With full-size pickup trucks, buyers typically fixate on horsepower, torque, towing capacity or some other burly statistic. It’s not normal to be intensely focused on fuel economy the way people are with the 2015 Ford F-150.
But given all the hype around the F-150’s aluminum body — which made the 2015 model an amazing 700 pounds lighter than the one it is replacing — everyone seems to be waiting, almost breathlessly, for a magical miles-per-gallon rating.
Ford says the new F-150 will deliver between 5 percent and 20 percent better fuel economy than the outgoing model, depending on how it’s configured. The official Environmental Protection Agency ratings will be announced in November.
In the meantime, the results from various test drives are popping up in the automotive press, with the gas mileage getting lots of attention. Motor Trend has published some numbers of its own for the 2015 Ford F-150 equipped with a new 2.7-liter EcoBoost (turbocharged) V6 engine.
• An F-150 SuperCab Lariat 4×4 with the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 achieved 16.6 miles per gallon in city driving, 21.5 mpg on the highway, and 18.5 mpg combined.
• The new 2.7-liter EcoBoost engine is downsized relative to the discontinued 3.7-liter V6.
• The 2014 base engine is a 3.7-liter V6, which is not turbocharged. Its fuel economy is 16 city/21 highway/18 overall, when the truck is equipped with four-wheel drive. (This engine will be discontinued for 2015 in favor of a slightly smaller 3.5-liter V6.)
Coupled with the fact that the new aluminum body shaves 700 pounds of weight — a statistic that has been talked up since the truck made its debut — you might expect a gallon of gas to go a lot farther than it did in comparison to the 2014 F-150. The improvement of half a mile per gallon overall might seem disappointing at first. But such comparisons are not so straightforward.
• The 2015 model’s 2.7-liter EcoBoost produces 325 horsepower and 375 foot-pounds of torque. In contrast,
• The outgoing model’s 3.7 liter non-turbocharged engine produces 302 horsepower and 278 foot-pounds of torque — significantly less power.
• Even though both are V6s, the EcoBoost engine can tow heavier loads. It has a towing capacity of 8,500 pounds, versus 6,700 pounds for the 3.7-liter engine in the 2014 F-150.
Four engines to be offered: two carrry over, a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 and a 5.0-liter V8; two new ones, the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 and the base 3.5-liter V6.
The F-150’s closest competitors are the Chevrolet Silverado and Ram pickup trucks, both of which offer larger engines, though that alone does not necessarily make them more capable.
The all-new 2015 Ford F-150 goes on sale before year end.
Read the Entire Story in Forbes