2015 Ford F-Series Super Duty: Back At The Top

To build a commercial-grade pickup truck in North America is to agree to participate in a perpetual arms race, a constant game of one-upmanship that centers around towing capacity, torque, and payload.  The 2015 Ford F-Series Super Duty is the latest group of pickups to engage in this endless torrent of turbodiesel tugging, and by virtue of being the newest, freshest platform on the block it has been able to victimize rivals from Chevrolet, GMC, and Ram with specs that are good enough to vault it into the class lead - for the time being.

Not afraid to show just how competent the new line-up of F-250, F-350, and F-450 pickups has become, Ford brought me out to West Virginia, a land of steep grades and truck escape lanes, to lug some of the heaviest loads through that state's forested valleys.  With competitors in tow, the 2015 Ford Super Duty put on an impressive act that will be hard for its equally-rugged adversaries to follow.

• Also: 2016 Ford Super Duty Prototype Goes Up In Flames

No Longer A Bridesmaid

Truth be told, the previous generation Ford F-Series Super Duty family was getting a little long in the tooth, inside and out, and it showed when compared against much newer commercial trucks from Ram and General Motors.  For 2015 Ford has more than caught up, starting out under the hood where its optional 6.7-litre Power Stroke turbodiesel V8 engine now produces 440 horsepower and an astounding 860 lb-ft of torque.  A six-speed automatic transmission sends that output to either the rear or all four-wheels (if the available four-wheel drive is ordered), and when paired with the F-350 chassis in a dual rear wheel configuration allows it to tow as much as 12,136 kilograms of fifth-wheel weight.  This is an improvement of 1,590 kilos over the previous generation truck, thanks in part to the more robust tuning of the Power Stroke diesel engine.

If you want even more grunt, you can opt for the F-450 and its incredible 25,000 kilogram gross combined weight rating, a figure that is difficult to duplicate without heading into the medium duty segment.  Further enhancements to the F-450 include upgraded suspension pieces, U-joints, and wheels and tires as compared to the F-250 and F-350.  There's 'whoa' paired with all of this 'go' in the form of a new exhaust brake that does an exceptional job of slowing the truck and trailer on a downward slope, especially if one manually cycles through the six-speed's ratios to give the truck's braking system a rest.

For those seeking a tougher, yet not quite military-spec pickup, the Ford F-250's single rear wheel configuration offers a gross combined weight rating of 14,000 kilograms, which is more than enough for most contracting needs.  You can still get the Power Stroke turbodiesel V8 with the F-250 - and indeed, most versions of the Super Duty will be ordered with this motor - but there's also a standard 6.2-litre gas-fired V8 to consider, a unit which offers up 385 horses and 397 lb-ft of torque and which is matched to a different six-speed autobox.

Ready For Its Close-Up

Mechanically, the 2015 Ford F-Series Super Duty is beyond reproach, and for the current model year it has also considerably stepped up its game on the inside as well.  I rode around in the King Ranch edition of the F-250 and F-350, which are loaded with special western-themed leather, power adjustable pedals, a remote start system, and the MyFord Touch vehicle interface.  You can even go up to the Platinum trim level if you want to be thoroughly ensconced in modern pickup finery, but be prepared to pay a premium if you do: it's not difficult to push these trucks into the $70k range once the options dust has settled.  Ford is finally on-par with the Chevrolet and GMC HD trucks when it comes to interior accommodations, although I have to say that Ram continues to lead the luxury pack when it comes to high end truck cabins.

The F-Series Super Duty is available in regular, crew, and 'super' (read extended) cab configurations, with the latter still featuring a less convenient rear-hinged door setup for the second set of interior access points, and you can get up to a five metre (eight foot) box installed on the truck.  Ford also makes fleet-oriented XL and XLT models available with the Super Duty trucks, as well as a nice, but not over-the-top Lariat edition suitable for daily driver duties.

Pulling Even - And Then Some

After a day spent towing a number of fifth-wheel camping trailers back-to-back with comparable offerings from GM and Ram, as well as a jaunt in a lightly-loaded F-250, it became clear to me that Ford can once again claim to be at the forefront of the heavy duty pickup pack.  The unforgiving inclines of West Virginia weren't kind to the Chevrolet Silverado 3500 HD, but the Ram 3500 proved to be a near-equal match to the F-350 Super Duty in all but the toughest of driving situations.  As with any commercial-oriented vehicle, it all comes down to configuration: you need to order exactly what you need to get the most out of the Super Duty, or any heavy duty pickup platform.  With the 2015 edition of the Super Duty line-up, Ford has made available a dizzying number of possible combinations of power, capability, and comfort and put itself back in contention with the latest crop of contenders.