Ford F-350 2020 Tow Test

The American-built Ford F-350 Super Duty was updated for 2020 and we recently got our hands on one of the first to arrive in Australia...

They’re not imported as right-hand drive vehicles but brought here as left-hookers and converted by Victorian company VDC and sold through Harrison F-Trucks in Melton, Victoria.

Like other American pick-ups available down under,  the Ford F-350 Super Duty is big, bold and brash, but if you want to tow a major load, it makes a lot of sense…

Upgrades for 2020

The 2020 update for the Ford F-350 Super Duty isn't hugely significant but it does make the big dual-cab ute a bit more user-friendly and gives it a bit more towing capability (not that it was lacking!).

The big news is a new 10-speed automatic transmission which replaces the old six-speeder. Also, the 6.7-litre V8 turbo-diesel gets more oomph, boosting outputs to 354kW and a smidge over 1400Nm – that's 475hp and 1050lb-ft of torque in America-speak, keeping the F-350 ahead of its rivals in that market.

Our test vehicle was in Lariat spec. It sits between the entry-level XL and XLT, and the upper-spec King Ranch, Platinum and Limited specifications.

But being mid-spec in Ford F-350 speak certainly doesn't mean 'poverty pack', as the Lariat wants for little.

For example, it gets 10-way adjustable heated and cooled seats up front and even heating and cooling for the rear-seat passengers too.

Turn-key towing machine

There’s an 8.0-inch screen with GPS, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus a big double sunroof, auto lights and wipers, and a host of standard towing features like an electric brake controller, a camera that points to your tow hitch, engine brake, and even Backup Assist, which will park your pickup/trailer combo for you at the twist of a knob.

And if it's safety you're after, the F-350 has it in spades with adaptive cruise, pre-collision assist with AEB, lane departure warning, cross-traffic alert, hill start assist and auto high beam, to name a few.

Although we didn't go looking for them, we were told that to help keep everyone's devices charged and ready to go, there are up to nine available power points throughout the Super Duty's interior including two new USB-C ports.

Interestingly, the body panels of the F-350 are made of aluminium, which is designed to not only save weight and give the F-truck more payload, but to also help minimise corrosion and make the (lighter) tailgate a little easier to close – although it does have a remote opener as standard on the key fob.

New 10-speed transmission

As mentioned, the big-ticket item in the 2020 model Ford F-350 is the new 10-speed auto transmission, and it really is a beauty.

Called the TorqShift 10R140, it has been specifically designed to replace the six-speed TorqShift (6R140) transmission found previously in the Super Duty range. It's not the same 10-speed that was seen in the F-150 (10R80) nor is it a development of that transmission.

The new auto offers a no-fuss, smooth, and almost seamless gear shifting that gets the big brute off the mark beautifully whether you're towing or not. It handles the grunt of the V8 diesel remarkably well and it offers up to six drive modes including tow mode, normal (for general highway driving), deep snow or sand, slippery (for ice, water, gravel and the like) and eco for when you’re feeling frugal.

Some specs can also get an additional rock-crawl mode for those wanting to tackle the Rubicon Trail!

The modes are chosen via a button on the end of the column-mounted gear shift and are shown on the central screen.

The transmission has a great spread of gears with seventh being the closest to direct drive and eighth, ninth and tenth being overdrives.

Hitting the road

When we picked up the F-350 at Harrison F-Trucks in Melton, Victoria, it was hooked up with a very large Roma caravan weighing in at around 3600kg and with a ball weight of over 400kg. A big lump to be moved, for sure, but we stuck the transmission in Tow/Haul mode and hit the road.

With the van on the back, the F-350 didn't argue. With a slight growl from the V8 we were off and keeping up with the traffic in all conditions. The transmission doesn't hunt for gears and is smooth and unfussed – as you'd imagine with 1400Nm on tap under the vast bonnet.

As the best-laid plans often end, the place we'd chosen to do some photography was shut down. That suited me fine, because it gave us more time to enjoy some scenic driving and hilly, winding Victorian roads that were perfect for testing out the towing ability of the big Henry.

