Ford will deliver up to 23 mpg with a 2011 F-150 equipped with the new 3.7-liter V6.
Good fuel economy is not something normally associated with a pickup truck – one reason the truck market crashed when gas prices spiked past $4 a gallon in 2008. But Ford Motor Co. is betting that a new array of powertrains, including a high-mileage V6, will help revive demand among personal users as well as those watching their budget at work.
The compact 3.7-liter six is one of four powertrains that will be offered with the 2011 Ford F-150, a list that also includes a new truck-based application of the maker’s EcoBoost engine, a premium offering that is designed to pair both fuel economy and performance in one package.
But the V6 is the 2011 F-150’s mileage king, delivering 16 mpg on the EPA City cycle and 23 on the highway. By comparison, the Chevrolet Silverado gets, at best 14/19 mpg with its current base engine, a 4.8-liter V8. And while the Silverado Hybrid is rated at 21 City, it still delivers only 22 on the Highway cycle.
Overall, Ford claims its new F-Series powertrain line-up is 20% more efficient than the engine offerings from the 2010 model-year, meeting what truck marketing manager Doug Scott calls, “the number one unmet need in the segment.”
The 2011 Ford F-150's new 3.7-liter V6.
The V6 is the primary reason for the overall F-Series fuel economy improvement, though an across-the-board switch to 6-speed automatic gearboxes helps. So will the launch of the new 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine, which will join the F-150 line-up around the middle of the 2011 model-year.
EcoBoost technology uses many of the tricks developed for high-mileage, high-performance European diesels, even though it runs on gasoline. That includes direct injection and twin-turbocharging. While Ford has yet to release final specifications, the EcoBoost is expected to deliver towing and payload capacity similar to the outgoing 4.6-liter V8 but yield mileage closer to the normally-aspirated 3.7-liter V6.
For the 2011 model-year, Ford also plans to offer a new 5.0-liter V8, a ruggedized version of the 8-banger currently available in the Mustang line. There will also be a 6.2-liter V-8, the truck’s top performer, for models like the F-150 Harley-Davidson and Raptor editions.
(For a complete look and first-drive of the 2011 Ford F-150, Click Here.)
By boosting mileage to well above the norm for the traditional full-size pickup, Ford is betting that it can expand the reach of the segment, which has only partially recovered from the twin whammy of 2008’s gas crunch and the ’09 economic meltdown.
Ford also is betting that the 2011 F-Series will broaden its reach to those who might normally opt for smaller pickups, like the maker’s Ranger. That aging compact truck is about to go out of production – in the U.S., anyway.
An all-new version of Ranger is launching in Thailand and, later will be produced in South Africa, as well. But Ford officials have repeatedly insisted they won’t bring that model here. It is too large to be considered a true replacement for the American compact pickup, according to engineering czar Derrick Kuzak, and with the addition of the F-150’s new 3.7-liter V8, the global Ranger wouldn’t do much better on mileage, either.
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