why small trucks don't get as good gas mileage ...

[M1Accord]

I notice that some of the large F150 gets as good, if not better, gas mileage than the Ford Ranger, Mazda small truck, or Toyota Taco. It has been a question in my head for quite sometime and I do recall seeing a V8 F150 loaded to the gill has 21 mpg highway while the Ford Ranger has 19 or 20. The city mileage is not that much better with the Ford Ranger either.

Is it a scam or what? I can't see how Ford can do so well with the large truck gas mileage and can't improve the tiny Ranger to get 25+ mpg, especially the 2WD version.

Please educate me on this.

 

[M1Accord]

I am looking for a truck and prefer small truck for ease of city parking, driving, and basic utility as well as lower insurance. However, if gas mileage is not better I may just go for a bigger truck that can do more towing when needed and be used as a vacation vehicle.

 

[stranger706]

I understand where you're coming from.

How does a V6 Mustang with 305hp get better mileage than my I4 Mazda 3 with 160hp?

If I were in your position, I'd get the full size.

 

[GenSan]

I just checked and the Ranger gets city/hwy 22/27 while the F150 is 15/19.

Are we looking at the same numbers?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: M1Accord
I am looking for a truck and prefer small truck for ease of city parking, driving, and basic utility as well as lower insurance.

Have you looked into smaller hybrid SUVs? If you want good gas mileage, that's probably your best bet, and when you fold the back seats, you can fit decent amount of stuff in there. Ford Escape Hybrid (and the twin Mazda Tribute) is EPA rated at 34 MPG city / 31 MPG hwy.

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: GenSan
I just checked and the Ranger gets city/hwy 22/27 while the F150 is 15/19.

Are we looking at the same numbers?


The 4 cyl is rated at 22/27. The 4.0 SOHC V6 is rated at 15/19.

Last time I looked, the 4cyl Ranger is the most fuel efficient pickup still sold in America.

 

[M1Accord]

I am looking at used truck because I need a place to put trash bags as well as hauling 3 large folding tables, a big farmer market tent, a few chairs, supplies, etc. My Corolla can handle it no problem but it is a pain for me to load it into a car, which can actually handle 5 folding tables, and the car stinks for a day or two after hauling trash away.

I cam cheap so I only buy things $5k and below.

 

[stranger706]

Originally Posted By: M1Accord
I am looking at used truck because I need a place to put trash bags as well as hauling 3 large folding tables, a big farmer market tent, a few chairs, supplies, etc. My Corolla can handle it no problem but it is a pain for me to load it into a car, which can actually handle 5 folding tables, and the car stinks for a day or two after hauling trash away.

I cam cheap so I only buy things $5k and below.


In that case, buy a trailer and pull it with your car.

 

[M1Accord]

4.6 liter V8 Ford F150 loaded to the gill gets: 15/19

Fuel
Fuel Tank Capacity: 26 gal.
EPA Mileage Estimates: (City/Highway/Combined)
Automatic: 15 mpg / 19 mpg / 16 mpg
Range in Miles:
Automatic: 390 mi. / 494 mi. / 416 mi.

I think some gets 21 mpg. Same for the big toys from Dodge and GMC. And it is amazing how small a Ranger is comparing to a F150. I don't think the Ranger has gotten Americanized like the Tacoma or Tundra or any other truck but its gas mileage is miserable.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: GenSan
I just checked and the Ranger gets city/hwy 22/27 while the F150 is 15/19.

Are we looking at the same numbers?

I think he is comparing a V6 Ranger with a V8 F150... they both in fact are rated about the same for MPG 15-16 city/21 HWY. Hence his question: why should he get the Ranger, if a larger and more powerful F150 gets the same MPG?

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: exranger06

Last time I looked, the 4cyl Ranger is the most fuel efficient pickup still sold in America.


It has a smaller engine than the Chevrolet/GMC 2.9, Nissan/Suzuki 2.5, and Toyota 2.7. I don't remember when Dodge ditched the Dakota's 2.5 (AMC 150) but it didn't get very good mileage anyway.

The Duratec23/Mazda MZR (non VVT )powered Ranger is the most efficient pickup. No competition now that Mazda has discontinued it's North American B-series...

...until Mahindra makes it's debut.
I personally would like to see more than 30mpg from a diesel but it does make it the most fuel efficient pickup in the US


But even the diesel Mahindra can't match the 45mpg city and 54mpg freeway mileage of the Volkswagen diesel pickup. Who cares if it's top speed is only 62mph! The national speed limit was only 55mph when VW dealers still had Rabbit pickups on their showroom floor.

 

[NHHEMI]

The trucks are smaller true but they are very heavy and are like a brick going down the road( aerodynamics )just like their big brother's.

You should get slightly better MPG from a small truck vs a big one but it isn't a ton.

 

[Spazdog]

Parking.

Run downtown and parallel park a Ranger. Then try it again with a F-150 Crew Cab.

 

[JHZR2]

because most just HAVE to have a v6 to feel safe accelerating into traffic. heaven forbid they learn how to merge and we teach drivers the best practices for the road.

 

[440Magnum]

Been driving an 08 Ram 1500 Lone Star (crew cab, 4.7) for a couple of weeks. It gets only 0.6 mpg less than my 4-liter Cherokee that's many feet and a couple thousand pounds lighter. And a 5.7 Hemi with MDS in that same truck gets *better* mileage.

People dismiss fullsize trucks, but there's a LOT of technology even in the workhorses these days. From transmissions to the profile of the cab to reduce drag, the manufacturers do pay attention to details. What galls me is that even a half-ton truck is just so physically HUGE now compared to what they used to be.

I don't find the 1500 particularly hard to maneuver, although I've gotten spoiled to my Cherokee, but then I grew up driving far bigger vehicles than the Cherokee. The Cherokee never ceases to amaze me with the small turning radius it has.

 

[gathermewool]

What's the gearing in the Ranger? My gramma has a 97 M/T Ranger with the 4Cyl, and she only ever gets in the mid 25s. It seems the gearing is very low, and screams on the highway. Maybe shorter gears for more usable torque in each gear?

 

[dparm]

They're direct injection and disable cylinders, that's how.

My 4.2L 40V V8 in my Audi S4 gets only 14mpg around town, yet somehow the Corvette ZR1 with an even larger motor making more power does much better.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Also EPA is NOT an ACCURATE way to compare ACTUAL MPG.

They take the weight, aero and such to come up with MPG. I get well over the 19MPG that my truck says for highway and drive it in town and up and down the mountains. My Cousin has a V6 ranger and never gets close to what I do and he drives it the same.

Same with my 2000 Silverado. It was a 14/18 mpg and the worst I ever saw towing a large trailer was around 15 mpg. Best was well over 20mpg.

 

[ItsuMitsubishi]

The 4.0L SOHC is a terrible engine, and including it in a comparison is the only way you can say smaller trucks get worse mileage than bigger ones. Just buy a smaller truck without that engine, and you're golden.

 

[ItsuMitsubishi]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
Also EPA is NOT an ACCURATE way to compare ACTUAL MPG.



+1.

EPA is as accurate in the real world as Consumer Reports, or JD power...