are crude compared to their passenger car counterparts, it means that (a)

you haven't been paying attention the last 10 years and (b) you haven't

seen the new generation of Ford F-Series trucks.

Sophisticated tough on the outside, thoughtfully comfortable within,

with an overhead cam V8 under the hood and an imposing range of safety

and convenience features, these pickups are the industry pacesetters, and

for good reason.

Last year Ford gave the lighter end of its F-Series pickup truck line

a major, major going over. Most obvious is the rounded snout, raked windshield

and overall smooth look. But the big changes were underneath, with a completely

new front suspension, new frame and new family of engines.

Ford's F-Series line includes the lighter-duty F-150, medium-duty F-250

and heavy-duty F-350. initially, the new look and accompanying improvements

applied only to the F-150, but for 1997 they're extended to and F-250 models

rated under 8500 GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating). The heavy-duty F-350

versions remain with the previous styling and mechanicals; if you want

a crewcab, dual rear wheels, or the 7.3-liter diesel, you have to go with

the "old-look" F-350. It's due for its own major redesign within

a year or so.

SuperCab; wheelbase lengths of 119.9 in., 138.5 in. and 157.1 in.; smooth

Styleside or nostalgia-look Flareside; two-wheel or four-wheel drive; and

three engines: a 4.2-liter V6 of 210 hp and 255 pound-feet of torque, or

a pair of overhead cam Triton V8s, a 4.6-liter of 220 hp and 290 lb.-ft.,

and a 5.4-liter of 235 hp and 330 lb.-ft. These are the world's first and

so-far only overhead-cam V8 truck engines.

Then there are four trim levels: Standard, XL, XLT and Lariat, in ascending

order. Not all possible combinations are available. But, by and large,

there ought to be something here for just about anybody. Just counting

Styleside or Flareside, 2WD or 4WD, regular cab or SuperCab, wheelbase

choices and trim levels, we arrived at 60 choices and that was before we

got into the multitude of available options.

Our subject vehicle was an F-250 SuperCab in Lariat trim, powered by

the 5.4-liter V8.

We don't have room to go into all the prices, but the lowest-priced

F-150, with rear-drive, a regular cab, Stylside standard trim, and a V6

engine has a base price of $14,430, plus $615 destination, for a total

of $15,045. The "base" on our highly-loaded F-250 was $24,625,

including destination.

The Lariat trim includes several items that would otherwise be options.

Ours had a package that included leather seats, power mirrors, four-wheel

anti-lock brakes and a chrome rear bumper; the 5.4-liter engine; automatic

transmission; sliding rear window; trailer towing; keyless entry; and a

six-disc CD changer. The total, including a "Special Added Discount"

that took off $1850, came to $27,495.

The new Triton engine family is terrific, especially the 5.4-liter version.

In smoothness, it embarrasses practically every other truck engine on the

market. The power delivery is crisp and responsive, and to good low-end

power it adds excellent mid-range and higher-speed power to make short

work of real-world demands such as quick acceleration to freeway speeds.

Another very welcome change is a completely new front suspension with

upper and lower control arms. It replaces the ancient Twin I-Beam, and

we're thankful. With the new layout, ride is far better, handling is superior,

steering feel is drastically improved and directional stability, such as

when traveling at highway speeds in a severe crosswind (which we had an

opportunity to experience), is immensely enhanced. We would expect that

even tire wear, a Twin I-Beam weak point, would also be better.

Towing capacity for the base F-150 is 2300 pounds, but the F-250 with

2WD and 5.4-liter V8 is rated at 8700 lbs., which should take care of most

of us.

you'll have to make a trip to your Ford dealer and check one over. But

we'll give you some of the high points.

With the 40/60 split-bench front seat, driver and passenger have individually

reclining backrests. What can serve as the center backrest is also a folding

armrest; when folded forward, it provides a large cupholder and spacious

bin. Inside this storage bin are places for coins, tapes and so forth,

and a divider for organizing odds and ends.

The driver is faced with comprehensive, clearly-legible instrumentation,

and everything that needs to be is close and easy to operate. There are

two cupholders in the instrument panel, and a goodly number of the storage

compartments and map pockets here and there. Appreciated by one woman passenger

were two grab handles which aided climbing in and, once in, pulling the

door shut.

The view outward is superb, as the new styling job has included a low

beltline and big windows all around. The only gripe we had was a vertically-narrow

inside rear-view mirror.

All SuperCabs include a third door as standard equipment, on the passenger's

side, for access to the back seat. It's operable once the main passenger's

door is open, and it can be opened from inside or out. Once in, back-seat

passengers will find things tolerably comfortable for three adults, and

probably not too bad for trips of some distance with only two adults in

back. As another very handy feature, ours had a 40/60 split seat in back,

whose cushions could be folded forward to provide a flat, sturdy steel

surface, great for carrying toolboxes or large amounts of luggage.

previous Ford trucks, will find a surprisingly enhanced driving experience

in the new F-Series. For some time, partly due to the Twin I-Beam, partly

due to over-assisted power steering, Ford trucks had a numb feel through

the steering and would wander when encountering large dips or road irregularities,

and were very susceptible to being blown around by crosswinds. That's all

pretty much a thing of the past.

Our F-250 had genuine steering feel, either when traveling straight

ahead or negotiating twists and turns. And it had a high degree of directional

stability, which helps to keep the vehicle headed down its intended path.

Ride, too, was remarkably good. One big problem with pickup trucks has

always been how poorly they tend to ride when empty; this can become really

annoying on fairly long trips on concrete interstate highways, where the

truck will bounce ceaselessly. We ran our F-250 through exactly such a

situation for several hours, and the ride was relatively car-like and comfortable,

mile after mile.

Another part of the driving pleasure quotient is due to the smooth,

quiet overhead cam engine. There's no truck-like roar or rumble, no feeling

that it's overworked at higher speeds. Again, driving around the city,

or taking an extended highway cruise, the 5.4-liter Triton engine was probably

the most velvety full-size pickup truck engine we've encountered. The 4.6-liter

version is equally smooth, but less powerful, and we highly recommend the

stronger 5.4-liter V8. It's $555 more, but you'll probably get most, if

not all, of it back at trade-in time.

in the same sentence with "cutting edge, aerodynamic styling,"

but with the new Ford F-Series, we think it works.

There's a lot to like about it in addition to the look. The interior

is extraordinary, the new V8s are silky and strong, the ride and drive

is exceptional and it's full to the brim with worthwhile features. We don't

see how you could go wrong.