Editor’s Note: This test drive originally appeared on our sister site Hard Working Trucks.
While riding on top of the hill, the engineer from Ford tells me to keep driving towards the boulder until it disappears from view.
It’s not the most comfortable feeling while driving a new 2017 F-250 FX4. I mean, you know the rock’s there and you don’t want to hit it, yet the man in charge riding shotgun says to keep heading straight towards it.
Fair enough. I’m going to blindly follow his lead—sort of. As I inch towards the obstacle, Ford Vehicle Integration Engineer Andre Kunynetz taps the 8-inch touchscreen in the dashboard and the boulder that I no longer see through the windshield now pops into view on the screen.
Sensors coupled with three different viewing options of the surrounding terrain quickly put me at ease. I favor the 360 view because it provides an overhead shot of the truck along with the surrounding terrain, which includes bushes, a tree and a large rock. The sensors relay to the computer that I’m driving on a tight path with obstacles all around and displays the message on the screen: Please check surroundings for safety.
Without much of a hiccup, I’m now slowly driving while trading glances between the video and the windshield. It doesn’t take long at all to appreciate the all-new camera technology on the 2017 Super Duty line-up. Up to seven cameras are available, including a forward 180-degree view which is great for inching forward out of blind alleys or, in this case, negotiating a tight turn around a big rock.
