Which truck is the best heavy-duty off-roader of 2023? We put these three brand new 4×4 pickup trucks to the ultimate test to find out. The contestants are – a 2023 Ford F-350 Black Edition by EOG, a 2024 GMC Sierra HD AT4X AEV Edition, and a Ram HD 2500 Trail Hound.
We put these three 4WD turbo-diesel beasts through the following battery of tests:
- 1/4-mile drag race
- Slowest crawl drag race
- 263-mile road trip MPG test
- Fins-n-Things Moab, Utah off-road trail
We wanted to know how quickly these lifted trucks accelerate. Are they any good for slow crawling? Which truck is the most fuel-efficient on a road trip? Can they tackle a difficult off-road route in Utah? The results are a bit surprising.
The new Ford Super Duty is powered by a high-output 6.7L Power Stroke V8 with 500 hp and 1,200 lb-ft of torque. It’s mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission and a 3.31:1 rear axle ratio. The calculated crawl ratio for this truck is 4.615 x 2.71 x 3.31 = 41.4-to-1, but it is rolling on 37-inch BFGoodrich KO2 all-terrain tires that will affect the overall crawling speed. The tires are part of the Black Edition Elevation Off-Grid package.
The new 2024 GMC Sierra AT4X AEV edition has a 6.6L Duramax V8 under the hood with 470 horsepower and 975 lb-ft of torque. It’s also mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. It’s backed up by a 3.42:1 rear axle ratio. The calculated crawl ratio is 4.54 x 2.71 x 3.42 = 42.1-to-1. It’s rolling on 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory MT tires.
The Ram HD 2500 is powered by a 6.7L Cummins I6 with 370 horsepower and 850 lb-ft of torque. It’s backed up by a 6-speed automatic transmission and a 3.73:1 rear axle ratio. The calculated crawl ratio for this truck is 3.23 x 2.64 x 3.73 = 31.8-to-1. This is why the Ram lost the slowest drag race. The Ford F-350 ended up winning the crawling drag race by a nose.
When it comes to 1/4-mile speed – the new high-output Ford Super Duty Power Stroke won this one (even with the efficiency-minded 3.31 rear axle). This rear axle must have helped on the road trip because the Ford won that as well with 18.2 MPG.
Please join our video below for all of the off-road fun in Moab, Utah (and all of the other tests as well).
