North Georgia Ford Compares 2014 Ford Super Duty F-350 SRW VS 2014 GMC Sierra Near Jasper, GA

The F-Super Duty has standard head airbag curtains for front and rear seats that act as a forgiving barrier between the driver and outboard passenger's upper bodies and the window and pillars. Combined with high-strength steel door beams and lower side airbags this system increases head protection in broadside collisions. Head airbags cost extra in the Sierra HD and are only available for the front seats.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the F-Super Duty deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Sierra HD’s airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the F-Super Duty’s optional Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Sierra HD doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

Both the F-Super Duty and the Sierra HD have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height-adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, available four-wheel drive and electronic stability systems to prevent skidding.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Ford F-Super Duty is safer than the GMC Sierra HD:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford F-Super Duty is safer than the GMC Sierra HD:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The F-Super Duty’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Sierra HD’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are over 74 percent more Ford dealers than there are GMC dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the F-Super Duty’s warranty.

The F-Super Duty 4x4 has a solid front axle with a floating power axle for durability that the Sierra HD 4x4’s independent front suspension and exposed front driveshafts don’t offer.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the F-Super Duty has larger alternators than the Sierra HD:

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the F-Super Duty offers larger standard and optional batteries than the Sierra HD:

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2013 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Ford vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford 13th in reliability. With 7 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is ranked 17th.

The F-Super Duty’s 6.2 SOHC V8 produces 25 more horsepower (385 vs. 360) and 25 lbs.-ft. more torque (405 vs. 380) than the Sierra HD’s 6.0 V8.

The F-Super Duty’s 6.7 turbo V8 diesel produces 3 more horsepower (400 vs. 397) and 35 lbs.-ft. more torque (800 vs. 765) than the Sierra HD’s 6.6 turbo V8 diesel.

The F-Super Duty Diesel Long Bed’s standard fuel tank has 1.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Sierra HD (37.5 vs. 36 gallons).

The F-Super Duty has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Sierra HD doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

For better stopping power the F-Super Duty’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Sierra HD:

For better traction, the F-Super Duty has larger standard tires than the Sierra HD (245/75R17 vs. 235/80R17). The F-Super Duty’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Sierra HD (275/65R18 vs. 265/70R17).

The F-Super Duty’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 75 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sierra HD 3500’s standard 80 series tires.

The F-Super Duty’s optional suspension has front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the F-Super Duty flat and controlled during cornering. The Sierra HD’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The front suspension of the F-Super Duty uses coil springs for better ride, handling and control than the Sierra HD, which uses torsion bars in front. Coil springs compress more progressively and offer more suspension travel for a smoother ride with less bottoming out.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the F-Super Duty’s wheelbase is longer than on the Sierra HD:

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the F-Super Duty is 1.5 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Sierra HD.

The F-250 Standard Bed Lariat Crew Cab 4x4 handles at .74 G’s, while the Sierra 3500HD Long Box Denali Crew Cab 4x4 pulls only .69 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The F-Super Duty Regular Cab has 7.3 inches more front hip room and 2.8 inches more front shoulder room than the Sierra HD Regular Cab.

The F-Super Duty Crew Cab has 7.3 inches more front hip room, 2.8 inches more front shoulder room, .2 inches more rear headroom, 3.1 inches more rear legroom, 2.1 inches more rear hip room and 2.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Sierra HD Crew Cab.

The F-Super Duty shortbed has a much larger cargo box than the Sierra HD Regular Cab shortbed (64.1 vs. 60.7 cubic feet). The F-Super Duty Regular Cab longbed has a much larger cargo box than the Sierra HD Regular Cab longbed (77.3 vs. 75.5 cubic feet).

The F-Super Duty Crew Cab shortbed has a much larger cargo box than the Sierra HD Crew Cab shortbed (64.4 vs. 60.7 cubic feet). The F-Super Duty Crew Cab longbed has a much larger cargo box than the Sierra HD Crew Cab longbed (77.4 vs. 75.5 cubic feet).

A low lift-over bed design makes loading and unloading the F-Super Duty easier. The F-Super Duty Regular Cab’s bed lift-over height is 35.2 inches, while the Sierra HD Regular Cab’s liftover is 38.7 inches. The F-Super Duty Crew Cab’s bed lift-over height is 34.2 inches, while the Sierra HD Crew Cab’s liftover is 38 inches.

The F-Super Duty’s cargo box is larger than the Sierra HD’s in almost every dimension:

The Ford F-Super Duty has a standard tailgate assist feature, which prevents the heavy tailgate from falling with a crash and causing injury. It allows adults and children to easily open and close the tailgate with one hand to better facilitate loading and unloading. Tailgate assist costs extra on the GMC Sierra HD.

The Ford F-Super Duty offers an optional tailgate step, which folds out and allows for much easier access to the cargo area. The GMC Sierra HD doesn’t offer a rear cargo step.

The F-Super Duty’s available front power windows lower with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Sierra HD’s basic optional power windows’ passenger windows don’t open automatically.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the F-Super Duty’s available exterior keypad (not available on F-Super Duty XL). The Sierra HD doesn’t offer an exterior keypad entry system, and its extra cost OnStar ® can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The F-Super Duty’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Sierra HD’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Both the F-Super Duty and the Sierra HD offer available heated front seats. The F-Super Duty also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Sierra HD.

Both the F-Super Duty and the Sierra HD offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the F-Super Duty SuperCab/Crew Cab has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Sierra HD doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

Optional Sync AppLink for the F-Super Duty allows the driver and passengers access to select programs on their smartphones, including reading text messages aloud, playing internet radio stations, searching the internet, following twitter accounts and other connected activities without taking their eyes off the road or their hands from the wheel. The Sierra HD doesn’t offer factory integrated smartphone program access.

The F-Super Duty (except Regular Cab/XL) offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet in the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Sierra HD doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

4-Wheel & Off-Road performed a comparison test in its June 2011 issue and they ranked the Ford F-250 Long Bed Lariat Crew Cab 4x4 first. They ranked the GMC Sierra 2500HD Long Box SLT Crew Cab 4x4 third.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the F-Super Duty first among large pickups in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Sierra HD isn’t in the top three.

Strategic Vision rates overall owner satisfaction with vehicle quality. With a Total Quality Index of 874, Strategic Vision rated the Ford F-Super Duty 25 points higher than the GMC Sierra HD for 2012. The F-Super Duty is ranked first in its class and received the 2012 “Total Quality Award.”

The Ford F-Series outsold the GMC Sierra by over four to one during the 2013 model year.