Diesel vs Hybrid vs V6 vs Turbo - And The Most Fuel Efficient Pickup Truck Is…

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[scottperson]

Nice. How about the same test with a 50% of payload in the bed? It would be interesting to see the percentage mileage change on each truck.

[justinfry]

I'm sure these videos are tedious for y'all at TFL, but I actually love watching them and seeing the real world results. Thanks for all y'all do, TFL!

[tempestofruin]

Every time I see a new frontier the more I like it. The design was knocked out of the park and keeping it more traditional and small was a smart move

[teknightrider]

Thanks TFL crew for making me feel more "sane"! 😇 As I've mentioned in other posts...I’ve been blessed to personally owned eleven (11) Trucks and SUVs…BUT NOW it's about to be twelve (12) after "my" F-150 Lightning is built the week of 6/20/22.

Anyway, eight (8) of our trucks and SUVs were body on frame…’92 F-150; Suburban 2500; Dodge Cummins; 4Runner; three (3) Tundras ’00 Access Cab, ’05 Double Cab & ’11 CrewMax; and a Tacoma TRD Sport. Three (3) have been unibody ’07 RAV4 V6; ’08 Highlander and our latest truck (before the Lightning arrives) a 2017 Honda Ridgeline w/i-VTM4 Torque Vectoring AWD. So at one point or another I’ve had just about everything except a Nissan product (but I have a really good friend that has the newest Titan).

So I’ve obviously had all types of MPGs, as I’ve hand calculated every fuel up at the pump on every truck and SUV we’ve ever owned (yea I'm a nerd/nut). 🤓🤪 Plus, I’ve also obviously had every type of 4x4 / 4WD / AWD / Torque Vectoring AWD system there is…and there is a HUGE MASSIVE difference between all those. But for my needs (which has included towing u-hauls, box trailers, a travel trailer and Malibu competition tow boats), and also where I drive “normally” in the NW…the later Torque Vectoring AWD system with its “always ready to grip and go” has been by far the best for speed and safety with the likes of wet fall leaves, crossing over the Cascade Mountain Range and sometimes off the beaten path, or even “off-road” situations that my older 4WD trucks would get stuck in (spinning 1-wheel). 🤨 I would also be amiss if I did not also state that tires make a MASSIVE difference…where I will have to admit with very few exceptions (when I was younger) I’ve typically ditched a “stock A/S type tire” to switch to some sort of Michelin tires that are at least rated for Mud & Snow. I’ve usually done this when a truck was new, because to me I've kicked myself in the past after finally switching tires to a Michelin (where I'd think to myself, "I should have done this years ago"). So in more recent years, I've just found it is much cheaper to swap out tires when they are new in the first 150 miles, and sell the stock tires while they still have their lil’ vent spews / rubber hairs. 😇

BACK to MPGs…and Computer Estimates
Our Ridgeline consistently gets in the higher 25's (25.6 - 25.8 MPGs) for most twisty highways over the Cascades or straight down I-5 with wind and/or rain. The two (2) best fuel fill-ups its ever done was 26.3 MPG…and just a couple of weeks ago w/47K on the odometer it got 26.6 MPG hand calculated at the pump. Where we’d fueled up at Costco in Salem and drove over the Cascades to Redmond, Powell Butte, Bend and back to the Salem Costco the next day. So anyway, thanks again for helping me feel a lil’ better as it’s always bugged me that the computer is ALWAYS being more optimistic by 2.1 - 3.5 MPG. Just like when I fueled up my Trip B (that I always use for calculations) the computer said it was getting 30.1 MPG, which again came out to 26.6 at the pump. But still, I am continually amazed what my “wife’s Ridgeline” gets for MPGs; and how well it handles; and how quiet and nice it rides.

And BTW our ’97 Cummins pretty must got 22-23 MPG every where it went…except towing our Malibu Ski Boat…then it got 16-17 MPG.

