(Bloomberg) -- King Ranch is a place and a state of mind. The largest ranch in the US, the 825,000-acre South Texas spread became a national landmark in 1961 and counts ranching, hunting, farming, saddlery, citrus and farming equipment among its trades. Founded by Richard King in 1853, it’s made such a ripple in American culture to earn references in Taylor Sheridan’s popular Yellowstone series.

It also has a collaboration with Ford Motor Co., which I recalled driving the all-new Super Duty F-250 4x4 Crew Cab King Ranch around Los Angeles. This special edition marks the fifth generation of Ford’s Super Duty truck series.

As I rolled down some of the same streets where I tested the Tesla Cybertruck a few weeks ago, I realized the two couldn’t be more different. Sure, they’re both made in America and among the biggest trucks on the market today, but the Cybertruck appeals to affluent city folk, Tesla Inc. acolytes and first adopters more likely to trot around Beverly Hills than around the barn.

Ford’s King Ranch, on the other hand, appeals to a much different mentality: the construction foreperson who needs a tough, reliable workhorse and wants to feel close to the spirit of the Old West. 

Ford started making King Ranch-branded rigs in 2001 as an homage to a property that’s bigger than the state of Rhode Island and produced the 1946 Triple Crown champion, Assault. The automaker now offers King Ranch editions of such models as the F-150, Explorer and Expedition. You can identify them by the running “W” motif displayed everywhere from the hubcaps to the stitching across the cab’s center console.

The F-250 Crew Cab King Ranch edition combines supreme towing and hauling power with interior and exterior details, including leatherwork and embroidery, that evoke traditional Western craftsmanship.  

Read More: Tesla Cybertruck Review: It’s Weird. It’s Brash. It’s Not Bad

The Essentials

The variant I drove comes with a 10-speed automatic transmission and Ford’s new 6.7-liter V-8 diesel engine, which has as much as 1,200 pound-feet of torque, on top of 500 horsepower. It’ll tow 40,000 pounds, double what would be considered standard on any decent truck, and more than enough to pull boats, RVs, ATVs, horse trailers—or about seven Cybertrucks.

It fits firmly among the growing number of work trucks outfitted to be rolling job-site offices, such as the Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD High Country and the Ram 2500 Limited Longhorn.

And it’s priced to match, starting at $75,975, with options including a retractable hard bed cover ($2,200) as well as that diesel engine ($9,995), among others, that bumped the cost of the one I drove to $94,800. That’s more expensive than some competitors, like the $74,195 Silverado (crew cab, long bed, four-wheel drive), but cheaper than more high-end Ford trucks such as the $97,095 Super Duty F-250 Limited. 

The Good

Ford says 96% of heavy-duty pickup owners use its trucks to tow something. So if that’s you, you’re in the right place. I didn’t tow anything with this truck, nor did I load it up with lumber or brick or dirt, as any decent rancher might.

But I did feel a sliver of that crazy torque when I drove it about an hour outside LA to Riverside one Saturday morning. When I put my foot on the gas pedal, the thrust was so strong that I wondered for a second whether the back wheels were spinning, like the pros make them do in drag races. It’ll trounce pretty much anything that wants to toe the line against it, and its deep diesel roar will scare everyone else. 

I was pleasantly surprised by how good visibility was overall as I navigated corners and parking spots. Mirrors the size of footballs doubled up on each side of the vehicle, plus there were some newly available systems, such as the 360-degree camera that provides a bird’s-eye view of the trailer. That would be especially helpful for when you’re towing a fifth-wheel or gooseneck trailer.

In an industry first, there’s also a reverse-sensing camera system that alerts drivers to obstructions even when the tailgate is down. Taken together, these innovations significantly maximize sightlines. 

The truck is stuffed with lots of standard-issue comforts, too, including a sliding rear window, rain-sensing wipers, ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control, a heads-up display and wireless charging. A twin-panel moonroof ($1,495) makes the cabin feel even roomier.

I appreciated how easy it was to clean the so-called Kingsville Antique Affect interior after my German shepherd, with her muddy paws and ever-shedding coat, had been inside. A once-over with a microfiber, some cleaning spray and a lint roller for the carpet had it looking like new. The tar-black spray-in bed liner ($595) made sliding in pots, bags of soil and garden tools easy, with no concern of scratching.

The Bad

The F-250 plunged aggressively from stoplight to stoplight down Sunset Boulevard, but it wasn’t as brassy on the highway when I wanted to gallop from 55 mph to 70 mph. And when I wanted to pass people, it felt sluggish. If you’re in need of tight steering and instant responses in handling even at high speeds, this is not the vehicle for you. 

Ford made Super Duty the first pickup series in the US with embedded 5G capability. But its infotainment system still took longer than I’m used to when I attempted to sync it with my phone, and it often had to reload the onboard map as I routed myself out to Riverside.

On my way home, when I tried to chat on the hands-free phone function while also using the navigation, the system spooled and stopped altogether. It felt like it had been installed a few years ago, not recently. 

This thing is huge, too, sometimes to a fault. If you don’t have the space to park a truck that’s about 20 feet long, almost 7 feet wide and more than 7,000 pounds (and bigger in the long-wheelbase versions), it will make your life more difficult, not easier.

Do you want to choose your activities based on whether the destination will have parking to accommodate this behemoth? I had to; it was a bummer. It’s 6 feet, 8 inches tall before any lift options. I didn’t even attempt to drive it to the office, since I knew the low parking garage clearance, turning radius around corners and bevy of compact parking spaces would spell disaster and embarrassment. 

If You Remember One Thing

Ford’s big work truck has a well-appointed cabin space that fits five workers and enough grunt to pull an actual mobile home. For those who can afford its hefty price and spacious parking demands, it represents a powerful partnership between two of America’s hardest-working brands. 

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