Ford has finally made perhaps the most anticipated announcement about the all-new 2015 Ford F-150, its fuel economy estimates. The best rating comes courtesy of the 2.7L EcoBoost V6 powered 2WD truck. It’s 19 MPG city, 26 MPG highway, and 22 MPG combined. Is this good enough to justify all the investment into light-weight aluminum construction, turbocharging, and much more?
2015 Ford F-150 MPG Estimates
| Configuration | City / Hwy / Comb MPG | HP / Lb-Ft |
| 2.7L V6 EcoBoost 2WD | 19 / 26 / 22 | 325 / 375 |
| 3.5L V6 2WD | 18 / 25 / 20 | 282 / 253 |
| 3.5L V6 EcoBoost 2WD | 17 / 24 / 20 | 365 / 420 |
| 5.0L V8 2WD | 15 / 22 / 18 | 385 / 387 |
The little EcoBoost has a lot going for it. It has a lot of torque (375 lb-ft) and delivers 22 MPG on the combined cycle. Here is an odd comparison. The much smaller and less powerful 2015 Chevy Colorado I4 2WD is rated the same (22 MPG combined). So, a full-size pickup truck with a powerful engine is getting the same combined rating as a midsize truck with a four-cylinder. However, this is not best in class (more on this later).
The big EcoBoost is rated at 20 MPG and is nearly as efficient as the base 3.5L normally aspirated V6. The 5.0L V8 is less stellar at 18 MPG combined and also not best in class (Chevy 5.3L V8 is rated at 19 MPG combined).
Competition MPG Estimates
| Manufacturer | Configuration | City / Hwy / Comb MPG | HP / Lb-Ft |
| Ford F-150 | 2.7L V6 EcoBoost 2WD | 19 / 26 / 22 | 325 / 375 |
| Chevy Silverado | 4.3L V6 2WD | 18 / 24 / 20 | 285 / 305 |
| Nissan Titan* | 5.6L V8 2WD | 13 / 18 / 15 | 317 / 385 |
| Ram 1500 | 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel 2WD | 20 / 28 / 23 | 240 / 420 |
| Toyota Tundra* | 4.6L V8 2WD | 15 / 19 / 16 | 310 / 327 |
* no longer offer a V6 engine option
What is the best that the competition has to offer? Well, the elephant in the room is the 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel in the 2015 Ram 1500. It has all the torque of a turbo-diesel and the 23 MPG combined to boot.
What about cost and real-life economy? You can select the 3.0L EcoDiesel in the Ram regular cab 2WD Tradesman with a starting price of $29,910 before destination charges. The 2015 Ford F-150 regular cab 2WD with the 2.7L EcoBoost at starting price of $26,215. Diesel power still carries a significant premium ($3,695 in this case).
On the other hand, real-life economy may be another story. It is common for a diesel vehicle to get MPGs that are better in the real world than the estimates. The same cannot be said about the existing EcoBoost powered vehicles. TFLtruck has not yet tested the 2015 F-150, but we struggled with real-world numbers in other turbocharged Fords.
We will reserve final judgement until we are able to test the truck, but the mpg estimates and pricing look to be in Ford’s favor.
Check out the first 2015 Ford F-150 roll off the assembly line in Dearborn, MI.
Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, writer, reporter, and software engineer. He has been a contributor at TFL since 2011.
