08-04-2008, 10:30 PM
So I've been demo'ing a 2006 F-250 extended cab short bed turbo diesel for the past few days. I loaded it down with furniture and boxes today to move a friend to charlottesville from harrisonburg. So I figured I'd put up a short little review of it.
Power: Plenty. It's got tons of torque down low but sorta falls on its face at about 55mph. It's got 325-hp @ 3,300 rpm and 570 lbs.-ft. @ 2,000 rpm, more than enough to get out of it's own way. I had the bed and back/passenger seat completey stacked to the brim with furniture and heavy boxes and never even knew it was there. The girl I was moving had her civic packed full too and couldn't come close to keeping up over afton. Gas mileage wasn't amazing but really wasn't hateful for this large of a truck. I averaged almost 21mpg on the highway and around 16 in town. And mind you I wasn't babying the truck.
Transmission: Pretty much worked without any surprises. While I haven't had the chance to tow anything with it I don't think it'd have a problem. It shifts pretty hard when your beating on it but as for driving around town it shifts just fine. Never had to gear down on interstate at 70mph and 2100rpm.
Fit/Finish: Interior wasn't amazing, pretty bland really. Even with the adjustable pedals it still felt like the steering wheel was really far away. Not to the point of being uncomfortable but to the point of being annoying. Seats were comfortable, lumbar was nice but not especially supportive. Perhaps they are engineered for someone larger than I (5'11", 195lbs). The stereo was pretty good, almost as good as the Bose system in the corvette. Nothing spectacular but pretty darn good for a stock system.
Overall Driving Impression: I'm sorta a redneck, so I love big trucks, and thusly I liked driving this. I love sitting up high and having people move out of the way when they see you coming. Forward visibility was good, rear visibility was as good as could be expected for this size vehicle. Below the normal sideview mirrors it had small trailer mirrors which helped to minimize blindspots. Steering was somewhat sluggish and soft but the brakes were very strong. Pedal feel was good and the brakes never seemed to 'bounce' like some other diesels I've driven. The only time the truck is not so much fun to drive is on tight roads. Brooke took a wrong exit at some point and we ended up on some skinny little road in charlottesville and the truck isn't as much fun then. Even with the driver side tires riding on the line the passenger mirror still smacks tree limbs. But it's not my truck, so I didn't care, haha.
Overall rating: B
Power: Plenty. It's got tons of torque down low but sorta falls on its face at about 55mph. It's got 325-hp @ 3,300 rpm and 570 lbs.-ft. @ 2,000 rpm, more than enough to get out of it's own way. I had the bed and back/passenger seat completey stacked to the brim with furniture and heavy boxes and never even knew it was there. The girl I was moving had her civic packed full too and couldn't come close to keeping up over afton. Gas mileage wasn't amazing but really wasn't hateful for this large of a truck. I averaged almost 21mpg on the highway and around 16 in town. And mind you I wasn't babying the truck.
Transmission: Pretty much worked without any surprises. While I haven't had the chance to tow anything with it I don't think it'd have a problem. It shifts pretty hard when your beating on it but as for driving around town it shifts just fine. Never had to gear down on interstate at 70mph and 2100rpm.
Fit/Finish: Interior wasn't amazing, pretty bland really. Even with the adjustable pedals it still felt like the steering wheel was really far away. Not to the point of being uncomfortable but to the point of being annoying. Seats were comfortable, lumbar was nice but not especially supportive. Perhaps they are engineered for someone larger than I (5'11", 195lbs). The stereo was pretty good, almost as good as the Bose system in the corvette. Nothing spectacular but pretty darn good for a stock system.
Overall Driving Impression: I'm sorta a redneck, so I love big trucks, and thusly I liked driving this. I love sitting up high and having people move out of the way when they see you coming. Forward visibility was good, rear visibility was as good as could be expected for this size vehicle. Below the normal sideview mirrors it had small trailer mirrors which helped to minimize blindspots. Steering was somewhat sluggish and soft but the brakes were very strong. Pedal feel was good and the brakes never seemed to 'bounce' like some other diesels I've driven. The only time the truck is not so much fun to drive is on tight roads. Brooke took a wrong exit at some point and we ended up on some skinny little road in charlottesville and the truck isn't as much fun then. Even with the driver side tires riding on the line the passenger mirror still smacks tree limbs. But it's not my truck, so I didn't care, haha.
Overall rating: B
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