The “all-new” 2023 Ford Super Duties really aren’t, as styling isn’t changed much and many pieces carry over from previous products. They include aluminum bodies and beds, and a lineup of gasoline and diesel engines.
But Ford lists many interior improvements, including fully reclining seat backs, center console storage details, and more steps to help climbing into a bed. And technical advancements are a-plenty: Ford’s long-running Power Stroke V-8 diesel has been tweaked to produce 500 horsepower and 1,200 lb.-ft. of torque in a High Output version that can pull a trailer weighing up to 40,000 pounds. (See above.)
The standard rating is 475 horsepower and 1,050 lb.-ft. that will tow a 37,000-pound trailer. All that performance comes from just 406 cubic inches (advertised as 6.7 liters) armed with advanced mechanical and electronic engineering.
Read also: Test drive of Ford 2023 Super Duties reveal power, technologies
Meanwhile, the redesigned Super Duties have several electronic driver-assist features that can be rather useful. For example, on-board scales, now optional on 4x4s, use potentiometers at all four corners to measure weight and list it on the info screen inside. Outside, the multi-diode amber turn signal lamps within the taillights illuminate from bottom to top until a limit is reached, so a driver or loader knows when to stop.
Also noteworthy is a Trail Turn Assist feature that applies the inside rear brake during sharp turns. This drags the rear end through the turn and, I reckoned, cuts a turning circle by about two-thirds. Of course, this is to be used only on dirt, in sand, or similar underfoot conditions.
To its previously introduced Trailer Backing Assist, Ford has added Pro Trailer Hitch Assist. This uses a rear-facing camera and computer calculations to back the truck precisely to a trailer’s tongue and place the ball exactly beneath the waiting coupler. The driver pushes and holds a circular switch on the dash while the system operates the throttle and brakes, and manipulates the wheel as though a ghost were doing the backward steering. Drivers who couple onto trailers often won’t need the feature, but occasional towers will like it.
Also new is Smart Hitch, which uses the on-board scale to measure a trailer’s tongue weight.