A Powerful Workhorse for Odd Jobs
WHAT IS IT? A heavy-duty version of the F-150 designed for more serious towing and hauling while maintaining a high degree of pampering.
HOW MUCH? $57,260 as tested, although prices start around $23,000 for plebian models.
WHAT MAKES IT RUN? 6.4-liter V-8 turbo diesel with 350 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of peak torque; five-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive.
HOW MUCH CAN IT HOLD? Five adults (four will be more comfortable) while towing 12,500 pounds.
HOW THIRSTY IS IT? Big capability, probably big thirst. However, because the F-250 has a gross vehicle weight of more than 8,500 pounds, official E.P.A. mileage estimates are not required.
ALTERNATIVES: Heavy-duty pickups, including the Chevrolet Silverado 2500, GMC Sierra 2500 and Dodge Ram 2500.
I AM so common. While driving the 2008 Ford Super Duty F-250 pickup, I could not help thinking about Oddjob, the character from the 1964 James Bond film “Goldfinger.” I hoped for something more cerebral, perhaps an obscure but meaningful reference from Greek mythology. I got Ian Fleming.
Oddjob was the villain’s bodyguard, and while he wore a tuxedo, it could not conceal his power and antisocial tendencies, although nobody is perfect.
Like Oddjob, the Super Duty has a civilized layer. But just underneath there is a powerful creation designed for carrying or towing well beyond the limits of the light-duty F-150 pickup.
Unlike Oddjob, the Super Duty has no antisocial tendencies, unless you count flames shooting from the tailpipe on a few diesel models. More about that later.
The Super Duty lineup starts with the F-250 and moves up to more capable models, the F-350 and F-450. Prices start about $23,000, but can hit $60,000 with a lack of self-restraint.
The model I drove was a four-wheel drive crew cab in the King Ranch trim, which means fancy upgrades like special leather upholstery, and a price of $43,360.
The test vehicle had the optional $6,895 6.4-liter V-8 diesel, which requires a five-speed automatic ($1,490). Other options brought the total to $57,260, which redefines payload.
The King Ranch’s interior is upper class and the feeling of look-down superiority is heightened because passengers sit so high. Side-impact air bags, a valuable safety feature on cars, are not available, but Ford probably figures the greatest side-impact danger to occupants would be a low-flying plane.
One innovative option is a step that folds out of the tailgate to make it easy to climb into the bed, which otherwise would require an effort similar to reaching the base camp for Mount Everest.
The F-250 feels so big that it shrinks a two-lane country road to a roomy one-lane. This is just dandy except when encountering oncoming traffic, when things can get a bit crowded and scary for occupants of the approaching vehicle.
The ride and handling are acceptable for a serious work truck. That means comfy on smooth pavement, with the occupants taking a few knocks on a rough surface. But the driver is always well aware of the Super Duty’s considerable weight and sturdy-truck underpinnings.
The optional diesel, which has two turbochargers, is rated at 350 horsepower at 3,000 revolutions a minute and a huge 650 pound-feet of torque at only 2,000 r.p.m. The diesel’s easily accessed torque helps the F-250 quickly get big loads moving. Under hard acceleration the diesel’s meaningful work is done by about 3,100 r.p.m., at which point the transmission moves to the next gear.
There is more good news from the five-speed automatic. It is thoughtfully calibrated and was perceptive enough to hold a gear and maintain speed on a long uphill.
Ford said the model I drove could tow 12,500 pounds, or 3,300 pounds more than a comparable F-150. The F-250’s payload (the maximum weight of the cargo and passengers) is 2,410 pounds, about 850 more than a comparable F-150.
Now about those flames. In March, Ford recalled about 37,500 diesel Super Dutys after several reports of flames coming out of the tailpipe.
Daniel Jarvis, a Ford spokesman, said the problem occurred in engines that had been damaged by owners. In one case, the owner failed to allow the engine to warm properly in below-zero temperatures, Mr. Jarvis said. That damage allowed a small amount of fuel to reach a new antipollution filter in the exhaust designed to burn diesel particulates. The filter ignited the fuel, sending flames out of the exhaust, but no vehicles caught fire, he said.
The recalled vehicles are getting new software that will alert the driver of a fire while reducing fuel to the engine and ideally extinguishing the flames.
It is not only embarrassing for Ford, but it could mean a new problem with customer satisfaction: Super Duty owners who actually want a truck that spits fire.
CHRISTOPHER JENSEN
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