DETROIT – Journalists throughout North America got behind the wheel of the new F-Series Super Duty and its new 6.4L Power Stroke diesel last month in Texas. Richard Truett and John Stewart were two journalists on hand for the test drive.

The duo witnessed firsthand how Ford’s new clean diesel technology improves performance, emissions, and noise, vibration and harshness (NVH). Truett, engineering reporter for Automotive News, said the new engine exceeded his expectations. Stewart, editorial director of Diesel World Magazine, was similarly impressed, even though he already expected the Power Stroke to be “great.”

Ford’s new 6.4L Power Stroke diesel is the company’s cleanest, quietest pickup diesel ever, with particulate (soot) emissions equivalent to a gasoline engine. The powerplant delivers 350 horsepower and a whopping 650 lb.-ft. of torque, with notable low-end torque — including peak torque at only 2,000 rpm — thanks to two-stage turbochargers. It’s the first pickup engine in North America to use a high-precision, common-rail fuel injection system featuring piezo-electric injectors.

Ford already has announced plans to offer a diesel in the next-generation F-150, a first for its light-duty pickup lineup.