Any new vehicle will easily get you from point A to point B, but if you plan to bring a heavy load or a large trailer along for the ride, you might want to consider a heavy-duty (HD) pickup truck. There are limited choices when it comes to HD pickups, but it's the 2025 Ford F-Series Super Duty that boasts class-leading power and performance. Combining its impressive capability with its available premium cabin and advanced technology, it’s no wonder the F-Series is the best-selling pickup truck in America.
Photo: Perry Stern
Our previous Ford Super Duty review featured an off-road adventure in the F-250 Tremor trim level, but this evaluation will focus on towing with the top-level F-250 Platinum. In addition to its upscale cabin, the F-250 Super Duty Platinum gets a slight refresh with updated features and technology.
The 2025 Ford F-Series Super Duty lineup gets minor updates for the new model year, but it doesn't have the off-road goodies that are part of the Tremor we drove previously. Highlights for the 2025 Ford Super Duty line include:
Ford offers the 2025 F-Series Super Duty as a regular cab, SuperCab (extended cab), and Crew Cab, with XL, XLT, Lariat, King Ranch, and Platinum trim levels. Base prices for the three-quarter-ton F-250 start around $47,000, ranging up to around $80,000, including the destination charge. Prices for the F-350 and F-450 lines that bring additional capability are slightly higher.
For this 2025 F-Series Super Duty review, Ford provided an F-250 test vehicle equipped with Platinum trim and the following significant options:
The test vehicle's manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) was $103,915, including the $1,995 destination charge to ship the truck to your local dealership from the Louisville, Kentucky, assembly plant.
Photo: Perry Stern
The Ford F-Series Super Duty was all-new for the 2023 model year, when the fifth-generation HD truck came to market, showcasing fresh styling, new features, and a range of more powerful engine options. While the truck remains primarily as it was two years ago, some significant updates are worth noting.
With the discontinuation of the top-level F-250 Limited, Ford is offering a new Platinum Plus package to fill the gap. Based on the already high-end Platinum, the Platinum Plus stands out with a unique satin-finish grille featuring bright chrome inserts as well as 20-inch bright-machined and dark carbonized gray painted aluminum wheels.
The standout styling continues inside, where the cabin features exclusive Smoked Truffle upholstery with bronze accents. Quilted Venetian leather covers the seats with elegant French stitching, while a split center console features Slate Sapelle woodgrain accents. The Max Recline front seats, twin-panel panoramic roof, and a 1,080-watt B&O 14-speaker premium audio system add to the overall comfort.
Additional benefits for Platinum Plus buyers include two years of complimentary maintenance, access to truck experts, top-tier Ford Pass rewards program status, and a special welcome gift delivered in a stylish mahogany box.
While it's not at the level of the new Platinum Plus, the standard F-250 Platinum still delivers a premium experience. For 2025, the Platinum trim gets a refreshed exterior look with a black grille and black appliqué on the tailgate. Inside, you'll find Black Onyx with Platinum Blue accents throughout the cabin.
Other updates for 2025 include a new Trailer Technology package featuring a trailer tire-pressure monitoring system (TPMS), improved blind-spot warning that extends coverage to the length of the trailer, and the option of integrating an auxiliary camera.
Photo: Perry Stern
The Ford F-250 is an ideal solution for completing a range of truck tasks like hauling or off-roading, but towing is where the Ford stands out. The diesel-powered Super Duty brings unmatched towing capability to the market, but Ford's technology and features make towing safe and straightforward.
At the center of Ford's towing mastery is Pro Trailer Hitch Assist. Before connecting the trailer, I turned on the system by pressing the Pro Trailer button. The rear camera view then appeared on the screen, highlighting the trailer hitch with a green circle.
All I had to do was put the truck in reverse and hold the button. Steering, throttle, and brakes operated autonomously, and the truck reversed to line the ball up perfectly below the hitch. Having personal experience trying to hook up a trailer with my wife yelling directions, I believe this feature alone could be a marriage saver.
Once connected, the automated hitch system recognized that this was a new trailer and walked me through the setup, which included listing the weight and dimensions. From that point on, when I plugged the trailer into the truck, the Pro Trailer Assist system immediately recognized it.
With the trailer attached, I brought up the Smart Hitch feature in the infotainment screen. Utilizing a built-in scale, the Smart Hitch took into account the type and weight of the trailer and showed me that the tongue weight was within a safe operating range. The built-in scale also works well for managing cargo load, so you don't inadvertently overload your truck.