SIZE of F-150 Lightning to Ridgeline
Again I was writing down all the new specs to “my” new F-150 Lightning into my Notes App (as I’m that nerd that likes to look up the Water Fording or Width and Specs at a glance). And again I can see why on the Passenger Registration (from the government), and the IIHS lists the Ridgeline as a Full-Sized & Large Pickup (because it really is ever so close…especially from firsthand experience after having owned everything else). So, my new F-150 Lightning is 80” (6’-8”) wide…the Ridgeline is 78.6” (6’-6.6”)…so the Ridgeline is literally only 1.4” narrower. Then between the wheels wells in the bed…the Ridgeline if 50” and the Lightning is 50.6”. Bed Length Ridgeline 5’-4”…Lightning 5’-7.1”…anyway just interesting I thought.

Hope that might help others out there! 😇

[paulwatson]

Glad to see Nathan back more on the video's. Great job guy's as always .

[killercan]

Silverado 1500 with the 3.0 diesel would have made this an interesting test. I think you guys need a part 2 to this with that, maybe a Maverick Hybrid as well. Also, I like seeing the chart you added. Perhaps cost/mile would be a nice addition to that?

[richardwoodworth]

I like what folks are saying, test it with payload. 80% payload or towing of the least rated one. Would be cool to see and a different outcome for sure

[adamsytsma]

I have a 2022 Ram 1500 limited ecodiesel 4x4. It has the 3.21 gear. The worst I've gotten for the tank was 23.5 & that's the 1st fill up. My norm is around 24.5-25.5 with mix driving. All highway with 3 people & the air on, 28.7mpg. That isn't bad. I wasn't driving like a granny either. That's 70+mph the majority of the time. It is pretty slow in any acceleration run... But if I had to do 60mph, I'd get over 30mpg easily.

[MJorgy]

Andre's F150 gets almost the same fuel mileage as my 2006 Fusion 2.3. That's pretty awesome.

[JHuffPhoto]

You should only concern yourself with the axle ratio if all other things are equal. If you have two trucks that are otherwise the same but have different axle ratios then the one with the higher (numerically lower) ratio will almost always have better fuel economy because the engine will be spinning slower at the same wheel speed.The axle ratio really doesn't play that big of a part in these situations. It is the overall ratio between the engine and the drive wheels that matter. In these cases any differences in overall ratio is swamped out by the other differences in the vehicles. As always it is still entertaining to watch your videos.

[Van_Liberty]

I had a 1999 Holiday Rambler Endeavor 37' Class A diesel pusher on the Freightliner chassis with the first year 24v 5.9l Cummins that weighed 26k lbs. Power was never really an issue, save mountains and I can't say either way because I didn't do any mountains. I would pretty much always get 12mpg....Amazing and the coach was no slouch in performance.

[edwardpate]

You should have had a GM 1/2 ton with the 3.0 Duramax, the mileage king! In your loop I'm pretty sure you would have been nudging 30mpg based on my experience with my 2022 Sierra.

[vettle]

Doesn't matter if we can all guess the results before watching... I love watching your videos!!

[WheresHerb]

I don't know about anyone else, but my V6 4wd extended cab 2021 Chevrolet Colorado gets 25-27 mpg every day. Combined highway and rural roads.
Typically 68mph on highway and 55-60 mph on rural areas.

[chrismoody]

My best fuel mileage on my 2016 5.3L 4 door Sierra 6 speed at 75mph is 26.1. I got admit it was dead flat terrain, no winds, and I drove the full tank nearly dry all in one go. On average with heavier traffic is more like 23.

[celticbart]

just burst out laughing with Case's remark about men with big

[rightwingsafetysquad]

I've been seeing a lot of the new Frontiers on used car lots already. It seems Ford and Jeep/Ram dealers have more of them than Nissan dealers. Is there something wrong with them?

[secondamendment]

Good job guys. I would have liked to see the Ford Maverick in this comparison.

[stevelee]

My 22 f150 powerboost consistently reports higher numbers than what I calculate at the pump. If the truck says 23mpg, I usually find it to be 21.5mpg. I bought my truck end of Feb22, now it's end of May22 with just under 12k miles. I added the Livernois tune and gained quite the performance boost and actually increased mpg, but I had to move up to 93 octane (altho ford recommends 91 anyway). I still feel like the 3.0 duramax is the better option, but for some wacky reason diesel prices are insane.

[scrappyjackalope]

The final drive ratio is what matters, not axle ratio... these transmissions with triple over drives can support very high numerically differential gears.. not to mention motor power characteristics.