Cleveland, Ohio – Ford’s big gamble with aluminum in pickups comes down to one number – 15,175 miles.
That’s how many miles a driver of a 2015 F-150 with a 3.5L EcoBoost V-6 needs to drive to break even on the $295 price premium the truck added from the 2014 model – a figure than many drivers will reach within their first year of ownership.
Ford announced fuel economy totals for the entire 2015 line, claiming industry leading statistics for gasoline-powered trucks (Ram’s 1500 EcoDiesel still holds the top spot for light pickups, although it burns a significantly more expensive fuel). The fuel economy champion is the F-150 with 2.7L EcoBoost V-6, a truck that gets 19mpg city, 26mpg highway and 22mpg combined. That combined total is 16% higher than Ford’s most-efficient 2014 pickup while offering 8% more horsepower and 35% more torque.
But the 3.5L EcoBoost provides a cleaner example of what happens when you slash a few hundred pounds of aluminum out of the truck’s mass. The engine is unchanged from 2014 to 2015, so the 11% increase in miles per gallon comes entirely from using lighter materials.
At 17mpg city/24mpg highway, the 2015 model gets 2mpg more combined than the 2014 model. At $3.50 per gallon of gasoline, drivers will save enough in fuel to cover the truck’s $295 price increase in 15,175 miles. Ford officials have said the price increase reflects more features on the truck, not a price increase because aluminum is more expensive than steel.
Ford’s 5L V-8 gets only a 1mpg boost from the lighter weight, going to 18mpg combined from 17mpg, though the truck does gain 1,000 lb of towing capacity. The 3.5L engine picked up 900 lb in additional towing capacity.
“We set out to create the future of tough with the new F-150,” said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development. “We are delivering with the toughest, smartest and most capable F-150 ever – and now the highest EPA-estimated fuel economy ratings of any full-size gas-powered pickup in America.”
The big question for 2015 is whether or not the efficiency increases will be enough to convince truck buyers to opt for aluminum-bodied trucks. Ford has spent the past year talking about how rugged and corrosion resistant the material is, and it has assured drivers that body shops will be ready to offer repairs when trucks get into accidents.
Another thing to watch for in 2015 is how many buyers opt for the 2.7L engine option in the pickup, the most fuel-efficient choice. If large fleet buyers opt for that engine, replacing older V-8s, fuel economy increases could be more dramatic. That 38% increase in average fuel economy could translate into $663.75 in fuel savings for every 15,175 miles (at $3.50 per gallon gasoline) compared to the 2008 F-150’s 4.6L V-8, Ford’s most efficient truck that year.
The truck went into full production in Michigan in November and should be in dealerships within the next few weeks.
| Truck | City mpg | Highway mpg | Combined mpg | Horsepower | Torque (lb-ft) |
| 2015 F-150 2.7L | 19 | 26 | 22 | 325 | 375 |
| 2014 F-150 3.7L | 17 | 23 | 19 | 302 | 278 |
| Ram 1500 3.6L | 18 | 25 | 21 | 305 | 269 |
| Ram 1500 diesel 3L | 20 | 28 | 23 | 240 | 420 |
| 2015 EcoBoost 3.5L | 17 | 24 | 20 | 365 | 420 |
| 2014 EcoBoost 3.5L | 16 | 22 | 18 | 365 | 420 |
Source: Ford Motor Co., fueleconomy.gov, Chrysler LLC