The Ford King Ranch F-250 Super Duty Crew 4X4 continues its reign as the King of heavy duty pickup trucks in Texas.
The market competition for pickup trucks in Texas is the most aggressive anywhere in North America. Texas, where one in five pickup trucks is sold, sets the bar for manufacturers to build and deliver high performing rugged trucks with technology and available comfort features to a market that routinely uses its trucks for work, play and going to church on Sunday.
The top of the line luxury heavy duty pickup truck in Texas needs not only to be a rugged, high performing work truck, but must also deliver technology, feature functionality and luxury comfort for the driver experience.
Ford’s 2012 F-250 King Ranch Super Duty Crew 4X4 with the 6.7 liter PowerStroke™ V8 Turbo diesel and 6-speed automatic transmission sets that bar for heavy duty pickup trucks in the luxury segment.
Competitors in the luxury segment include the Chevrolet Silverado 2500 LTZ Crew Texas Edition and the GMC Sierra 2500 Crew Denali Edition both with the 6.6 liter Duramax™ V8 turbo diesel and the Ram 2500 Laramie Longhorn Crew with 6.7 liter Cummins™ V8 turbo diesel. Similarly equipped, all price out in the mid-$60K range.
We recently drove the 2012 F-250 King Ranch Super Duty Crew 4X4 for a week around and through Hill Country Texas. As we expected, its performance confirmed it was worthy of being the “King” of the heavy duty luxury pickup market here in Texas. It was strong, solid, smooth riding and a very quiet and comfortable drive. And, it had all of the tools and functionality that we would expect in the market leading heavy duty luxury pickup truck.
The King Ranch is both fast and powerful with the very smooth integration of the Ford built turbo boosted PowerStroke™ diesel with the TorqShift™ Heavy Duty 6-speed SelectShift™ Automatic Transmission. The F-250 power train delivers 400 horsepower @ 2800 rpm with 800 lb.-ft of torque @ 1600 rpm. There is absolutely no hesitation in get up and go with King Ranch.
Our King Ranch in Autumn Red with leather interior was already a well equipped heavy duty pick up as a F-250 4X4 Crew listing at $49,870.
Making it a true King Ranch F-250 Super Duty, Ford added the Pale Adobe accent color, 6.7 liter PowerStroke™ diesel and 6-speed automatic transmission for $7,835 plus the King Ranch Chrome Package that included King Ranch floor mats, chrome tubular cab steps, remote start, rear view camera, heated and cooled seats, lower accent two tone paint, King Ranch Chaparral leather wrapped steering wheel, King Ranch premium leather seating surface and body side protection moldings for $695.
Other King Ranch options included were the 3.55 electronic locking axle ($390), King Ranch 20 inch Premium cast aluminum wheels ($1,050), 20 inch OWL tires ($145), FX4 Off Road Package skid plates ($295), power slide moon roof ($995), 5th wheel bed prep package ($370), Navigation system w/satellite radio ($1,870), Upfitter auxiliary power switches ($125), extra heavy duty alternator ($75) and other optional equipment including Ford Work Solutions power jack, tool cable lock system, tailgate step and under seat locking storage for $945.
Standard equipment items of note include dual stage air bags with side curtains, power adjustable pedals, hill start assist and hill descent control, tow/haul mode with engine exhaust braking function, dual zone climate control, cruise control, grab handles front and rear, 4.2 inch LCD productivity screen in the instrument cluster, map lights front and rear, sliding rear window, power points (2 in the instrument panel, 2 in the console and 1 in the second row under seat storage), auxiliary power point 110-volt/150-watt inverter outlet, reverse vehicle aid sensor, auxiliary radio input jack, premium stereo system plus 10-way driver and passenger seats.
Performance is enhanced by AdvanceTrac™ with Roll Stability Control™ and Trailer Sway Control, engine block heater, 37 gallon fuel tank, integrated trailer brake controller, Electronic Shift-On-the-Fly 4-wheel drive transfer case and a trailer tow package.
The F-250 King Ranch 4X4 Crew has tow capacity of 14,000 pounds trailer and 15,700 pounds 5th wheel trailer.
With delivery, this 2012 F-250 King Ranch Super Duty Crew 4X4 priced at $65,660.
All of the competitors perform well and have some advantages in some specific areas, but overall, the 2012 F-250 King Ranch Super Duty Crew 4X4 in this “luxury” configuration still outruns the competition at the end of the day.
Take a look at the 2012 F-250 King Ranch 4X4 Crew. The King Ranch edition has been with us quite a while and continues to deliver quality, performance and luxury value as judged by the consumer. Ford is the pickup truck market leader in terms of annual units sold in North America by its “F” Series line of pickup trucks.
Here in Texas Ford is further considered the leader by its recognition as the “Truck Line of Texas” for 12 years running by the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) at their annual Truck of Texas Rodeo competition. In 2011 the TAWA Award for “Truck of Texas” went to the Ford F-150 and the award by TAWA of the companion “Heavy Duty Truck of Texas” went to the F-250 Super Duty.
Jim Nelson is a member of the Texas Auto Writers Association
Comments