New Ford pickup packs punch

From page 30

opened wheii the right front
passenger door is open. This
new door makes getting in
and out of the rear area of the
Supercab much easier rhan
before.

Like the F-150, the F-250
is available as a 4X2 or 4X4 in
the standard ‘sty!eside’ body
style.. Unlike the F-150’s, the
F-250 js not available with the
‘flareside’ body style.

The heavy- duty F-250 has
a bigger standard cngine than
the F-150. F-150 pickups are
available with three engines: a
standard 205 horsepower 4.2-

-., lire OHV V6 engine, optional

220 horsepower 4.6-iitre V8,
and optional 235 horsepower
5.4-litre overhead cam V8.

. The F-250 comes standard
with the 4.6-liter V3, and the
§.4-liter V8 engine is an
option. (Note: over-8500-
GVWR F-Series pickups are
offered with a 5.8-litre OHV
V8, 7.3-litre OHV V8 turbo-

a diesel, ora 7.5-litre GHV V8

" engine.)

My test truck, ars F-250
regular cab 4X4, had the
optional 5.4-litre V8. Though
this engine has only 15 more
horsepower than the standard
4.6-litre V8 engine, it feels
much more powerful. The
5.4-litre engine achieves its
peak of 235 horsepower at
4,250 r.p.m. rather than 4,500
rp.n., and the same goes for
torque: the 5.4-litre engine’s
maximum of 330 ft.-Ibs. of
torque is developed at 3,200
r.p.m. compared to the 4.6’s -
maximum 290 fi.-Ibs. at 3,250
p.m. For the driver, this
means more immediate throt-
te respcnse and more “stump-
pulling” power for towing
heavier trailers and weightier
pavioad.

With the 5.4-litre V8
engine, the F-250 4X2’s maxi-
mum towing capacity is 8,700
Ibs./3,946 kg (the 4X4 will
tow 8,300 lbs./3,764 kg), up
500 lbs./227 kg from the
1996 F-250. Equipped with
the 4.6-litre engine, the 4X2
will tow 7,300 ibs./3,311 kg
(4X2) (4X4 6900 Ibs./3,136

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kg). In addition, the F-250
with the 5.4-litre engine will
tow about 500 [bs./227 kg
more than the F-150 with the
same engine.

In terms of payload, the F-
250 4X2 will carry up to
3,340 Ibs./1,535 kg while the
4X4 will haul up to 2,835
Ibs./1 286 ky (up by 1,075
ibs./488 kg from 1996). That
compares to the F-150’s maxi-
mum payloads of 2,435
Ibs./1,104 kg (4X2), and
1,765 Ibs./801 kg (4X4).

F-250’s with the standard
4.6-litre engine offer both five-
speed manual and four-speed
automatic transmissions — but
when equipped with the 5.4-
litre V8, only a four-speed
automatic transmission with
column shifter is available.

The F-250 exhibits much
improved handling and ride,
mainly due to a new indepen-
dent front suspension, wider
track, anid standard 16-inch
tires. 4X2°s have front springs
while 4X4's have front torsion
bars (to accommodate the
exua 4WD hardware),

However, the heavy duty F-
250 does have a stiffer nde
than the F-350.

The F-Series interior is
much more attractive and
user-friendly than previous
models. Instruments and con-
trols are well-marked and easy
to find, even at night. The
redesigned regular cab is five
inches (12.7 cm) longer to
allow the front seats more
room to recline and more stor-
age space behind the seats.
The Supercab offers an
optional 60/40 split rear scat
—- the seat cushion on one
side can be folded over to cre-
ate a flat load floor, while one
or two passengers can sit on
the other side. Suipercabs can
seat un £0 six passengers.

The F-Series was the first
pickup to offer standard dual
airbags. For safety, regular cab
models have a passenger ‘airbag
that can be deactivated when a
child seat is placed in the pas-
senger seat.

Other important new fea-
tures on the F-Series are a
locking, removable tailgate (so

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Service Zz

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it caa’t be stolen), stake holes
in the box walls, beam sup-
ports in the bed sides, and the
largest standard box in its
class.

Base 4X2 F-250's Regular
Cab pickups start at $22,279;
Supercabs begin at $24,679;

4X4 Regular Cab models are
$25,979, while Supercab
4X4’s are $27,969.

As betore, a myriad of
comfort and technical options
are available to suit the many
different uses these trucks are

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