It is a remarkable achievement in a broad sector.
Numbers don’t lie. The 2021 Ford F-150 PowerBoost hybrid, a gasoline-powered, light-duty two-wheel-drive full-size pickup truck, is the champion in fuel economy. The pickup’s EPA-estimated combined fuel economy score of 25 mpg returns 25 mpg in cities and 26 mpg highway. This is a very narrowed-down category. Ford does not dispute the fact that the four-wheel-drive PowerBoost hybrid is the best gas-powered light-duty full-size truck in this category. However, the combined rating of 24 mpg is slightly lower. Although we suspect that most buyers will choose four-wheel drive over two-wheel drive, the PowerBoost hybrid is still as efficient as half-ton diesel pickups from its crosstown competitors.
Fueleconomy.gov reveals that the 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 150 achieves 27 mpg when driven in two-wheel drive trim and has a turbocharged 3.0-liter diesel engine. It achieves 33 mpg highway, although its city rating is lower that the F150’s 23 mpg. The turbocharged 3.0-liter diesel engine in Ram’s two-wheel-drive 1500 outperforms the F-150 PowerBoost by 26 mpg. The Ram 1500 gets 32 mpg highway, but is less than the Chevy. Curiously, the GMC Sierra diesel gets 26 combined MPG despite being powered by the same engine as the Silverado. Aerodynamics are important.
The EPA estimates that the PowerBoost hybrid rating of 5.0 is a EPA estimate. The EPA has not yet listed it. To keep things apples-to-apples in driveline department, these are only two-wheel-drive comparisons. The Honda Ridgeline with front-wheel drive returns 22 mpg. The Nissan Titan returns 18 combined mpg. is just lower than the rest. Although the F-150 PowerBoost two-wheel-drive is not the best, it is a great choice if you don’t like diesel. The F-150 PowerBoost can also produce a lot of torque (773 Newton-meters or 570 pound-feet), and can tow 12,700 pounds. It can also plug in any tools or toys to power your vehicle. It also produces 430 horsepower (316kilowatts), which makes it faster than diesel competitors. In fact, it can beat the F-150 Raptor straight. These things may be more important than just a few extra miles.