Sometimes the words “fuel” and “economy” don’t really go to together but are linked anyway. One of our favorites is Ford’s “Best-in-class” claims at 23 highway and 17 city in the vaunted F-150 lineup. The funny part is they are perfectly correct. The sad part is they are perfectly correct.
For some reason we’ve been sold on the more-power-and-less-mileage package on trucks. In the interests of full disclosure, other than a Ford Courier I had in my teens and the Ranger I roll around in now, every truck I’ve owned has had some truly terrifying mpg. It’s not that a V6 that averages 20 mpg and sports 300hp isn’t impressive; it is. We’d just like to see something like a small truck that averages 30 mpg or better.
We’re not saying that the larger trucks are worthless or that they aren’t making them better in power, fuel, and work output than they were a few years ago. It just seems the auto makers are cutting small trucks and small engines and going bigger each year. We’d like the choice back, instead of being forced to go bigger or older.
Ford Pickup Comparison [Ford Motor Company]