I have an 06 F-250 with the V-10 and previously had a 99 PSD. With 2800 miles on the V-10, I would have to say that it certainly has more pick-up than the diesel. I haven't towed anything yet with the V-10, but it is pretty torquey--not as much as the diesel, but with the posi rear, it is better than the non-posi diesel in mud and gravel(less need to put it into 4WD).
I have been averaging around 12--15MPG--the only mods are a K&N filter, and a Flowmaster/Gibson hybrid cat-back dual exhaust(I liked the Gibson pipes and tips--hated the sound of the muffler, so I ditched the muffler and welded in a flowmaster 50, and kept the other Gibson components. I haven't been easy on the gas pedal though.
So, far, I definately like the V-10 better than the diesel, and we are going to purchase a few more for our fleet--currently 99% of our trucks are PSD.
fixed the MPG! and added this link:
great resource for Ford excursion/trucks:
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/index.php