Ford F-150 Gas Mileage: 1980 – 2013

46 thoughts on “Ford F-150 Gas Mileage: 1980 – 2013”

1. I think thats a great idea, a diesel under the hood instead of gas. I wonder what the emissions will be like?
   Lets see how much ford ups the price of the f-150? I love the truck, but what average person can afford it now?

2. Emissions will be fine … as they’ll have to comply to the latest regulations. Price is the big question. How much will they charge to upgrade to the diesel mill?

   No doubt the cost will be amortized over the lifespan of the truck, due to both the reduced fuel costs and increased resale value, but it’s the upfront charges that may hold a lot of folks back.

   It wouldn’t be outrageous to consider that Ford could quickly implement an incentive plan to move ’em off the lot.

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4. It’s a good idea and I have wondered for years why Ford hasn’t done it… the Powerstroke has proved itself again and again all they need to do is down size and it’s gonna stay the #1 selling truck for long time to come

5. when comparing how much money your going to save with a diesel why don’t you compare diesel prices, not gas? fact of the matter is 20 is still terrible gas mileage. and this is what we have to look forward to in 2009? Atleast your thinking about it now…

6. @Andrew – Diesel prices are currently higher than gas prices, no doubt about it. But that hasn’t always been the case and is likely to change, going forward. Biodiesel is changing the game.

   It’s not a stretch to believe that the right diesel engine under the hood of the F-150, along with the optimum gearing could (and will) deliver highway mileage in the mid-twenties.

7. Sad really, GM’s 1/2 ton already is rated at 19mpg hwy so a 1mpg advantage over a gas engine where diesel is .50-.60 more a gallon won’t ammout to much in sales as I’m sure it will be a $3-4000 option. It just does not make sense as long as diesel costs more than premium gas. As much as I love diesels it is a money losing deal for Ford.
   They need a gas engine that can get 20+ mpg highway to make it a selling point vs. other manufactures.

   This is why the Ranger died. Why buy a Ranger that gets the same mpg as a Silverado. 4.0 very inefficient engine.

   Fords have always been lacking in the mpg department compared to GM. I worked for a road commission and our Chevy V-8’s got better mpg than the old Ford straight 6’s.(early 90’s)

8. They have diesel that can be made in your back yard for minimal costs. It uses french fry oil.

   People buy the F150 because its an F150. The diesel will last a whole heck of a lot longer than normal gas will. I love Fords and would pay more to get one. I would hope people know what they get into before they buy stuff.

9. I am a huge Ford fan after having Ford Expeditions in the family since 1999 that ran 150,000 miles with no problems. I did buy a VW Jetta 4-cylinder Diesel & if Ford would start putting out cleaner more efficient Diesels they could have trucks that not only could run 400,000-500,000 miles, but also get 30 mpg.

   I spoke with two people that owned the diesel Excursions that were getting close to 20 mpg in the city & loved them.
   I won’t buy an electric car, nor a hybrid, & I am not a full believer in ethanol yet. Scientists are saying they pollute more after a study in 2007. Ford’s 2008 Diesel line is almost as silent as the gasoline engine, but Americans need to start learning the benefits of diesel. It will save them money on fuel economy & the engine will outlast the car it is attached to.

10. I’m always amazed that Ford (and other companies) sells diesel powered vehicles in Europe that are getting mileage in the mid 40’s. How could they not think that those could sell here in the US – where it’s hard to find much of anything over 20 mpg?

11. Love my 2001 F150 6-cyl 5-speed. Should turn 100,000 miles by March 10, 08. Fun to drive, excellent around town hauler. Clean, simple, easy to maintain, comfortable… It’s the 5-speed that hooked me. I may have to keep this truck until the wheels fall off if Ford discontinues manual transmissions.

12. Mercedes has paved the way for ultra high pressure diesel injection systems in their cdi line.

    Refiners have induced the higher price for diesel. Our current oil price spikes lay at the feet of politicians who have allowed the refiners to use environmentalists as cover to block competing new refineries for over 20 years.

    Don’t count on diesel coming down in price soon as refiners want to recover their re-tooling costs to cleaner burning fuels. They have been slow to re-tool and may never fully replace all the refining capacity they had using the more lax previous standards.

    Europe is choking on diesel smog. Europe doesn’t require the catalytic converters that we do. These smog devices choke diesel engines.

    So don’t look to diesel as the easy fix to our fuel problems. Ford is looking at another gasoline solution that has been publicized. 15% – 20% real gains in efficiency are all that are on the boards for discussion at Ford right now.

    Hybrids? Water/hydrogen power? Diesel? Nothing has leapfrogged to the forefront just yet. When it happens we’ll know.

