My brother drove a Ford Ranger for years and switched to a F150 with a V6(pre-eco boost). He loves it. Lot more room and the mileage isn't any worse.
Mid-sized truck recommendations
- Thread starter Boorstin
- Start date
Or a full size with a v-6 my dad had a 07 silverado w/o 4x4 and with a v-6 got about 24 mpg on the highway.
A few things to consider:
- 4 x 4 vs. 2 wheel drive. 4 x 4 gets lower MPG, V6 or V8. A 4 x 4 is heavier. A Crew Cab truck is heavier. Chevy and Ford have different rear end ratios. That creates an MPG difference.
- Crew Cab vs. 2 door. The F-150 Super Crew has a flat rear seat floor. The truck is raised slightly and there is no driveshaft tunnel in the floorboard. That is a huge back seat area when the seats are folded in the up position. Chevy has the driveshaft tunnel.
- Ford vs. Chevy will always be a consideration.
- The Crew Cab truck is longer.
In the end, get the full size truck.
Incentives are going up on trucks right now at the dealerships.
Here is a real report on the ecoboost.
Driven: 2012 Ford F150 Ecoboost - Automobile Magazine
Does it pay for itself? yes. Obviously very popular. I too would opt for the 1/2 ton truck. You def get more bang for the buck.
Yup you are right on that I have the 08 Silverado 4x4 extended cab and I average around 16-17 mpg overall. Trip from CR to Ames on a none windy day will net around 20 mpg. If I were to slow down and actually go the speed limit it would be closer to 22 mpg. If you work those hills on 30 just right you can really boost your mpg.
It actually wont pay for itself if you don't live in the plains. I am in West Texas and several employees at my work place have an Ecoboost. It is actually getting worse mileage than their old Fords because the thing has no torque with it on. It constantly has to downshift in the hills which are everywhere. Ecoboost is only great if you are using your truck like a car on flat land, and then you have to ask the question why didn't you just get the car?
You and I have the same truck. I can back up these claims. I got 22 coming back from Oklahoma city (to Houston) but past that, figure 16-18 for general duty. Keep in kind if you want to actually pull something, you will need more than a 6 cylinder in a half-ton.
I thought I saw somewhere it was taking a couple of model years off and then coming back, but I don't remember where I saw that and I very well might be mistaken.
Another vote against mid size trucks. Don't cost much less, don't save much on fuel. I can't think of any benefit really.
F150 for the win, bet 1/2 ton truck for the past 20 years. If you dont drive a lot, you can lease a f150 for like $280 bucks or something right now. Kinda crazy.
I owned and drove 2 rangers for 225,000 plus on each. In March, 2011, I bought the F150 Ecoboost club cab (4 doors). Other than saving on the sticker purchase price, the operational costs are similar. Given my experiences, I will not go back to the smaller truck. My MPG is not up to some or the advertised 23 MPG as seen on TV. I've not been able to get over 19 MPG, so I'm a little disappointed in this. None-the-less, the F150 is a great truck.
I have a 2004 Dodge Dakota that I bought new in March '04. It has 220K miles on it and still runs great. I've hauled lumber in it, kids toys/sports equipment, and taken it to western Nebby mule deer hunting. It's a quad cad, 4x4, and I put a spray in bed liner and tonneau cover on it within 1 year of purchase. It's pulled our camper for 4 years (and our camper is probably a little big to be towing with mid-sized truck), pulled fishing boats, utility trailers (full of goose/duck decoys), and hay racks (for parades). I love it!
I have a hard time believing that its because the Ecoboosts don't have enough torque on the hills.
The new Ecoboosts are rated at 420 lb-ft of torque where the brand new 5.0L V8 are rated at 380. The only difference being that the Ecoboosts are rated at 2500 rpm's and the V8's are rated at 4250 rpm's. Much more likely to be operating on the highway at 2500 rpm's than 4250. So the Ecoboost makes 40 lb-ft more at 1750 lower rpm's.
Maybe it's because they have a different gear ratio than their old trucks but I highly doubt that its due to lack of torque.
I've pretty much settled on the Ridgeline. Thanks for the input, everyone.
Now, if I can just negotiate the price a little lower, I'll be a buyer.