I found that on flat to undulating country I was returning fuel figures of 21.9L/100km and in the hilly sections we peaked out at around 26L/100km.

The Tow/Haul mode tended to let the transmission hang on to slightly lower gears than it would in Normal mode and hence I found that I was often in eighth or ninth when cruising along rather than in tenth, which would explain a bit of the high-ish economy readings.

Taking off from the verge of the road with the wheels in the dirt, I found I'd have to be a bit light on the accelerator or the rear tyres would spin and give a bit of axle-tramp, as leaf-spring rear-ends often do, but if I fed it in nice and gently we'd get off easily.

Traction options

When we were manoeuvring for a spot of photography on the grass, I did have to flick the dial into four-high a couple of times to get our seven-odd tonne GCM moving without digging some big holes; I was thankful for having four-wheel-drive when it was needed.

After a few hours of towing and photography, we took the rig back to the dealership, unhitched the van and I headed off for a bit more photography on the way back to my abode on the other side of town, a trip of around 90 kilometres.

For the day, with a combination of towing in different terrains over mainly secondary roads, and then a freeway cruise home, we achieved an average fuel consumption of 18.5L/100km, which I thought was pretty good for the size of the combination we were hauling and the capacity of the engine.

On the highway, sitting on the legal 100km/h the 6.7-litre diesel is ticking over at around 1400rpm in the long-legged (think 0.632:1) 10th gear, and getting remarkable fuel figures.

In fact, when I took the F-350 back to Melton on the freeway using the adaptive cruise and sticking to the speed limits, I got an average of 9.3L/100km – not bad for a 6.7-litre V8!

Comfortable cruise

As a highway mile-chewer, the Ford F-350 is a beauty. It's quiet, comfortable and relaxing to drive. I found I could stick it in cruise, crank up the Bang and Olufsen sound system and let her rip.

The ride was very comfortable. I felt like I was sitting in the middle of the four-plus metre wheelbase (and this was the short wheelbase version, folks!) and being quite disassociated from the goings on of the wheels and tyres.

The coil-front, leaf-rear suspension soaks up the bumps admirably with the 20-inch wheel/tyre combo no doubt having something to do with it as well.

I didn't have to do any radical cornering so I can't really attest to the on-edge handling of the F-350, but that's not what this truck is all about – it's more about chewing up the miles with a big van or boat on the back; crossing states and territories like Texas and Minnesota, crossing mountains and wide rivers… oops, I'm getting a bit caught up in the moment…

But seriously, this probably isn't the type of truck for the urbanite. It's not for ducking down to Woolies for loaf of bread and a pint of milk (I tried that and got a giggle out of a guy in a Navara as I tried to fit into a parking bay).

Nope, this is the truck for the Grey Nomad with the big van or the fisho with the offshore trailer boat, or the tradie who has run the gamut of the Ford Rangers and VW Amaroks and wants or needs something bigger.

So what can it tow?

Well, that's largely academic due to our laws governing what sort of brakes you need to tow something over 4.5 tonnes, but in the U.S. the quoted maximum towing weights for the F-350 4x4 Crew Cab is 20,000 pounds or just over 9000kg, which is pretty impressive.

Harrison F-Trucks rate the F-350 at 4500kg for our market, which we're told is generally sufficient for customers here. However, they can be complied to tow more and even have air-brake systems fitted if customers want to tow heavier weights.

Of course, for the F-350 like this one here, you're going to need to get your light-rigid truck licence or better. If you want the same experience without stepping up in licences, you'll have to go for the F-250. You can get the same engine/transmission combo in that, and it'll probably be a bit cheaper.

But whichever way you go, you're going to get heaps of street cred, a lot of turned heads and even a few 'yee-hars!' along the way.

How much does the 2020 Ford F-350 Lariat cost?
Price: $175,000 (approx. plus on-road costs)
Engine: 6.7-litre V8 turbo-diesel
Output: 354kW/1424Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 18.5L/100km (Combined)
CO2: n/a
Safety rating: n/a
Towing: 4500kg (or more!)