Are you an innovation junkie? Miss the adrenaline rush of new gadgetry and being an early adopter?
If so, you'll want to check out the newest generation of Ford's heavier duty pickups, the 2017 Super Duty. Last week, we highlighted what's new, engineering-wise, with the aluminum-bodied workhorse. This time around, we look at comfort, convenience and safety.
If you don't follow pickups with the fervor of a fantasy football player you might not realize that Ford's full-size "light duty" F-150 has boasted a bigger, roomier cabin than the outgoing Super Duty big brother. That inequity - sort of like booking a hotel suite but getting the keys to a deluxe standard – is rectified for the 2017 Super Duty.
The solution? The Super Duty and F-150 now use the same cabs. The dividend is pretty dramatic for back-seaters in the SuperCrew and Crew Cab models. There's a half foot longer flat-load floor behind the front seats of the extended SuperCrew while the Crew Cab's is 3 inches longer. (The flat-load floor comes standard on the extended and crew cabs.) The doors of the 2017 SuperCrew now swing open 170 degrees, providing more clearance for passengers or loading and unloading.
Ford's planners jumped on every chance to stow stuff. What looks like a "Super Duty" trim piece on the passenger's side of the dash cleverly disguises one of two glove compartments. Center consoles are super-sized with amassive center armrest that can serve double duty as a mobile desk. Flip the armrest up reveals a bin that can easily swallow a laptop computer, charger and hanging file folders.
Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum Super Duty pickups with center console come with two 110-volt/400 watt outlets: one on the dash and one on the rear console.
Crew cabs are available with a divided and lockable storage compartment under the rear seats to keep things organized and tidy.
Lariat and above models also come with what's become the gold standard in North American infotainment and vehicle system interfaces: an 8-inch touchscreen. Ford's older, fussy and frustrating versions of Ford's SYNC threatened to sink Ford's customer satisfaction ratings but thankfully has been reimagined and executed with the SYNC 3 offered in the high-line models.
The big screen plays a major role in another 2017 technology upgrade: cameras. Ford has embraced the auto industry's move toward video. Up to six cameras pipe in video that helps with safety, maneuvering and hooking up a trailer. (Or seven if you throw in the windshield camera used for the lane departure warning system.) A grille camera, pioneered by Ford's Raptor, can provide 180 degrees of early warning. Cameras on the outside mirrors cover the sides of the truck if equipped with trailer reverse guidance and, in concert with the tailgate camera, team up to provide 360-degree coverage. The 2017 Super Duty can also be had with a camera that's integrated with the center high-mounted stoplight. This camera lets you monitor the bed area and helps connect fifth-wheel/gooseneck trailers.
Ford also offers a wired, waterproof factory-installed camera that is mounted to the customer's specification on trailers to let drivers monitor what they otherwise couldn't see. A 12-pin electrical connector is needed.
Like parallel parking, maneuvering a trailer is an analog knack that takes practice. Towing gets a digital nudge with Ford's available trailer reverse guidance system that, after it's set up for a particular trailer, uses the video cameras, color-coded guidance graphics, icons and side-view mirrors that adjust to a turning trailer.
Ford's also offering a trailer tire-pressure monitoring system for the 2017 Super Duty. The kit includes a trailer camera, four TPMS sensors, connectors, adapters and wiring harnesses. A TPMS module is mounted on the trailer.
The 2017 Super Duty crew cab can stretch 22 feet, stand 6.75 feet high and is 6.5 feet – excluding those big, work-ready side mirrors thrown in. So it helps that the truck can be had with adaptive cruise control that also works while you're pulling a trailer. Radar sensors in the tail lamps cover potential blind spots and can be optimized to adjust to the length of a trailer. A camera high in the windshield scans lane markings and warns if the truck strays audibly and sends vibrations to the steering wheel.
A backup camera is standard on XLT and above. If you want that with a warning sensor, you have to pop for the Lariat trim. (If you're wondering about the buy-in, a Lariat 2017 4x2 Crew Cab F-250 with the 6.2-liter gas V8 starts at $48,630.)
For 2017, the Super Duty also offers a version of the adaptive steering that's been available on Ford's Edge. In testing on a slalom course, the adaptive steering significantly reduced the number of turns necessary to wheel the big truck around. Thanks to electric power steering, the steering-wheel mounted adaptive steering module offers dual personalities: easy maneuvering on the street and steadier, more linear steering inputs at highway speeds and when towing.
An optioned out Super Duty can compete with a luxury car in creature comforts and amenities. In our first drives, the 2017 pickups were quiet, smooth and handled well for such a bulky vehicle. The front seats on a crew cab deliver about 170 degrees of recline, making naps on long trips a cinch. (The diesel 6.7-liter Power Stoke can make a Houston to Dallas round trip with plenty of fuel to spare.)
Incidentally, if, like me, catching the annual Perseid meteor shower is on your bucket list, the available dual panel panoramic moonroof is a big plus.