Performax Ford F-250 Super Duty 2014 Review

Everything's big in America. Take the Ford F-Series, the USA's most popular new vehicle – bar none – for the last 28 years and the land of the free's top-selling truck for 37 consecutive years.

The Blue Oval's F-Series pickup trucks have been American icons for 66 years, with more than 34 million produced since 1948, and the most popular of them is the smallest F-150.

But if you want a significantly greater payload and towing capacity (not to mention cabin space) than officially imported utes like the Ford and Ranger and Toyota HiLux – for not much more money than others charge for a comparable F-150 here, then you'll need to step up to a Super Duty.

And the smallest of them is the F-250, which lines up against the Chevy Silverado and Dodge RAM 2500s, just as the F-350 is the same size as the Silverado and RAM 3500s, and so on.

The F-250 is also the first in a range of Super Duty models Performax will offer, and it's available now in five dual-cab four-door versions – the entry-level XL (from $105,000 plus on-road costs), XLT ($115,000), Lariat ($127,000) and either King Ranch or Platinum flagships, both for $134,000 (plus ORCs).

We've tested the latter here, and all variants are latest upgraded MY15 models based on the 12th-generation F-Series first seen in the US in 2009.

Performax also plans to bring in a sub-$100,000 F-250 SuperCab 'tradie special', as well as the bigger and more expensive F-350 and, next year, F-450 models, which come with dual rear wheels, a three-tonne payload, 14.1-tonne towing capacity and a gross combined weight of more than 18 tonnes.

Like the all-new Mk13 F-150 that's about to enter US production, those models will also ride on a new aluminium ladder chassis, from MY17, by which time Performax expects demand from tradesmen, farmers, horsey people and high net worth individuals to see it convert 1000 new American vehicles annually, half of which will be Super Dutys.

For now, Performax's smallest F-truck, the F-250 Crew Cab, is no shrinking violet, measuring 6.3 metres long and possessing the ability to tow up to 7.3 tonnes with air brakes.

In fact, so brawny is the F-250, which is another size up from the Toyota Tundra, that Performax had to de-content the vehicles offered to us journos on the launch to bring their GVM under 4500kg so we could drive them on a standard driver's licence.

Like all Super Duty models, the F-250 comes with the choice of 2.0 or 2.4-metre rear trays, shift-on-the-fly 4x4 and a six-speed automatic transmission attached to the rear of a bullocking 6.7-litre Ford diesel V8, which for the 2015 model year now delivers a wholesome 328kW and 1166Nm of torque.

To put it simply, it's sufficient. We spent the best part of two days subjecting Performax's top-line F-250 Platinum to a variety of uses around its base north of Brisbane, including an extended beach and sand trek, gravel backroads, hilly hinterland B-roads and fast freeways, and it never left us wanting for more performance.

Loping lazily along with the soundtrack of a lumpy V8 burble, the big diesel fires into life with plenty of mumbo when called upon. It delivers a startling turn of speed anywhere from low to highway speeds, and spins quickly and willingly to overtake with ease.

The big-bore bent-eight oil-burner delivered rock-solid dependability on the loose sand north of Noosa and equal amounts of refinement on the freeway, which it's barely idling in sixth at legal speeds.

The right-side column shifter – an even its push-button manual gear selector mode – is easy to get used to, and though we averaged close to 15.0L/100km over two days of liberal driving, the Performax guys assure us 13.0L/100km is about average on engines with more miles under their belts.

There's no doubt the F-250 cab is a privileged place to be, positioned higher than just about anything this side of a semi, behind a vast windscreen and expansive side windows that provide a decent view of the vehicle's front corners.

That's handy, because this is a big, heavy truck that requires a double head-check before you change lanes, plenty of anticipation on the way into bends and careful positioning on the road – be they narrow rural ones, tight city ones or even your average freeway lane. And don't even attempt a visit to the K-mart carpark, unless it's half empty.

On the flipside, the cavernous cabin is surprisingly quiet and just as unexpected is the plush ride on all manner of road surfaces, despite less bodyroll than you'd expect for a 3.5-tonne truck.

But as a fit-for-purpose vehicle, they don't come much more qualified than this. First there's a longer, wider and deeper tray than anything seen on a Japanese-brand dual-cab, and its 1100kg payload also eclipses the best of them.

Then there's the ability to tow up to 4.5 tonnes (a tonne more than the best-towing utes officially imported), which really is the 250's drawcard since it can handle the largest caravans built here plus a variety of fifth-wheelers.

