10 Reasons the 2018 Ford F-250 is the AutoWeb Buyer’s Choice Best Heavy-Duty Truck

2018 Ford Super Duty XL front three quarter hero ・ Photo by Ford

The 2018 Ford F-250 is the winner of the AutoWeb Buyer's Choice Award for Best Heavy Duty Truck. Frankly, we at AutoWeb HQ were not surprised — freshly redesigned just last year, the F-250 Super Duty uses a lightweight aluminum body atop a newly fortified frame, and it's packed with technology specifically designed around the needs of heavy-duty pickup buyers. Let's take a closer look at the reasons buyers are choosing the F-250.

10. The 2018 Ford F-250 takes that heavy-duty thing seriously.

The whole purpose of a heavy-duty truck is to do the big jobs, and the F-250 has no shortage of brawn. Depending on how you configure it, the F-250 tows between and 12,300 and 18,000 pounds on a conventional hitch and up to 18,500 lbs on a gooseneck or fifth-wheel hitch. Maximum payload is between 3,130 and 4,200 lbs.

Exact towing and payload capacity depends on several factors, including cab/bed/wheelbase size, axle ratio, and gross weight ratings, so be sure to consult Ford’s towing and payload chart when picking a truck. You’ll find it at the back of the Super Duty brochure.

Photo by Ford

9. That whole aluminum thing really works.

When Ford redesigned the Super Duty for the 2017 model year, it switched the cab and bed construction from steel to aluminum in order to reduce weight. Several cars and SUVs use aluminum to improve fuel economy, but in the case of a truck, decreasing weight also increases the payload abilities. A given chassis can only hold so much, and the less of that capacity is taken up by the truck itself, the more that can be carried.

In the case of the Super Duty, Ford used the weight savings as a trade-off: Engineers were able to beef up key components of the structure, such as the frame and axles, with the weight increases offset by the weight reduction of the body and bed.

Photo by Ford

8. The 2018 Ford F-250 looks the part.

Twenty years ago, heavy-duty pickups were differentiated from their half-ton stablemates primarily by mechanical equipment; the bodies and beds were the same. In 1999, Ford spun the F-250 and F-350 Super Duty trucks off with a different body style.

Today’s Ford Super Duty shares its cab and bed with the F-150, with a different front clip (fenders, hood, grille, lighting, bumpers) and taillights to set it apart — and the effect is fantastic. The truck looks big and beefy but doesn’t cross over into the cartoonish, and the use of shared components with the F-150 helps keep down the costs of repair parts.

Photo by Ford

7. Buyers love Ford trucks.

Ford’s F-Series has been the best-selling truck in the United States for four decades straight, and for 35 of those years, buyers took home more F-Series trucks than any other vehicle — car, truck or SUV. At of the start of 2017, Ford had sold over 26 million F-Series pickups; parked nose-to-tail, they would form a line long enough to circle the Earth three times. This is a remarkable statistic, and it shows how much Ford buyers value their trucks.

Photo by Ford

6. The 2018 Ford F-250 has a great gasoline engine option.

When it comes to power, Ford isn’t messing around: The sole gasoline engine option is a 6.2-liter V8, which produces 385 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque (more than any other competitor). Other truck manufacturers offer smaller engines in their heavy-duty pickups, with their “big gas” motors as extra-cost options. A heavy-duty truck with a small engine provides less performance when the vehicle is loaded at or near capacity. We like that Ford offers big power for this big truck, as it assures that the F-250 has the muscle to move the serious loads that it is capable of hauling.

The engine is capable of running E85 ethanol right off the showroom floor, and it can be upfitted for bi-fuel operation with either compressed natural gas or propane — alternative fuel options that are a boon for commercial customers.

Photo by Ford

5. The diesel is pretty good as well.

Ford has been refining its Super Duty diesel for decades, and the latest iteration is an amazing feat of engineering with 440 horsepower and an astounding 925 lb-ft of torque. This is a durable, smooth-running engine that pulls huge trailers with little drama. And for those who want to modify their vehicles — diesel pickups are, after all, the modern hot-rods — the 6.7-liter Super Duty is a great way to build lots of horsepower. 

The 6.7 Power Stroke engine can run biodiesel blends up to B20, and optional fuel tanks up of to 48 gallons bestow the diesel-powered Super Duty with incredible range.

Photo by Ford

4. The 2018 Ford F-250 is packed with technology designed for truck owners.

Few pickup truck manufacturers know their customers as well as Ford, and that shows in the truck-specific technology it has developed for the Super Duty series. One of the newest features is Trailer Reverse Guidance, which automatically adjusts the camera views as your trailer turns and can even tell you how to turn the steering wheel to keep the trailer straight.

Safety and driver-assistance features commonly found on cars, such as adaptive cruise control and lane-departure warning, are also offered on the Super Duty, while other tech like blind-spot monitoring has been modified to work with trailers. Ford even wired the tailgate into the central locking system and counterbalanced it so it can be closed with one hand.

Photo by Ford

3. You want cameras? Oh, has the 2018 Ford F-250 got cameras!

There are as many as seven cameras on the F-250 Super Duty: Two in front, one in each of the side mirrors, one at the back of the cab, one on the tailgate, and one that can be attached to a trailer. Together, these cameras improve visibility while backing and maneuvering, while also enabling features such as the Ford F-250’s lane departure warning system. They also help with hooking up trailers (gooseneck, fifth-wheel or bumper-tow) and backing up the truck, even with a load or a trailer that blocks your view out of the rear window.

Photo by Ford

2. The 2018 Ford F-250 has the coolest steering system on any truck.

Ford’s adaptive steering system has to be one of the coolest gizmos we’ve seen on a heavy-duty truck. Lots of trucks have gone to electric power steering, which make tricks like this relatively easy — but Ford stuck with hydraulic power steering to maintain the Super Duty’s weight capacities. So instead of electronic wizardry, the F-250’s optional adaptive steering system uses a gearset in the steering wheel hub.

When activated, this system increases the ratio at low speeds, meaning the wheels move farther for each turn of the steering wheel. This makes for easy maneuverability at low speeds (such as pulling out of a parking spot) without frantic wheel-twirling. At higher speeds, the system lowers the ratio, meaning you need more movement of the steering wheel to change direction — and that makes it easier to guide the truck straight, without small movements of the wheel sending you wandering all over the road. We’ve tried the system, and we think it’s brilliant; it makes for easier maneuvering and smoother high-speed driving.

Photo by Ford

1. Ford offers a fantastic selection of F-250 models.

Whether you are looking for a basic bare-bones work-truck or a loaded-up Texas limousine, Ford has you covered. The five trim levels on the 2018 Ford F-250 Super Duty range from lowly to lavish, with a list of options as long as your leg.

Ford offers 11 paint choices (including three shades of red), nine upholstery options, and a dozen different wheels. This allows buyers to get the exact F-250 they want — and that’s especially important for those who work with their trucks. If it’s your office on wheels, it ought to be a place you want to spend time!

Photo by Ford