13. @Rappstr – Many thanks for your comments on the refineries. While there are market forces in play, much can be laid at the feet of the speculators and the overall weakness in the US dollar. A few profit at the expense of the many.

    Ford’s direct injection gasoline engines will help, no doubt. But don’t let anyone steer you in the wrong direction.

    Clean diesel is here now and it works. Biodiesel is here now and it works. Put the two together and we see one of the clear paths to the future. This isn’t science fiction … it’s here today.

14. The biggest problem is the federal government if they would just require gas stations to sell the other fuels such as biodiesel, e-85, maybe these fuels would really take off. The only reason Brazil got the fules is because the government said if want to sell gas here you have sell the ethonal also.

15. We are in the grips of a Greed machine. Big Oil.
    We as consumers are doomed to die either way but why dont we have a little fun before we die. Only one thing will put fear in them.
    My plan: a selective boycott. For a period of 1-2 weeks, we should avoid (collectively) one or two brands. Consider an entire company doing without for 2 weeks. Then we go to another for 2 weeks. That will make them sweat!!!

16. i think that rappstr is right. the diesels of the future will be like the “new” gas engines of the 70’s. pollution laws will create a new game that will take years to iron out. dont expect a fast US diesel solution.

17. @Lou – The new generation of diesel-powered vehicles will begin to arrive this summer. Look for the Jetta TDI Sportwagen to show up at dealers around June.

    Audi’s clean diesel arrives first here in the Q7 with the coming model year.

    I rode in a couple of sweet euro diesels in Sacramento on Monday … an Audi A6 and a BMW 525 … should have videos posted soon …

18. The main problem I see is the same one hybrids faced (and are still facing) today: the total cost of ownership. True the gas prices hit your wallet right now, but anyone that has stopped to ponder how much it costs to run a car day in, day out will agree: If you tack on an extra 4-5k for the motor package (I’m betting more than that, btw) AND don’t pay much less for the diesel to put in it AND can get the same economy of scale somewhere else, what’s the point?

    I’m currently looking to buy something that will impact my day to day finances a little less, but this isn’t it. If all you’re after is better MPG, skip the diesel and wait another 5-10 years until the REAL alternatives come out. As someone lse pointed out H2/whatever isn’t there yet- but it will be, once our US-owned oil/power companies start producing the INFRASTRUCTURE to make it viable. Someday there will be a generator at your neighborhood fill station to make the . Power it with solar, or even regenerated power… Just think, a solar-powered catalytic cracker at the corner minimart!! Then we can really start talking about environment, giving the oil companies/mideast the boot, etc, etc…

    My only point would be, I love Ford trucks 😉 97 F150 w/ 150k + and no worries….

19. A new product, which increases the fuel efficiency of a pickup truck by over 20%, has been developed. I am working hard to get it to market. It takes alot of capital which I am trying to raise. You can read about it at http://www.ecomodder.com. Click on “Commercially produced aerodynamic truck cap.”

    The new aerodynamic truck cap has been wind tunnel tested and has more than one year of over the road testing. The highway mileage went from a baseline of 18 mpg, to 21-22 mpg. Combined city highway went from 15.5mpg to 17.5 mpg.

    With gasoline heading fast toward $4.00 a gallon, by clamping on this new camper, you can save thousands of dollars in fuel costs over the lifetime of your pickup truck and help reduce our countries demand for foriegn oil. WE HAVE GOT TO REDUCE OUR COUNTRIES RELIANCE ON FORIEGN OIL!

    Brett Herndon

    Little Rock, Arkansas

20. Re: sculptair… i went to your site and the fastback looks great. i especially liked it since my F150 is the same model/color. i know i would buy one if the price was reasonable. it would also give me a lot of (out of the rain )space, and the snow/rain would roll off. My suggestion would be to rotate the glass for increased visibility.

21. Does anyone know if there is a company that makes an after market Hybrid upgrade for 2007 F-150?

22. 1997 F-150 – 160,000+ miles, 6 cyl, 5-speed manual. I’m still getting 18.6 mpg highway. I love it…..

