These ‘interviews’ were done early on the second day. We were driving the thousand clicks from Québec City to Halifax and, despite it being the height of tourist season there was almost nothing on the roads other than the odd delivery truck. We had time so muse.

For instance, it’s funny they call this highway the TransCanada. In northern New Brunswick, it’s so close to the American border that if the cartographer sneezed, we’d be halfway through Maine to Boston.

Here, the highway has two lanes with an occasional third for passing. The trucks tend to drive in convoys and prefer to pass each other, sloth-slow, up 2-km hills. (This is the northern end of the Appalachians.) They resume single file just when the floating lane evaporates. If the opportunity finally comes to overtake them, you need the power to seize it.

Anyway, what those two guest reviewers were briefly getting at was the performance of this pickup’s lion-hearted 6.7L Power Stroke eight-cylinder diesel engine. They loved it rocketing us into the next province when the truckers weren’t clogging the all-too-infrequently-appearing passing lane. The purported slowness of diesel’s acceleration was not in evidence. We flew.

Right girls? “Yes” and “I like it.”

The three most important women in my life also loved the comfort provided with the Lariat trim. Black leather seats, console and steering wheel were part of the preferred equipment upgrade, which included the diesel engine, for a sobering $9,950. The front seats were heated and air-conditioned. Satellite radio and GPS made the long trip enjoyable and easier. And the ride was smooth enough for long naps.

2015 Ford F-350 4×4 Crew Cab engine bay, fuel cap. Click image to enlarge

But there’s no mistaking that this is a working truck. Consider the row of auxiliary switches in the centre console beneath the touchscreen. Flicking them did nothing, so we looked them up in the owner’s manual. Make “aftermarket customization easy with four pre-wired switches attached to the power distribution blocks for electrical accessories”. Cool! There are already several outlets, but this truck can be converted into a rolling dynamo!

Utterly respectable fuel efficiency, given the obvious

A novice in the diesel world, I’ve never had to purchase diesel exhaust fluid before. Considering how long this truck is, we thought, no wonder the back end gets its own fuel. It’s practically in its own time zone. A warning on the instrument panel gives you plenty of notice, first calling attention to the disappearing fluid 800 km before it’s empty. We had to reload twice but it only set me back about $25 total.

Then there was the magic of diesel. With zero help from our leaden feet, this immense beast consistently rendered 14.1 L/100 km on the way down to Halifax and 14.8 returning to Upper Canada. It was comfortable, powerful and, if you’re patient, easy to park — probably overkill, but a fine truck nonetheless.

2015 Ford F-350 4×4 Crew Cab
Base Price: $62,099
Options: $18,045
A/C and other Taxes: $134.45
Freight & PDI: $1,690
Price as Tested: $81,968.45

Competitors
Chevrolet Silverado 3500
Ram 3500