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A 2018 F-150 with EcoBoost will essentially get the same MPG as a 2018 Ford Taurus. I suspect the Focus Active will be their high efficiency vehicle and they'll

A 2018 F-150 with EcoBoost will essentially get the same MPG as a 2018 Ford Taurus. I suspect the Focus Active will be their high efficiency vehicle and they'll continue to increase the MPG on SUVs and certain trucks. I'm in the market for an SUV or crew cab truck for weekend road trips (I walk to work) and have been impressed with the 2015+ F-150s. If I actually did commute every day I could just buy a 10 year old Honda or Toyota and have the best of both worlds.

ebbv 8y ago
That’s not so much saying the F150 is efficient as it is saying the 2018 Taurus is sadly inefficient. The F150 is a huge and heavy vehicle. While the current model is more efficient than other recent models it is not an efficient car. Not remotely.
kasey_junk 8y ago
But what about the focus and fiesta? It's true that the Taurus is a ridiculous fuel burner but to get the same fuel inefficiency out of the focus you have to move to the rs super hot hatch.
- mcguire 8y ago
  This move would take Ford out of the introductory/small vehicle market. Bizarre.
SwellJoe 8y ago
And, that EcoBoost will haul as much as an F250 from a few years ago, which is pretty incredible. It's my next truck, if I keep hauling an RV around (currently in an old F250, but it needs enough work now to where I'm shopping for something else rather than repairing it).
Johnny555 8y ago
But how does that mileage compare to a Taurus with Ecoboost (I don't even know what that is -- a fuel efficient engine or a hybrid drivetrain?) -- surely any technology that improves gas mileage in a 5000lb, 80" wide x 78" high truck would do even more to improve mileage in a 4000 lb 76" wide x 60" high sedan? Comparing an efficient truck to an inefficient car seems like an unfair comparison unless your goal is to justify buying the truck.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- opencl 8y ago
  Ecoboost is Ford's name for using smaller displacement turbo engines to replace larger naturally aspirated ones. My experience with these types of cars is that with typical real drivers they do not deliver anywhere near the EPA fuel economy numbers, because they're essentially designed to make the turbo never spool up in the EPA tests. You can get the EPA numbers if you drive very slowly though.
  - rjsw 8y ago
    I have a 1.6 EcoBoost Mondeo, it gets pretty close to the published economy numbers and I don't drive particularly slowly.
    - opencl 8y ago
      The Mondeo is apparently the UK version of what's known as the Fusion in the US, maybe the UK has more accurate fuel economy testing than the US. Or everyone I know who complains about not getting EPA numbers just has a lead foot.
      - mcguire 8y ago
        Everyone you know has a lead foot. Everyone has a lead foot. It's not hard to get EPA numbers on any car I've driven.
      - mmirate 8y ago
        > has a lead foot Also known as: isn't being paid-by-the-hour to make whatever trip he/she is making at the moment.
  - userbinator 8y ago
    I recall the summary phrase from an article about Ecoboost a while ago: "You can have Eco, or Boost, but not both." It's possible to get better fuel economy with a larger engine than a smaller one, since the larger one won't need to be flogged a lot to get the needed power. The old American cars with big V8s could get surprisingly high (20+mpg) mileage this way. Of course, the trick with a big powerful engine is to resist the temptation to use all that power all the time. ;-)
almost_usual 8y ago
What is the point of getting a truck for weekend road trips? Do you own a trailer or boat? Plan on off roading? Otherwise I’d get a fuel efficient vehicle. If you’re going to bite the bullet on an F-150 to own a weekend fun truck get a Raptor.
tw04 8y ago
It gets the same mileage on paper. It gets nothing remotely close in the real world. Read how the EPA tests mileage and you'll realize Ford is just gaming the system. How often. Do you do 55mph and take 5 minutes to get to that speed in normal driving? Ya, me too.
ebikelaw 8y ago
EPA rating is a joke. On Fuelly F150 Ecoboost drivers report 18 MPG which is rather less than the 27 MPG reported for my Crosstrek which can also tow, although not as much.
- mschaef 8y ago
  > my Crosstrek which can also tow, although not as much. You're comparing 1,500 pounds to between 5,000 and 13,200... I don't think "not as much" quite captures it...
  - ebikelaw 8y ago
    I mention it because hardly any cars come factory-equipped for towing these days. And FYI the Outback tows 2500lb and gets 25 MPG. Considering that th typical trailer weight even for F-150 drivers is zero, 2500 covers many use cases
mschaef 8y ago
> A 2018 F-150 with EcoBoost will essentially get the same MPG as a 2018 Ford Taurus. My brother in law has a 2.7 EcoBoost F-150 that's getting about the same gas mileage as I got in my old 2010 Mazda 3.... the Mazda isn't close to the most fuel efficient in its class, but the F150 isn't in that class at all.

