we've driven the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD and the GMC Sierra HD we've
driven the 2020 Ram heavy-duty as well and now finally the last truck that
needed to be redesigned for 2020 is here this is the new 2024 Duty and I know
what you're saying you're saying Erin that can't be the 2020 it looks just
like the 2019 yeah it kind of does it's very similar but I assure you Ford has
done its homework and has spent a considerable amount of money not on the
things that you can see but on everything that's underneath no don't go
looking at the headline again and don't hit that back button I know it doesn't
look any different than the 2019 model but I assure you that this is indeed the
2020 it has a new grille and headlights some slightly different bumpers new
wheels and a couple of new colors but no it really doesn't look any different
from the outside than the outgoing model hey you want crazy wacky styling changes
I'm sure there's a Chevrolet dealer near you that has some pretty hefty discounts
on a new 2020 Silverado right now people apparently like the way the Super Duty
looks given the continued sales supremacy that the truck enjoys at least
four did better hope they do because what you see here is what dealers will
be stuck with for the next several years at least on the inside it's the same
situation it pretty much looks the same as the old one
no big improvements to the materials no fancy new 12 inch vertical displays no
crazy lighting schemes not even any unusual colors the Platinum gets some
nicer materials and I have to say the King Ranch interior still looks
sumptuous in brown there is some new technology however with the arrival of
Ford's pretty amazing Pro trailer backup assist to help you not only connect to a
trailer but also to help you drive with it behind you know you can't make the
trailer disappear in the rear view display like you can with the Chevrolet
system but you can't steer the entire truck and trailer combination with a
simple knob on the dash in a Silverado now you can can afford and now you can
do it with a gooseneck trailer as well something you couldn't do before there's
even something called trailer reverse guidance that helps suggest your next
moves when backing up your rig Pro trailer backup assist takes some
preparation of the trailer before you can use it and it does require you to
purchase some extra equipment but man this system turns any novice into a
professional truck driver with very little drama it's worth whatever Ford is
charging for it in peace of mind alone so it doesn't look different outside it
really doesn't look different inside where the heck did Freud spend all the
redesign development money they spent it on the underside they spend it on this
an all-new 7.3 liter gasoline v8 engine making a best-in-class 430 horsepower
and 475 pound-feet of torque and they spent it on this a revised third
generation power stroke 6.7 liter turbo diesel v8 making a best-in-class
475 horsepower and a whopping 1050 pound-feet of torque and they spent it
on a brand new 10 speed automatic transmission with three overdrive gears
up to six drive modes and an available power take-off with a best-in-class
maximum of 300 pounds feet of torque when paired with the diesel engine so
what's all that do for the new Super Duty well it let's Ford claim a whole
bunch of best-in-class ratings like best-in-class payload capacity of 70 850
pounds with the standard 6.2 liter gas v8 best-in-class maximum gooseneck
towing of 37,000 pounds best-in-class fifth wheel towing of 32,000 500 pounds
in best-in-class bumper towing of twenty four thousand two hundred pounds when
you get the diesel engine but two of these claims are predicated on you
buying an f-450 Super Duty which is not really a common model in 2019 the f250
and f350 were much more popular the f250 and 350 can also claim some best in the
segment ratings from best gooseneck maximum towing to best dually payload
ratings but honestly best-in-class numbers don't impress me much I'm much
more interested in how the vehicles drive and operate and given the big
powertrain and suspension changes Ford is made that's where we focused our
attention and it must be said both of the new engines are fantastic the new
7.3 liter tows like a champ and made it up to the 10 speed automatic it feels
powerful and responsive in all conditions I admittedly wasn't telling
anywhere near the super duties maximum ratings but the trailers on hand from
Ford were indeed representative of what people normally tow with these trucks
from 9,000 pound horse trailers to eleven thousand pound campers neither
powertrain had so much as a hiccup in its performance the superior towing
powertrain is of course the 6.7 liter diesel engine mostly due to its superior
engine braking abilities when negotiating a downhill stretch but the
new 7.3 liter gas engine is no slouch either and would serve well an owner who