One of the more challenging aspects of towing a trailer is backing it, but performing that task in the F-250 Super Duty is so easy, it's like cheating. However, the current system in the Super Duty must learn your trailer first, which takes some time.
Following the instructions from Ford, I put a special sticker on the trailer hitch and followed the on-screen prompts. I drove forward, then to the left and right until it completed the setup. Remember that this driving back and forth was with the trailer attached, so you need a lot of space. A newer version of Pro Trailer Assist is available on the 2025 Ford Expedition that no longer requires the sticker and driving setup. Hopefully, Ford will provide the same update on the Super Duty.
The trailer setup is a one-time thing, and with that accomplished, I engaged the Trailer Towing Assist feature to back my trailer into its spot. The system operation is straightforward: turn the dial to the left, and the steering wheel turns on its own to direct the trailer to the left. Maneuvering the trailer is a breeze, even for the inexperienced driver.
Finally, the F-250 Super Duty features a range of cameras with multiple views that further aid time spent driving with a trailer in tow. One of my favorite views blends the feeds from cameras on each side, making the trailer virtually disappear. This view was indispensable when backing my 8-foot-wide trailer through a 10-foot-wide fence opening.
Photo: Perry Stern
The heart of the F-250 Super Duty's impressive capability is its 6.7-liter High-Output Power Stroke V8 turbodiesel engine that puts out 500 horsepower and a class-leading 1,200 pound-feet of torque. A 10-speed automatic transmission comes standard, as does four-wheel drive on the F-250 Platinum. With its massive torque output, this diesel-powered pickup can tow up to 22,000 pounds or haul more than two tons. While my 7,000-pound Grand Design travel trailer is not lightweight, the F-250 barely broke a sweat towing it across Michigan.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not publish fuel-economy estimates for heavy-duty trucks, so I performed my own test. The trip computer in the F-250 Super Duty showed 17.5 mpg during my unencumbered drive. That figure dropped to 12.4 mpg while towing my travel trailer. For comparison, I typically tow my trailer with an F-150 PowerBoost hybrid, which averages around eight mpg while towing.
The F-250 Platinum may be luxurious on the inside, but it still drives like a truck. With no load, the Super Duty's ride is rather harsh, especially on rough pavement. I felt every bump and pothole as the truck's stiff ride did little to absorb the imperfections in the road. That said, the F-250 still handled fine while cruising at highway speeds or maneuvering through town.
The ride smoothed out considerably once I attached the trailer. The truck was quite enjoyable to drive as I headed west on Interstate 94 toward South Haven, Michigan. Maneuvering through a city can be tough with a 26-foot trailer behind you, but Ford has a camera view to aid with this too. When the driver activates the turn signal, the display shows the view down the side of the turn, making it easy to watch the trailer and avoid cutting things too tight.
Accelerating to highway speed was plenty quick, and with the adaptive cruise control set to 67 mph, the trailer-towing truck delivered a confident ride even with a strong crosswind, thanks in part to the integrated trailer brakes and sway control.
Another stress point when driving with a trailer is changing lanes on the highway. Once again, Ford has technology to alleviate this issue with the extended blind-spot warning system. Taking into account the length of the trailer, I received notification whenever a vehicle was alongside my rig, all the way to the end of the trailer.
While the Super Duty trucks don't offer Ford's hands-free BlueCruise driving system, my F-250 Platinum did employ adaptive cruise control with lane-centering assistance. The system worked perfectly with the trailer attached, bringing me to a complete stop when construction caused a traffic backup, then automatically starting again when the car ahead moved.
Photo: Perry Stern
The 2025 Ford F-Series Super Duty boasts immense capability in hauling cargo and towing big loads. Its advanced technology adds a level of convenience and ease that helps separate it from the tough competition. While rivals like the Chevrolet Silverado HD, GMC Sierra HD, and the Ram Heavy Duty are all impressive, the Super Duty bests them all with class-leading towing and hauling. With luxury options like the new Platinum Plus, the Ford F-Series Super Duty lets customers tackle challenging truck tasks without roughing it.
Perry Stern has worked in the automotive industry for over 30 years and has always been a car enthusiast. Driving almost every new car on the market, Perry has written for multiple publications in addition to his work for JDPower.com. Recently relocated to southeast Michigan, Perry remains passionate about cars, especially his 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata.
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