2020 Ford F-250 offers unique, impressive options for truck consumers

While the F-250 is not quite as swanky as its smaller brother, the F-150, it still has plenty of nice touch points and excellent features to justify the bigger price tag. It’s less expensive than some iterations of the F-150, but has more power.

On looks, the F-250 is big and bulky, but in a fantastic way. My tester was the Tremor edition, which is the off-road package and is new for the Super Duty series this model year. Ford is attempting to make a name of the Tremor package similar to what Toyota has successfully done with the TRD package. As part of the Tremor package my tester had a 35-inch tires. It wasn’t quite a lifted truck, but it might as well have been.

Thank goodness for runners along the side as that made it much easier to get in and out. My tester’s shorter bed worked well for me and helped keep the F-250 visually smaller. The larger bed would’ve just made it a behemoth, although I understand those who prefer the larger bed.

Under the hood is one of the most talked-about engines among truck enthusiasts and definitely amongst Ford enthusiasts – the 7.3-liter Godzilla V8. What a great name for a big, powerful engine. This engine, which can be bought as a crate kit and placed in something as small as the Mustang, is full of power and torque. In the big F-250 it is absolutely the right engine for a truck this size.

The 7.3-liter engine in the Super Duty pickup cranks out best-in-class gas V8 output of 430 horsepower and best-in-class torque of 475 lbs.-ft. It has a maximum towing capacity of 15,000 pounds and a maximum payload of nearly 3,500 pounds. So not only is it a powerful engine, but it’s one capable of doing a lot of work. It appears like Ford has a hit on their hand with this engine option for the Super Duty.

When outfitted with the Tremor Package, the total towing (GVWR) is only 10,000 pounds as it’s meant to be more of an off-road beast.

The interior is so nice on this Super Duty. If this is a work truck, it’s certainly bare bones. Rather, it has high-quality touchpoints that remind me of the nicer trims of the F-150 – and that’s a good thing. The back seat is gigantic with ample legroom and shoulder room. You’d expect this from a big truck like this, but it still was noteworthy as it felt cavernous.

The new Ford Sync 3 system is outstanding. It’s a great, intuitive infotainment system that has excellent smart phone integration and plenty of high-tech features. There’s also plenty of storage pockets and a big center console, too.

My tester had a shockingly low starting price of $52,445. But the aforementioned Godzilla engine costs an extra $2,045 (but is so worth it) and the Tremor Off Road Package adds on another $3,975.

This is where you’d have to determine how you want to use this truck. Do you want to go off road? If so, then the Tremor package is worth it, but if you want more towing capability, then maybe save that cost.

Other packages added to my tester gave it a final MSRP of $72,480. Ouch! That’s a hefty price tag for a hefty truck.

The EPA doesn’t rate heavy duty trucks for fuel economy, so there’s no official rating for my tester. However, my tester averaged between 14 and 15 mpg which is impressive for such a big, heavy truck.

It’s well known that I’m not a “truck guy.” I often think many truck buyers are “over-trucked” – buying something more for status than usefulness. But I also believe to each their own and if that’s what you want to buy, it’s great to have options.

This Super Duty with the Godzilla engine and the Tremor Package is another addition and more options for the truck consumer.

Jimmy Dinsmore is a freelance automotive journalist.

2020 FORD F-250 SUPER DUTY 4X4 CREW CAB