occasionally tows but doesn't want to splurge
the pricey diesel engine option and when the trucks are empty both engines are
fantastic performers but diesel especially is more responsive than
before now offering some forward thrust with non-existent turbo lag and
lightning-fast smooth down shifts both engines are also surprisingly quiet even
under load up a hill it's clear that powertrain refinement was a goal for the
new Super Duty engineers and they've succeeded admirably now the bigger
difference in towing performance came when I switched from a conventional
Super Duty to one equipped with the new tremor off-road package
what's a tremor well unlike before when the tremor name was used on an f-150 to
denote a special performance version of the truck it's now a trim package that
you can add on to an XLT lariat limited platinum or King Ranch Super Duty Ford
has cooked this up for the off-road truck enthusiast buyer the recreationist
one who takes their Super Duty adds a bunch of parts and turns it into a bro
dozer you know one of those big offroad trucks with enormous wheels and tires a
lift and suspension often seen blowing big black clouds of soot out the diesel
exhaust pipes well Ford isn't gonna help you screw up
your emissions but now they're offering something that gets you one step closer
to a factory bro dozer that's the new 2020 tremor package this thing is aimed
squarely at the RAM Power Wagon and the GMC Sierra HD 84 Ford built it as both a
workhorse and an adventure rig something able to tow like an HD truck should but
also play like a lot of people increasingly wanted to play you can add
the package to various trim levels as long as it's a four by four single rear
wheel crew cab model with a 6 and 3/4 foot bed like the Ram Power Wagon
it features big tires 35 inch Goodyear Wrangler Duratrax here mounted on 18
inch matte black wheels it gets a front and rear end lift aggressive rate
Springs and custom one-point seven inch piston twin tube shocks you get a
locking rear differential with electronic shift on the fly engagement
and a dana limited slip front diff a 12,000 pound Warn winch can be fitted to
the front bumper from the factory and unlike the Ram Power Wagon you can get a
Super Duty Trevor package with a diesel engine Ram won't let you do that since
their winch placement screws up the plumbing for the Cummins diesel engine
so how did the modifications to the new Super Duty work as a feminine well you
can tow with it given that it has all the excellent powertrain upgrades that
the other Super Duty trucks but it's not as happy as the other
models in doing so the front end is lighter the suspension is softer and
it's really not at home as a towing rig instead it's really meant to boost the
super duties off-road ability and it does this really quite well we drove an
example through some impressively challenging rock quarry terrain that one
wouldn't assume a big portly heavy-duty truck could negotiate but thanks to a
combination of parts like the big dampers tires and a novel forward facing
and 360-degree camera screen you could take a tremor eyes superduty
through some really tight obstacles and over some completely blind hills with
confidence the tremor also comes with trail control that acts as a kind of
off-road cruise control it helps you maintain speed both going down a hill
and back up and again that can be useful when you want to focus on maintaining a
line over a challenging obstacle and not have to worry about throttle inputs it
also features a rock crawl mode meant for making easy work of boulder fields
but I found that it didn't dampen the throttle inputs quite enough to smooth
out the jerks and starts still the changes that Ford has made for the
tremor package are impressive and will give the Power Wagon in Sierra 84 a good
run for the money well at least until they encounter an obstacle that sees the
power lag and lock its front axle as well for 2020 new super duties can be
handed a variety of price points depending on how nice and well-equipped
you want your truck they started a low of thirty-five thousand three hundred
dollars including destination for a base f250 XL model and can stretch all the
way up to 92125 dollars for a well equipped Ford f-450 limited it won't be
uncommon to see trucks like this one going for the sixty to eighty thousand
dollar range which is sadly common for today's big heavy-duty trucks so if
you're looking for the latest flashy gee-whiz technology or a great big
connectivity screen or even a super luxurious interior you're probably gonna
have to look somewhere else other than your Ford dealer for 2020 because Ford
didn't focus on those areas in improving the new Super Duty the areas they did
focus on however are fantastic those new powertrains are tremendous and
the capabilities of the new 2020 Super Duty are formidable if you'd like to
learn more about the new 2020 ford super duty you can see everything at cars.com