Ford Dominates Cars.com Heavy-Duty Work Truck Challenge as True Olympian
Experts from Cars.com and PickupTrucks.com put the current lineup of three-quarter-ton work trucks to the test to determine the ultimate best. Contenders in the 2017 3/4-Ton Work Truck Challenge included the 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, 2017 Ford Super Duty F-250, 2017 Nissan Titan XD and the 2017 Ram 2500.
“We know there are many different types of truck buyers out there,” said Mark Williams, pickup truck expert at Cars.com. “Some look for a simple and single-purpose option, while others look for more of a utility player. For this Challenge, we looked at the current lineup of work-ready, low-cost pickups built for getting the job done. These trucks focus more on utility and capability instead of high-tech and luxury. We know there’s still a strong need in the market for a basic, bare-bones pickup, and we sought to determine the best option for those buyers.”
An intensive series of tests were performed on each truck, including 13 empirical tests and 10 subjective categories. Empirical tests included areas like braking, acceleration, load tests, fuel mileage and more. Subjective tests were performed by experts who evaluated each truck for items such as bed features, interior comfort, visibility, overall value and more.
Testing resulted in the following ranking:
2017 Ford Super Duty F-250
2017 Ram 2500
2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500
2017 Nissan Titan XD
“The Ford F-250 is akin to an Olympic decathlete,” said Williams. “It’s the most well-rounded truck in the group. To say it does a lot of things well would be a severe understatement. This new Super Duty truck has plenty of talents including a striking interior layout and quality materials, its numerous large and small storage spaces, top-notch acceleration and braking feel, more bed tie-downs and lighting features than the others, and it can carry about 66 percent of its weight.”
