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.
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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 Ram 1500 has arrived for 2019, 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.