Throw in a truck-load of grunt, a mammoth footprint, almost a foot of ground clearance and a proper four-wheel drive system and there's a respectable amount of off-road capability too.

While road presence is guaranteed, there's a level of interior luxury commensurate with a $100K-plus vehicle too, on top of the long list of standard amenities.

The entry-level XL rides on 17-inch painted steel wheels and comes with air-conditioning, trip computer, height/reach adjustable steering column, an enormous centre armrest, side steps, telescoping side mirrors and 60/40-split flip-up/fold-down rear seat.

Standard safety features include six airbags including full-length curtains, electronic stability/traction control, anti-lock brakes, hill start assist, trailer sway control, roll stability control, tyre pressure monitoring and five three-point seatbelts.

The $115,000 XLT adds 18-inch alloys, cloth trim, extra 12-volt outlets, lockage front/rear storage and cup-holders, adjustable head restraints, SYNC voice-activated connectivity, four-speaker CD/MP3 player, cruise control, power door locks, power windows/mirrors, carpet mats, chromed grille and bumpers, rear privacy glass, remote keyless entry and alarm.

For $127,000, the Lariat also scores an 8.0-inch colour touch-screen, sat-nav, reversing camera with active guides, premium Sony sound with eight speakers, digital clock, dash-top storage with two USB, SD card and AV inputs, dual-zone climate-control, leather trim and 10-way power front seat adjustment.

There's also a 200-amp alternator, electronic 4WD control, configurable colour driver info display, power-adjustable pedals, auto-dimming mirror, woodgrain dash inserts, power-sliding rear window, illuminated vanity mirrors, leather-clad multifunction steering wheel, auto headlights, fog lights, keyless entry keypad, rear parking sensors, power-telescoping wing mirrors, chrome tubular side steps and body-colour door handles.

In addition, the rural-themed King Ranch variant ($134,000) offers Antiqued Mesa Brown leather trim with seatback logos, a matching steering wheel and floor mats, driver's seat memory, heated/cooled front seats, remote start, unique woodgrain highlights, body-coloured grille surround, side skirts and bumpers, illuminated side steps and two-tone lower access paint.

For the same price, the urban-styled Platinum adds to the Lariat's standard features 20-inch alloys, premium leather trim with 'tuxedo stripe' and seatback embroidery, driver's seat memory, heated/cooled front seats, remote start, unique woodgrain highlights, a heated leather/wood multifunction steering wheel, 6.0-inch chromed side steps, raided chrome 'PLATINUM' tray lettering, and chromed cargo tie-down hooks, grille, tailgate appliqué and door handles.

Among the host of options are a bed liner, remote start, dual alternators and FX4 off-road pack comprising Rancho shocks, skid plates, hill descent control and decals. The two vehicles we drove with Ranchos were far more controlled than the one without them, so Performax plans on making them standard.

In short, there's more kit than the best equipped Ranger money can buy, and enough to put a $100,000 200 Series LandCruiser to shame too.

And it all works. One of the most impressive things about the F-250 is the lengths to which Performax goes to produce an interior with the same factory look and feel as one you'd buy Stateside.

You could still smell the resin in the prototypes we drove, but that's because they were fitted with fibreglass dashboards that didn't fit perfectly in some places. All customer vehicles will get high-pressure injection-moulded dashboards built off-shore, and an enlarged driver's footwell – complete with driver's footrest – although the power-adjustable pedals will remain slightly offset to the right.

Performax also relocates the roof-mounted Bluetooth microphone to the right side of the vehicle, transfers the security keypad from the left to the right-side front door and also switches the front seat power mechanisms.

Unlike some locally converted F-Series trucks, there is a single RHD steering box on a redesigned steering rack, a full-size glove box and dual batteries in their original place in the engine bay.

Sat-nav will also come with Australian mapping and, of course, fully functioning factory airbags and seatbelts are retained. High-tech processes include 3D printing of prototype components, laser scanning and reaction-injection moulding.

In all, the Performax F-250s incorporate more than 100 new components, all of which are numbered, ensuring the consistent quality and replaceability that hand-made one-off parts lack.

Work is completed to ISO 9001 Quality Assurance standards and certified to ISO/TS 16949 (Automotive Quality Management), and backed by an industry-leading four-year/120,000km bumper-to-bumper warranty including roadside assistance.

Performax has converted more than 3000 vehicles since 1989 and, if it can maintain the level of quality we saw in the MY15 F-250, there's no reason it won't do well here.

Also consider:
>> Chevrolet Silverado 2500
>> Dodge RAM 2500
>> Toyota Tundra