23. I love my 08 f-150. Gas milage is so-so but Im not complaining because of the reality of the situation that the public doesnt want to acknowlege…. what really would an extra 20% to 30% of gas mileage do? Even 200% would not be any better when gasoline is still viewed as a neccessity for functionality( work/play/power/entertainment). It would result simply in higher prices for gas( maybe $15 per gal)- maybe less usage but the prices would never come down and if they did it would be short lived. I think maybe the ‘Gas’ age is about over for engine production- maybe 10-13 +/- years left due to a newer technology that is about to be released to the public in the next 3-7 years. With Oil co.’s knowing this, why else would they be pumping the prices up, claiming suppies are low. Hybrids, fuel cell and electric cars seem to be a decoy to keep people distracted from seeing, even when its in their face. It certainly is not the middle east’s issue when we have so much untapped/capped oil/fuel in the west that the people are ignoring/forgetting about and are not wanting to use up(..as if that is even hardly possible). Maybe the east is wising up to the same idea as the west…. From another prespective, it is very similar to the great sugar and flour shortages of yesteryear, but on a grander scale. However the only difference is the goal: Make as much $ a possible before the handover by using fear as a tactic on the uneducated. Aside from all of this, if he american $ is down in worth as they *say* it is, $3.70 worth of gas in another year would be equal to what a $2.70 worth of gas was 2 years ago from the view of my bank account.

24. With the fuel prices what they are today on 11 June 2008, and still going up, I’m not sure 30% is enough. Given that diesel fuel is higher than gas ($4.85 vs. 4.13…. 15%) your not going to gain all that much. And if the demand for diesel goes up, what do the prices do? I’d rather Ford go the way of GM with a good hybrid. Not that GM has one yet, but that’s a better direction than smelly diesel.

25. I have a 1997 F-250 diesel and a 2007 F-150. Both get very close to the same mileage but in the far run it is much cheaper to run the f-150 because of fuel prices. As long as the goverment lets the fuel company make 25 to 30 Billion profit it will not matter what the car company try to do to help their customers.

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27. Engines are pretty much max’ed out regarding MPG. When dealing with trucks you are also dealing with weight, both vehicle, and carrying/towing. You are also dealing with wind resistance of a big block of vehicle.
    one thing that needs attention is gearing. Another transmission gear/s may go a long way. Also from my experience, I think that the EPA drive cycle makes the manufacturers a slave to the test instead of developing real world driving effeciency. I live in a hilly area and it seems that i am always in the wrong gear on a hill. sure it is easy to kick down, but thats where you eat gas. lugging isn’t any better. You would think that a 5.4L with tow rear 3.73 would just about handle any hill. There seems to be an issue here.

28. Hey, just a heads up. One problem with a diesel is repair.. You blow your injectors, kiss about 2 grand a pop good bye.. do the math…. v-8 powerstroke —> 8x 2 g’s is 16 grand. All it takes is a faulty water sensor or crappy gas, not just a lot of mileage. My sister’s boyfriend blew his injectors in his cummings. 15 grand to repair at the mopar shop.

29. Interesting stuff here….

    The Biodiesel…. don’t get your hope up for it. Lets face it, it takes me 1 year to grow a stalk of corn, I can put that into my truck as ethanol or reform it to biodiesel or whatever and go 10 feet down the road…. it’s just not practical. And yes you can get from french fry grease, but we can not replace any notable amount of oil with french fry grease. Again, there is not enough supply to even dent what we use in the US.

    The only method is to make more fuel efficient engines/cars/trucks. Making a diesel F150 is a step in the right direction.

    For all the neigh slayers… ponder this… why is diesel cheaper than gas in Europe when they use far more of it then we do? Their demand is greater and yet it is cheaper than gas? The refineries in Europe are set up to produce more diesel per a barrel of crude oil than the US is. Europe makes about 10 gal of diesel for every 55 gal barrel and the US make about 4 for every barrel. The US has historically (at least in the last 20 years) favored gas, so our refineries are set up to make the most gas from oil as possible. As the demand for diesel goes up, the price will and the refineries will switch to making more diesel, but this process is costly for the refineries and does not happen over night.

    IF manufactures make more diesel cars, and they start to sell because of better MPG, diesel prices will go down as production goes up. But the catch is that manufactures must make diesel engines cheap to get, and get significant better MPG.

    For is tiring to do this with the F150, I hope it works because I need diesel for towing 😛

30. @JrFish007 – Agreed for the most part, other then the slam on biodiesel, which isn’t largely produced in the USA presently from Corn, but from Soy and other crops. Ultimately, much of our diesel may be produced by algae-based processes. We can make all we want.

    The next administration must put an immediate effort into producing more diesel from renewable resources. Other than switching over the process in existing refineries or building new refineries, this is the fastest way to ramp up production and ease the market.

31. For the Range Rover 4.4 litre you mean British gallons per mile (one British/Imperial gallon = 4.546 litres) whereas the US gallons per mile (one US gallon = 3.7854 litres).
    This is impressive with 270 HP.
    However, if you want real mileage try the European Chrysler Compass Patriot 2.0 litre diesels get 46-47miles per imperial gallon!
    So, why doesn’t Ford really build the 2004 Bronco with the high-tech 2.0 litre diesel with a full frame and share it with the new Ranger / F-100?