ebbv 8y ago

That’s not so much saying the F150 is efficient as it is saying the 2018 Taurus is sadly inefficient. The F150 is a huge and heavy vehicle. While the current model is more efficient than other recent models it is not an efficient car. Not remotely.

kasey_junk 8y ago

But what about the focus and fiesta? It's true that the Taurus is a ridiculous fuel burner but to get the same fuel inefficiency out of the focus you have to move to the rs super hot hatch.

mcguire 8y ago
This move would take Ford out of the introductory/small vehicle market. Bizarre.

SwellJoe 8y ago

And, that EcoBoost will haul as much as an F250 from a few years ago, which is pretty incredible. It's my next truck, if I keep hauling an RV around (currently in an old F250, but it needs enough work now to where I'm shopping for something else rather than repairing it).

Johnny555 8y ago

But how does that mileage compare to a Taurus with Ecoboost (I don't even know what that is -- a fuel efficient engine or a hybrid drivetrain?) -- surely any technology that improves gas mileage in a 5000lb, 80" wide x 78" high truck would do even more to improve mileage in a 4000 lb 76" wide x 60" high sedan? Comparing an efficient truck to an inefficient car seems like an unfair comparison unless your goal is to justify buying the truck.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
opencl 8y ago
Ecoboost is Ford's name for using smaller displacement turbo engines to replace larger naturally aspirated ones. My experience with these types of cars is that with typical real drivers they do not deliver anywhere near the EPA fuel economy numbers, because they're essentially designed to make the turbo never spool up in the EPA tests. You can get the EPA numbers if you drive very slowly though.
- rjsw 8y ago
  I have a 1.6 EcoBoost Mondeo, it gets pretty close to the published economy numbers and I don't drive particularly slowly.
  - opencl 8y ago
    The Mondeo is apparently the UK version of what's known as the Fusion in the US, maybe the UK has more accurate fuel economy testing than the US. Or everyone I know who complains about not getting EPA numbers just has a lead foot.
    - mcguire 8y ago
      Everyone you know has a lead foot. Everyone has a lead foot. It's not hard to get EPA numbers on any car I've driven.
    - mmirate 8y ago
      > has a lead foot Also known as: isn't being paid-by-the-hour to make whatever trip he/she is making at the moment.
- userbinator 8y ago
  I recall the summary phrase from an article about Ecoboost a while ago: "You can have Eco, or Boost, but not both." It's possible to get better fuel economy with a larger engine than a smaller one, since the larger one won't need to be flogged a lot to get the needed power. The old American cars with big V8s could get surprisingly high (20+mpg) mileage this way. Of course, the trick with a big powerful engine is to resist the temptation to use all that power all the time. ;-)

almost_usual 8y ago

What is the point of getting a truck for weekend road trips? Do you own a trailer or boat? Plan on off roading? Otherwise I’d get a fuel efficient vehicle. If you’re going to bite the bullet on an F-150 to own a weekend fun truck get a Raptor.

tw04 8y ago

It gets the same mileage on paper. It gets nothing remotely close in the real world. Read how the EPA tests mileage and you'll realize Ford is just gaming the system. How often. Do you do 55mph and take 5 minutes to get to that speed in normal driving? Ya, me too.

ebikelaw 8y ago

EPA rating is a joke. On Fuelly F150 Ecoboost drivers report 18 MPG which is rather less than the 27 MPG reported for my Crosstrek which can also tow, although not as much.

mschaef 8y ago
> my Crosstrek which can also tow, although not as much. You're comparing 1,500 pounds to between 5,000 and 13,200... I don't think "not as much" quite captures it...
- ebikelaw 8y ago
  I mention it because hardly any cars come factory-equipped for towing these days. And FYI the Outback tows 2500lb and gets 25 MPG. Considering that th typical trailer weight even for F-150 drivers is zero, 2500 covers many use cases

mschaef 8y ago

> A 2018 F-150 with EcoBoost will essentially get the same MPG as a 2018 Ford Taurus. My brother in law has a 2.7 EcoBoost F-150 that's getting about the same gas mileage as I got in my old 2010 Mazda 3.... the Mazda isn't close to the most fuel efficient in its class, but the F150 isn't in that class at all.