Ford announced that its new F-150 Power Stroke Diesel has earned an EPA-estimated fuel economy rating of 22 mpg city/30 mpg highway. These figures represent the highest EPA ratings for a full-size pickup truck and best those of the outgoing 2018 Ram 1500 diesel, which earns 20 mpg city/27 highway for 2-wheel-drive models. Along with the 25 mpg combined rating, the figures coincidently exactly match the figures of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon diesel pickups, which are a class-size down and use 4-cylinder engines.
Ford said that the impressive fuel economy figures were the result of more than a decade of labor that included the development of the aluminum body and new 10-speed automatic transmission.
“Even a few years ago, customers wouldn’t have imagined an EPA-estimated rating of 30 mpg highway would be possible in a full-size pickup, but our team of crazy-smart engineers rose to the challenge,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford executive vice president, product development and purchasing.
All-new 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6
The 2018 Ford F-150 Power Stroke Diesel will use a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 that was developed in-house and shares what the Blue Oval calls “commercial-grade technology” with the well-regarded 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel found in its F-Series Super Duty trucks.
Along with touting the 30 mpg fuel economy figure, Ford says the new diesel F-150 will have best-in-class power at 250 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque, best-in-class towing of up to 11,400 pounds, and best-in-class payload for a light-duty diesel at 2,020 pounds for fleet models and 1,940 pounds for retail models. Those comparisons are against the outgoing 2018 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. An all new Dodge Ram 1500 has arrived, but at the moment only V6 and V8 gasoline engines are offered in that rival pickup.
The F-150 Power Stroke diesel is set to head to dealer lots in May, and when it does will mark the sixth powertrain choice for this top-selling truck. Pricing will be announced closer to its on-sale date.