32. Did you guys look at the mpg specs for the F150’s? Check out 1980-84, M4 tx, 6 cyl, 2wd, & you’ll see several with 19mpg+ city, & 29mpg+ hwy. One goes to 23/33! T’heck with the current crop of nonsense. I’ll use something that gets the job done. I just got an ‘85,6cyl,M4,2wd. It needs work, but it looks like I should be able to get something like 17/22! Shop used for some great mileage that’s no longer available on new equipment! I know, some of that is because of smog devices, etc. But I drive a ’94 Buick LeSabre that gets 20/30mpg from a 3.8L. & it’s nearly bulletproof. They don’t go in the junk yard because of the engine. Why did GM abandon it?

33. Yeah, those numbers from the early to mid 80’s were pure B.S. I had several of those when they were new, (I used to buy a new truck every year) due to the fact I put on alot of miles a year I also kept really good care maintance wise and mileage wise. The best one I had was a 1982 F150 with the 4.9 4 speed O/D and 3.15 gears it got only 23 Hwy once! However my dad bought it from me in fall of ’82 at 60K and drove it until 1999 it had 371K miles. The EFI 4.9 in the 90’s had better power for almost the same milage. I have my 1986 F150 that I saved when it was a year old I wanted to have a restorable truck, It now has a 4bt Cummins with a T19 and 2.5 rear gears and gets in the low 30’s. Its just a toy for me as I’m retired but, They should have came that way from the factory!

34. good morning! i’m in the diesel fuel injection business now for 28 yrs. we’ve heard that F150 story since……i dont know when. (still no diesel F150). BUT i want you to discuss one thing. EPA vs EURO 3/4 my point is why not a world wide standard?? then all vehicles can compete on a level field. this is not that hard!! i found someone talking about epa LEV = to EURO 3 & ULEV = to EURO 4 but we need a standard. those range rover engines would have to pass TWO enviromental tests (and adding to the cost factor!!) just something to talk about. thanks Tim

35. @Tim S – Spot on. One single world standard makes a remarkable amount of sense. Mass media needs to shine a light on the forces that oppose this move.

    Who loses from one (high) common standard? Bureaucrats and special interests. Not the environment. Not the consumer.

36. Helo! Me have e dis truck!

37. you’re forgetting the most important facts about diesel engines;

    1. they last ALOT longer.
    2. they have FAR FEWER breakdowns than gas engines.
    3. their fuel economy STAYS THE SAME throughout the life of the vehicle; whereas gas engines lose gas mileage gradually over the vehicle’s lifespan.

    so, to all the people saying, “oh, well 1mpg isnt that important..” or, “the option is too expensive..” think about how much you will save on gas & maintenance simply by having a more fuel efficient & more powerful truck.

    as well as those reasons, Biodiesel IS also going to be implemented. think about the trucking industry and current gas stations for a moment…

    -it would take billions upon billions of dollars to switch current gas stations from gas to electric. [or gas to hydrogen.]
    -think about how many more power plants we would need in this country to accommodate all the new electricity to power those electric cars; [roughly 144,000 more coal power plants]. and since coal produces more emissions & dirtier emissions than cars, we would actually be destroying the environment more by switching to electric cars.
    -finally, the trucking industry needs torque; something electric engines don’t produce easily. [or enough of]

    the only option America has in the future to cope with environmental problems and the end of gasoline is diesel. not only are diesel engines more efficient than gas engines, [~70% diesel engine efficiency to the pathetic ~30% efficiency of gas engines.] but they last longer, have more torque, are more fuel efficient, and will be easy to transition to Biodiesel.

    my father’s 2005 F-250 Superduty [crew cab + 8ft bed = 22ft.] has a 6.0L Powerstroke Turbo Diesel. he gets around 17mpg city and around 20mpg highway. for a 7,000lb [3.5 ton] truck; thats freaking good.. he has almost 110,000 miles on it and it runs like new, has had no breakdowns of any kind, & still gets the same fuel economy.

    what most people dont grasp is that diesel engines do the same work with 0lbs in the bed or with 2,500lbs in the bed; it’s all about RPM’s. diesel trucks use the same RPM’s on uphills, with weight in the bed, and when towing; gas engines do not. so, if a gas engine gets 20mpg with 0lbs in the bed, it is probably using 2,000RPM’s most of the time. however, it most likely gets 12-15mpg with 2,500lbs in the bed because it must now use 4,000RPM’s to compensate for the weight added. a truck’s gas engine will lose 3/4 of its efficiency, simply by filling the bed; diesel engines wont..

    that is where you lose the gas people, not through commutes to work everyday, but through extra RPM’s on uphills/towing/hauling.

    bottom line is that gas engines are not meant for trucks. thats it. diesel engines are better engines, maybe not faster, but better engines.

    the $3,000 to $4,0000 you spend to install the diesel engine is WELL WORTH IT in the long run, as you will save gas, have fewer breakdowns, your truck will last longer, you will have more torque to work with, your truck will be able to pull/tow/haul more, and, as the truck gets older, it will still perform as it did when it was brand new..

