2019 Ford F-250 vs Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD
Say goodbye to the half-ton pickup and take your first foray into the domain of the heavy-duty. These trucks prove that titans still roam the earth. Weighing up to 7,500 pounds, heavy-duties aren't your grandad's rear-wheel-drive pickup. These are earth movers, concrete haulers, furniture-luggers, and job-site-stylers are mega machines. In today's matchup, we have the two best in the business. In one corner, there's the 2019 Ford F-250 and in the other there's the Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD. Which of these heavyweights claims top billing? We'll show you in this comparison guide.
Towing and Payload: 2019 Ford F-250
What's the most important thing about a heavy-duty truck? It ain't the CD player. No, hauling and trailering capacity is what really matters. Without that, a truck's not really a heavy-duty, just the world's largest paperweight. The 2019 Ford F-250 hauls up to 3,790 pounds and tows a whopping 35,000 pounds. That's 17.5 tons, folks. Meanwhile, the Chevy Silverado 2500HD hauls 3,100 pounds and tows up to 23,100 pounds. In this category, there's not much competition. When properly equipped, the Ford F-250 is the reigning champion of towing and payload capacity.
Engine Output: 2019 Ford F-250
The base engine on the Ford F-250 is a 6.2-liter V8 boasting 385 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque. If that's not enough, you can upgrade to a 450-horsepower 6.7-liter turbocharged diesel V8 delivering a whopping 935 pound-feet of torque. That amount of torque is class-leading, blowing everything else out of the water.
Meanwhile, the Chevy Silverado 2500HD offers a base 301-horsepower, a 360-horsepower, or a 445-horsepower turbodiesel V8 engine. The turbodiesel can unleash 910 pound-feet of torque. These numbers are good, but just like towing and payload, the Chevy Silverado 2500HD does not reach the heights that the Ford F-250 does. Though the Ford Super Duty truck has fewer engine options, the F-250 starts with a great engine and improves from there.
Price: 2019 Ford F-250
A top-tier, fully-loaded Ford F-250 can cost up to $88,000. But if you want just a no-frills workhorse, you can get one for as little as $34,645. (If that's already out of your price range, try the Ford F-150, which starts at just $28,155.) Standard features for the base trim include 17-inch steel wheels, manual front locking hubs (four-wheel-drive models), intermittent wipers, rearview camera, manually adjustable telescoping towing mirrors, removable locking tailgate with tailgate lift assist, 2.5-inch trailer hitch receiver with a 2-inch insert, driver information display, and four-speaker audio system. The F-250 can be configured as a regular, extended (Super Cab), or crew cab with either 6.8- or 8.2-foot bed length.
IMAGE: F-250 INTERIOR
Despite having inferior engine options and less available payload and towing capacity, the Chevy Silverado starts at a higher price point: $37,600. While there are extra features on the Silverado 2500 that the F-250 doesn't have-like a 7-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity, and a six-speaker audio system-we're not sure that's enough to charge over $3,000 more for. As with all things, you be the judge, but our money's on the F-150.