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Ford Canada took auto writers to Charlevoix, Que. to show that the new F-150 can handle Canadian winters.Francis Vachon

I've just lived a day in the life of a TV commercial. You know, that cliché pastiche of pickup trucks toting and towing, pounding through quarries, plugging through mud and reeling in far horizons against a scenic backdrop of rugged Canadian-ness.

We all know most 1500 pickups live their lives as sub/urban commuters with the occasional light hauling job to the lake or the dump. But like city slickers vacationing at a dude ranch, Ford is letting us experience its new F-150 doing all those TV-ad things for real.

Any time Ford redesigns its perennially profitable bestseller, it's a huge deal. But this time around there is more than usual at stake. Ford bet the farm on a segment-exclusive aluminum body and smallish turbocharged engines to reconcile the capability buyers want with the efficiency society needs.

To show how it all works, Ford sent a bunch of auto writers up the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in a sample mix of F-150s representing three of the four available engines (2.7- and 3.5-litre EcoBoost V-6s; 5.0 V-8) and four of the five available trim grades (XLT through Platinum).

Common to all are SuperCrew cabs, 4x4 drivetrains – and non-standard tires. To handle on- and off-road activities in minus-double-digit temperatures, Ford installed BFGoodrich's new KO2 tires. These all-terrain knobblies apparently qualify for the winter-tire snowflake symbol, yet can be driven year-round.

For Globe Drive, the adventure almost ends before it begins. Within 500 metres of the start in Quebec City, a navigational miscue leads us down a short alleyway of almost medieval narrowness. We make it through with door mirrors intact, but it's a scary reminder that taking some 315 kilograms of weight out of a full-size pickup doesn't make it any less a full-size pickup.

The base of operations for the F-150 Winter Drive is Charlevoix Airport near La Malbaie. Our ride is a Lariat with the 5.0-litre V-8 that shrugs off the steep ups and downs of the road along the north shore. Indeed, the whole driving experience disarmingly disguises the size of the thing – it's that light, easy and relaxed. Maybe a bit too relaxed acoustically – there's not much V-8 thunder for gearhead ears.

Charlevoix Airport sits atop a hill about 11 kilometres from La Malbaie. The steep, winding road that connects them is a patchwork of packed snow, ice and bare pavement; it's also the designated route for our toting and towing experience. Driving F-150s with the 3.5-litre EcoBoost V-6, I first run the route with a 900-pound load in the bed, then again towing 8,500 pounds worth of backhoe on a trailer. This isn't a comparison test, so this isn't to say how any rival pickup would have managed; however, the F-150 handles both burdens with a compelling blend of power, stability and traction. The truck carrying 900 pounds goes from 0-80 km/h in eight seconds … on an ice-covered straightaway

Just for the record, the fuel-consumption for the 8,500-pound tow test: 33.8 litres/100 km.

After the beast-of-burden demo it's into an XLT with the 2.7-litre, V6 and FX4 off-road package. The remaining exercises involve powering along a deeply rutted straightaway covered in foot-deep snow, followed by a handling course on ice and then mountain-goating the steep, rock-strewn access roads of a nearby quarry. All are accomplished with consummate ease and a remarkable absence of perceived distress from the aluminum-body-on-steel-frame structure.

By now I'm convinced the 2.7 EcoBoost is my favourite F-150 engine. Aided by an idle stop/start system the other engines lack, it's even less thirsty than the base V-6, effectively matches the low-end torque of the V8 and is much smoother than the 3.5 EcoBoost.

Still, in the context of big pickups, fuel economy is relative: the next morning's sedate highway drive back to Quebec City still consumes gas at an average of 13.8 L/100 km. Combine that number with the previous morning's narrow escape in an inner-city alleyway, and I still don't "get" why so many Canadians choose full-size pickups as their daily drivers.

That said, this new F-150 feels really good to drive. It also appears to have all the capability that most owners will never need. Given the rabid brand loyalty typical of this segment, I don't see the F-150 causing any mass defections from Ram or GM, but for those already committed to the blue oval, there's no apparent reason for them to waver in their faith.

My drive partner is Ford Canada's product marketing manager for trucks, Mike Sinuita. He tells me fully 93 per cent of F-150 sales are 4x4s, 75 per cent are SuperCrews, and 70 per cent are the one-up-from-base XLT trim level. The official MSRP sheet lists three dozen trim/cab/drivetrain/box-size combos from as low as $21,399, yet one single combo accounts for about half of sales – the XLT Super Crew 4x4 ($41,549). Top whack for an F-150? That would be $66,999 (exc. options, delivery and taxes) for a Platinum Super Crew.

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