Ford Super Duty is worth a serious look.
