Ford Trucks lifts the 2019 International Truck of the Year Award

The new F-Max, produced by Ford Trucks, has been elected International Truck of the Year (IToY) for 2019 by a jury of 23 commercial-vehicle editors and senior journalists, representing 23 major European trucking magazines.

The prestigious award was handed over to Haydar Yenigün, Ford Otosan GM, at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover, Germany, on yesterday.

With a winning score of 126 votes, the new F-Max heavy-duty tractor fought off the challenges posed by Scania’s recently launched L&P Series and the FH/FM truck range powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Volvo Trucks.

Charleen Clarke, editorial director of FOCUS and associate member of the IToY jury, says the Ford is a truly deserving winner. “I drove the truck recently in Istanbul, and it is massively impressive. It’s the biggest surprise within the truck industry in a very long time. It is astoundingly good in all areas,” she comments.

In terms of the IToY rules, the annual award is presented to the truck introduced into the market in the previous 12 months, which has made the greatest contribution to road-transport efficiency.

Jury members take into account several important criteria including technological innovation, comfort, safety, driveability, fuel economy, environmental footprint and total cost of ownership (TCO).

During a recent extended test drive in Turkey, the IToY jury members praised the efficiency and advanced characteristics of the F-Max’s driveline, including Eco-Roll, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and GPS-based Predictive Cruise Control functions.

Equally impressive was the pairing and quietness of the 12,7-litre, six-cylinder Ford Ecotorq engine with the ZF 12-speed Traxon automated gearbox. The Euro-6 engine is rated at 500 hp (373 kW).

The IToY journalists also appreciated the key features of the new long-haul cab, which offers a comfortable, ergonomic, user-friendly working and living environment, with a flat floor, a width of 2,5 m, an interior height of 2,16 m, excellent storage capacity and cockpit-style dashboard featuring a digital instrument cluster (which is both easy to read and navigate).

Jury members also commented favourably on ConnecTruck, the connectivity platform of the vehicle.

Summing-up the jury vote, IToY chairman Gianenrico Griffini commented: “With the introduction of F-Max, Ford Trucks has delivered a fine engineered tractor that can be a meaningful new player in the highly competitive segment of long-haul transport.”

Look out for Issue 10 of FOCUS, which features a comprehensive review of this truck.

Find out more about IToY in our exclusive interview with the chairman Gianenrico Griffini.