Eric's Autos: 2025 Ford F-250

Do you want a big truck with just two doors, an 8-foot bed and a big V8 rather than a small six with a turbo?

It' hard to get all those things together in a half-ton truck, and some half-ton trucks no longer offer those things anymore (the current Ram 1500, for instance, comes only with four doors, a 5-foot or 6-foot bed and a turbo six).

If you want the things that used to be commonly available in half-ton trucks, you can still find them standard in three-quarter-ton trucks like the Ford F-250.

What It Is

The F-250 is Ford's 2500 series pickup. Like others in the class, such as the Ram 2500 and Chevy Silverado 2500, it is a more rugged and powerful truck than lighter-duty 1500 series pickups.

The base XL trim ($45,300) comes standard with a regular cab (two doors) and an 8-foot bed, as well as a 6.8-liter V8. As a point of comparison, the base XL trim F-150 comes standard with a 2.7-liter turbocharged six-cylinder engine and stickers for $37,450.

The Chevy Silverado 1500 comes standard with a turbocharged four.

If you want an even bigger engine than 6.8 liters, Ford offers a 7.3-liter V8 as a standalone option for $1,000 extra. In addition, there's a turbodiesel 6.7-liter V8 that is available in two output levels.

If you'd like four doors and an 8-foot bed to go with it, the F-250 is available configured that way as well.

A top-of-the-line Platinum trim with crew cab and an 8-foot bed stickers for $78,065. If you do not need an 8-foot bed and want to save a few bucks, Ford offers the Platinum Crew Cab with a 6.75-foot bed for $77,865.

All trims except the base XL come standard with four-wheel drive.

What's New for 2025

The main new thing is Ford's Pro Vehicle Integration System 2.0 -- designed to ease installation of aftermarket accessories.

What's Good

-- Everything (and more) that a half-ton truck used to be for not much more than a current half-ton truck costs.

-- Multiple V8s to choose from -- gas and diesel.

-- Even the base XL comes standard with what would have been considered luxury features in a half-ton truck made in the early 2000s and before -- including power everything, power-locking tailgate, heated outside mirrors, AC and trailer sway control.

What's Not So Good

-- It's a climb up to get in -- and to get cargo in and out of the bed, due to it being high off the ground and having high bedwalls. (Ford does provide scallops to use as footholds).

-- Does not offer the extra-roomy MegaCab configuration available with the Ram 2500.

-- Diesel V8 adds more than $10,000 to the price.

Under the Hood

The F-250 comes standard with what's only available optionally in current half-ton trucks -- and no longer available at all in several of them, including the current Ram 1500 and Toyota Tundra.

That being a V8 engine.

A big one too. It's a 6.8-liter V8 that touts 405 horsepower and 445 foot-pounds of torque, sufficient to allow for a tow rating of 18,200 pounds -- which is thousands of pounds higher than maximum tow-rating of any half-ton truck. (Part of the reason for this is also that trucks in the 2500 class have heavier frames than the 1500s and so can handle the torsional stresses of pulling that kind of weight.)

A 10-speed (heavy-duty) automatic is paired with this V8 -- as well as the optional (and even bigger) 7.3-liter V8 that touts 430 horsepower and 450 foot-pounds of torque. Equipped with this huge V8 -- it displaces more than 440 cubic inches in Before (metric) Times measuring methods -- the standard tow rating goes up nearly 4,000 pounds to a maximum of 22,000 pounds.

Also, the zero-to-60 mph time goes down from about eight seconds to 7.5 seconds.

There's a third engine option; technically, two. Ford offers a 6.7-liter Power Stroke turbodiesel V8 in two outputs. The first touts 475 horses and 1,050 foot-pounds of torque; the higher-output iteration touts 500 horsepower and 1,200 foot-pounds of torque. The max tow rating -- with a gooseneck -- tops out at 23,000 pounds.

With the high-output 6.7-liter V8, this huge and heavy (nearly three-ton) truck can get to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds.

On the Road

Once you're pointed straight ahead, the F-250 is both easy to drive and pleasant to drive. The background burble of the big V8 -- gas or diesel -- conveys strength to match the beefy feel of everything else. If you choose the diesel, you'll get an exhaust brake like the Big Rigs have; it uses exhaust back pressure to provide a deceleration effect without using the brakes as much or as heavily. Just lift off the accelerator instead.

The house-pulling torque of the diesel is worth the cost, if you can afford it. Twelve hundred foot-pounds of torque is enough to almost get air under the front wheels if you launch the thing hard from a dead stop. It's also enough to make pulling a 10,000-pound trailer feel like you're not pulling anything, which is one of the objective reasons for buying a 2500 over a 1500.

Three can comfortably sit up front, which is something three could do in the big land yacht sedans that are no longer made -- which helps account for the popularity of the big trucks (and SUVs) that have taken their place. Another commonality with those dreadnoughts of yore is a very wide turning circle (51.1 feet for the Super Crew with the 6.75-foot bed) and this can make it a handful to maneuver in some parking lots and also when trying to get straightened out again when exiting from a side street. But once you are straightened out, the feel of the F-250 can be likened to how it feels when you're sitting in the plush first-class seat of a 747 cruising at 400 mph. The speed is almost unnoticeable -- as is the fact that you're sitting inside something so big.

And that's a fine feeling.

At the Curb

The F-250 comes almost any way you might want it to -- or need it too -- which sets it apart from the current crop of half-tons that increasingly come in fewer ways than many truck buyers want and need, and that probably explains why truck buyers are gravitating toward the three-quarter-ton segment now. The half-ton segment is popular with buyers who want a big car -- but since those aren't sold anymore, they go for half-ton trucks (and big SUVs based on those trucks) instead. The big-cab/small-bed layout works for them because they typically haul the family dog in the bed rather than a stack of four-by-eight plywood.

The regular-cab/8-foot bed configuration is the most obvious way. Another way is that the 8-foot bed is available with the super cab and the crew cab. You aren't forced to pick one over the other -- as is often the case in the half-ton segment.

The "base" XL trim is described as a "work truck" -- which is true and false. It can do a lot of work without breaking a sweat. But "work truck" used to mean metal floors, roll-up windows and a heater. It now means standard AC, power pretty much everything (including the tailgate) plus electrical trailer sway control, 5G hotspot, heated outside mirrors, remote start and an 8-inch touch screen. If that constitutes a "work truck," then the nature of "work" has become a lot cushier than it used to be.

The Rest

Perhaps the most intriguing thing about the F-250 is how little it costs relative to the F-150. The latter's base price -- $37,450 -- is only $7,850 lower than the base F-250's price, and you could probably haggle that down closer to parity. You'll certainly get a lot more capability (and engine) for your money when you buy the F-250.

The thing that may be most daunting -- to some -- is the height of the F-250 versus the F-150. The latter stands 75.4 inches tall; the former stands 79.3 inches, so it's more of a climb to get in the F-250. The latter's bed is also higher up, so there's a climb up to get at what's in the bed too.

The Bottom Line

If you're wanting -- and, more to the point, needing -- a truck that doesn't shy away from being just that, this one will likely fill the bill.

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Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.