They werent wrong.

The infotainment screens and instrument panels are awlful as well. Just give me regular 1993 Econoline or Tempo gauges, with a dimmer switch that goes to completely off. Nightime Military airplane dim.

Talked to a Jeep rep recently. "You do understand that half your customer base owned a YJ, TJ, CJ, or their father did, and they loved them? "

"Get rid of the Light Bright dash, the darn sound bar, the multi shaped vents, and the locker switches that wont lock the diffs when I say so. Get me a 2.0T with the 6 speed manual or an I6 and 4.88 gears." Doubtful that stalantis will listen. AL body sure would be nice too. And the jeep pricing.....ick. After pricing jeeps, I went over to Mercedes. Can get a darn plush car for the price of jeep scraps.

 

Same engineers/designers were used on the shallow & wide cupholders in the middle front fold down seat: coming to an abrupt stop perfectly launches/ejects the contents of the cupholders.

 

No disrespect to your choice at all. Everyone has their specific needs & wants.
All I've driven are XLT Premiums for years. After reading all the posts over the years about Lariats, King Ranches, Platinums, etc. it just seems humorous to me to see "luxury" and "XLT" in the same sentence!

 

the two things i wish i could get with an STX is the power folding/extending mirrors and seat heaters and it would be fine for me.

 

The high end models are a scam. XLT has been where its at, since 1998. I prefer XL, since I camp, travel, and wheel.

 

For years if I had a cloth seat and power windows I was just fine. Never been a leather seat fan.
Now that I've aged the option list has grown a bit for me. Heated cloth seats are great. Powerscope mirrors have become a must along with Apple Car Play. But other than that I have no need for all of the creature stuff on the higher end models. Hell, I barely use cruise control.

 

I was in your shoes a few months ago when I bought my '25 F250 7.3 STX. I was looking for a 3/4 ton to replace my 2014 F150 STX. My '14 F150 STX was a MUCH more basic truck than my '25 F250 STX. I was expecting an STX to be an XL + (cloth seats, carpet, color-matched bumpers, and aluminum wheels). I knew that backup cameras were mandated for vehicles shortly after I bought my '14 F150 so I knew this was going to be in all trim levels of these newer trucks. Unfortunately, these new STXs are a bit too loaded for my liking, especially with the inclusion of the 360 camera system. Interestingly, the '26 F250 STXs do not have the 360 camera system, which I would have preferred, but I couldn't even get a '26 at the same price that I bought my '25 even though the '26 was defeatured by about $2,000.

 

Fun fact…there’s no such thing as a 1998 F350 or F250 (not counting that weird F150-based F250LD). ‘97 was the last of the OBS trucks, and the SD was introduced as a ‘99 model year in early ‘98.

 

My, how we forget…



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I recall those weird “light duty” 250s. Odd model.
I had a 1997 which basically was a 450 but was badged as F Super Duty. Cab & chassis I believe. It had an Altec bucket on it.

 

Yes, the 10-lug wheels are a dead giveaway too. There are a couple ex-tree trucks on FB marketplace that I’ve got my eye on right now. One has a 10’ dump bed

 

I had to replace my 2017 2500HD (before the transmission puked, again...) so I decided to go back to the SuperDuty. In 2023, some of you may recall, Ford was having some supply and build issues with the SuperDuty... I talked to my dealer about what I wanted in a new truck, which was very specific to my needs, but not very fancy. There was nothing available, but he soon lucked into a dealer trade... a 2023 F-250 CC/LB STX with the 7.3 gasser. It checked all of my boxes, with the glaring exception of it being in 4WD... I don't want or need 4WD. But guess what? I had two choices... 'Take it' or 'Leave it.' I took it. There were probably 10 people behind me waiting to buy that truck, and there weren't any more F-250's on the horizon.

For the most part, I like the STX. It has a lot of nice upgrades, most notably the LED headlamps, but also 18" alloy wheels. I'm not a big fan of the electronic safety suite... collision warning, rear braking, all the goofy cameras.

When we ordered our 2025, we had to order an XL... because we wanted 2WD. I would have like to have had the STX package in the new truck... but that would force us into 4WD, and that was a deal-killer for the wife.

 

When I went in to order my 22, I knew I wanted cloth seats, which put my highest trim at XLT. I also knew I wanted power mirrors and console front seating, which locked me in at an XLT. For the most part, I agree with less is more, but there are some features I also wanted. I like the back up camera. No, it's not needed, but I am glad it is standard. I also like the 8" entertainment screen, and that it is has CarPlay. Being able to display my maps on the entertainment screen while driving rather than other gadgets all over the place is great, and it's a plus that it also handles all of my phone calls and text messages so I don't have to. I also preferred the vinyl flooring (which for some reason costs extra in the higher trims...) But, yes, I wanted function over looks. My truck would have never been found on a lot... not enough chrome or navigation in it for that. Instead I opted for heavier axles and springs to make it more capable. I would have been fine with the STX had it offered the console seating and powered mirrors though. Maybe they do now... I don't know.

 

My impression of the current offerings is that STX is fine for those who are used to barebones work trucks that just want their trucks to look like a retail truck. XLT Premium seems to be the sweetspot for those who want some features. In the past up to 2022 the STX was just a full chrome package and was only about 1k or 1500 or something anyway. Adding too much to it will cause too much overlap with the XLT/XLT-P.

 

Agreed and I also have an XLT and XLT Premium. Personally, I could afford to buy whatever trim level I wanted but I specifically wanted to maximize payload and all the extra doodads on the higher trim levels just seemed like more things to go wrong. I'll take my Mercedes or BMW if I'm looking to experience luxury......I never actually imagined that some people look at truck trim levels as some sort of achievement badge LOL! I'm old enough to remember when Ford had Custom, XL, XLT and Lariat only......and I also remember when work trucks didn't come with A/C, radios or even rear bumpers! These "plain jane" XL and STX trucks are far more "luxurious" than the trucks I grew up with.

Dave