EPA Breaks Down Fuel Economy on 2016 Ford F-150 By Payload

When Ford doubled down on aluminum for the 2015 F-150 1/2-ton pickup and again on the 2017 Super Duty, the promise was for better-than-ever fuel economy, as well as capability. In our real-world testing, we’ve found the fuel economy promise of Ford’s EcoBoost engines varies wildly depending on driving style and conditions. For the 2016 models of the F-150, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is getting a little more granular in its analysis and reporting of fuel economy for Ford’s 1/2-ton hauler.

As an example of the adjustment on the 2016 models, the 2015 F-150 2WD equipped with the 2.7L EcoBoost V-6 was rated at 19 mpg city and 26 mpg highway. The 2016 model, with the added caveat of having a GVWR up to 6,649 pounds, received a rating of 18 city, 24 highway. The 4WD model with the 2.7L and GVWR rating of up to 6,799 pounds is rated at 18 city and 22 highway. The 5.0L V-8 model also got a slight haircut from 15 city, 22 highway to 14 city, 20 highway with the 7,599 GVWR rating.

Figures for the 2016 Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 are not broken out by vehicle weight rating. For comparison, the 2016 Ram 1500 2WD equipped with the Hemi V-8 has a rating of 15 city, 22 highway, and the 2016 Silverado 1500 with the 5.3L V-8 and six-speed automatic is rated at 16 mpg city, and 23 mpg highway. Oddly, Silverado models equipped with the new eight-speed automatic get a 1-mpg lower highway figure at 22.

A 10-speed automatic transmission is coming for the 2017 F-150 Raptor and will likely be offered on other variants of the F-150 as well, which could help it attain higher fuel economy figures on EPA tests.

Source: EPA

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