The 2017 Ford Super Duty is just about a month away from reaching dealerships. There is a way to improve the off-road ability of any Super Duty by adding an FX4 Off-Road package. This includes off-road tuned Rancho shocks, underbody skid plates for the transfer case and the fuel tank, hill descent control, and an electronically activated rear locking differential. This 2017 F-250 Platinum edition has 20-inch rims with Michelin all-terrain tires.
The best thing about the FX4 package is that it’s available on any 2017 Super Duty 4×4 truck and it costs a very reasonable $295. The 2017 Super Duty still has front hubs that you can switch from “Auto” to manual “Locked” mode.
This F-250 is powered by an updated version of the 6.2L gasoline V8. It makes the same 385 horsepower, but torque increases to 430 lb-ft and it’s available at 3,800 rpm. It’s mated to a “lighter” duty TorqShift-G 6-speed automatic transmission. This transmission weighs less than the heavy duty version of the transmission, which is available with the Power Stroke V8.
This truck can carry up to 2,785 lbs of payload, can tow up to 14,500 lbs, and has a low 4.30 rear differential gear ratio. Of course, there is also the electronic locking differential feature for more traction off-road.
Ford built the off-road course you see in the video, so there are no places where the truck would get seriously stuck. I only had less than 15 minutes behind the wheel of the truck off-road, but my initial impression was positive. The truck showed good articulation, the Rancho shocks help soak up the rough terrain. The Michelin all-terrain tires are not very aggressive, but they did well in a slower muddy section. The locking rear differential helped a lot. The hill descent control system worked as advertised and you can adjust its speed by pressing either the brake or the accelerator.
Not many people will take their heavy duty truck up and down 23 degree slopes, but the 2017 Super Duty can do it if you give it just some momentum on the way up.
Watch the 2017 F-250 FX4 go over an off-road course.