38. I have a 2001 f150 5.4l 4door with a exhuast, air intake, and and edge evo chip custom set for gas milage and Im lucky to get 15mpg on a good day driving on the highway. In the city I get 11mpg. Not sure why but Im not heavy footed but My truck is in tip top shape and maint. on a regular basis. Horrible gas milage.

39. I just wodering why ford don’t want to get more options for their f 150 engines.Diesel f 150 will be great and amazing especially in the philippines,because of high gas price.

40. How did Ford get 30 mpg from the F-100 / F-150 in 1983 according to the above graph? That kicks tail on the 2012 Ford F-150 that gets only 23 mpg with a smaller V-6 engine. What gives?

41. @DJ – Great question! I’ve been trying to track down the answer for a while now. The ’83 was lighter and had less horsepower, no doubt about that. The high-MPG version had to be optimized for highway mileage through gearing. There was a straight six ’83 F-150 for sale not too far from here last month. I would have bought it if I had the spare cash.

42. The data and chart for the old years appears bogus.
    The official numbers at: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/epadata/83guide.txt show the best F150 at 23 mpg, not 33. Even if some adjustment is made for the change in EPA mpg methods, 33 is a ludicrous number.

    I do agree however, that marketing has done mpg a huge disservice. The trend to the big, brawny trucks with 20″ wheels of today has negated any efficiency improvements. My 1990 Silverado, with only a 4 speed auto and throttle body fuel injection, ran 21-22 mpg when new and on 100% gasoline. Today, @ 180K, it will still achieve 20 mpg on E10 gas/ethanol (I’ve always found a 5-10% penalty with E10 across all my vehicles). The new Silverados, with port injection, active fuel management, 6 speed auto only achieve the same. The specs say my 1990 is 1000 lbs lighter! It also probably has less air drag, since its lower and trimmer. Yet the payload and towing numbers are the same and the extended cab is roomier. Would today’s powertrain in my 1990 Silverado deliver 25+ mpg?

43. @Gary – Aye, yup! Call it bogus if you will, but the data came straight from the horse’s mouth (EPA). Looks like the text page you linked shows a combined figure? I’ve been hunting down old magazine advertisements after seeing anecdotal evidence of a “33 in ’83” marketing push. I have a 1983 Ford pickup brochure, but it does not include fuel economy estimates. No doubt there was hand-wringing over this back in the day.

    In addition to being no ethanol in the gasoline back then, there was a 55 MPH national speed limit. The engineers may have been able to tweak one of the overdrive transmissions to deliver eye-popping numbers at that lower speed.

    By theory, E10 should provide 3% less fuel-efficiency than 100% gasoline. It’s extremely difficult to test this in the real world, as there are many environmental variables (traffic, temperature, humidity, load, elevation changes, etc …)

    Aerodynamics have a huge impact on highway fuel efficiency. A 33 MPG highway full-size pickup with today’s engine technology is technically feasible, but might be aesthetically repulsive. Who wants to drive a pickup truck that looks like a fish with skirts and Moon caps? =)

44. I have been having problems with my current Chevy truck and am considering a new vehicle. I am looking into a 1999 Ford F250 Diesel truck. I have heard about the benefits of diesel engines and wondered if they were true? The truck I am looking at has 177,000 miles on it, seeing as it is a diesel, should that be a concern? Also wondered about the advantages and disadvantages of diesels vs. gasoline engines, especially when it comes to towing…I would probably only be towing in the summer, but what kind of mpg could I expect, both with hauling a 4-horse goose-neck trailer and without it? Here, in Illinois, would the difference in fuel economy be worth the difference in fuel prices?

45. Have 1984 f 150 4wd 300 str6 4sp. Single barrel carb 20mpg in town 28 highway I keep her around 65mph top. Truck and engine all original just broke 67, 000

46. 1981 F-150 2WD 302 V-8, 2-bbl, Reg cab LWB with the same fuel-miser Clarke 4-spd manual 16/27. It ain’t fast but cheap parts, antique plates, and decent MPG keep it on the road.