Truck brands actual MPG vs sticker

[Wolf88]

Ford, Chevy and Dodge... Who's accurate and who's pulling a fast one on us with the epa sticker ratings?

I'm looking for a reliable 1/2 ton that will spend a bit of time on the hwy going to off road job sites. MPG and reliability are high on the list. I've noticed the late model ford's seem to be accurate but I haven't been in the Ram or Silverado with the new 4cyl turbo. So, can I trust their sticker ratings?

Nobody is pulling a fast one.

Things like your geography and the truck's equipment are what plays the part.

Where I'm at you cant travel a mile without hitting a hill of some size.

A 2000 Dodge Ram with 3.55 gear and a 318 had a mpg sticker of 19 and 15.

A Dodge Ram with 360 and 3.92 gear had a 17 and 13 rating

Real world around here the 360 with lower gear(numerically higher) got better mpg.

Many intangibles are a factor unless you live in flat Florida

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I have a 2020 2500 Cummins. I get 25mpg if I keep it below 80. 23 if I go 85. Around town I am getting 21, so about 23 combined for me.

FWIW - my wife says I drive like an old man, so that likely helps my MPGs

 

[Wolf88]

I have a 2020 2500 Cummins. I get 25mpg if I keep it below 80. 23 if I go 85. Around town I am getting 21, so about 23 combined for me.

FWIW - my wife says I drive like an old man, so that likely helps my MPGs

Indeed...
I've a 2001 Excursion with 7.3
35x14.50x17 heavy ass mudders.
No tune.
If I keep it below 2000 rpms crusing on interstate (75mph) I get 21 mpg
If I hit around 80 mph which is about 2200/2300 rpm
That drops into the 14-15 mpg range

 

[Elk97]

2014 F150 with the 5.0. Will get 19 hwy and 9-11 when towing a 7500lb camper trailer.
The mileage on newer trucks is really impressive compared to some of the older trucks I've had. Bought a new F350 with 12' flatbed in 78. That thing got 8- 9 mpg, loaded or empty. I had a Freightliner COE with a 855 cu in 290 hp Cummins in it and I'd get 11 mpg. With the Ford on the bed.

 

[Wolf88]

2014 F150 with the 5.0. Will get 19 hwy and 9-11 when towing a 7500lb camper trailer.
The mileage on newer trucks is really impressive compared to some of the older trucks I've had. Bought a new F350 with 12' flatbed in 78. That thing got 8- 9 mpg, loaded or empty. I had a Freightliner COE with a 855 cu in 290 hp Cummins in it and I'd get 11 mpg. With the Ford on the bed.

Ignition has gotten really good. Almost perfect.

1978 and 1979 were the pinnacle of ford trucks. Timeless appearance for sure...

But...

The power sucked. Trying to appease the govt early on with all the smog stuff and not knowing how to combat that...

Crazy how little power engines made 1979 compared to just a decade prior.

I had several Broncos in that 78/79 platform and they got about 7 mpg on average. Hills are everywhere here.

The 460 if converted got better than that slug 351/400M. Truly a terrible engine that Ford used but the only way to eek out truck like torque with a smog pump and a cat converter all with a carburetor.

 

[Szwampdonkey]

Average 21 with my F150. But i also drive 60 or 65 on the freeway. I’m in no particular rush to get anywhere life’s too short as it is.

 

[dog]

2019 f150 2.7L ecoboost = for all driving, mostly in town, 21.7. Straight hwy driving it does much better 25 to 26. I usually drive 65-70 mph.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Bone stock 2014 f150 5.0 super crew. Have had this POS for 2 years. Best I have ever got was 14mpg. I average 12.

The other day, 2 guys an 2 dirtbikes. Running around 80mph got 8.5mpg, not the first time this thing has got single digits either. I had high hopes for this thing but I'm over it.

 

[Wolf88]

Bone stock 2014 f150 5.0 super crew. Have had this POS for 2 years. Best I have ever got was 14mpg. I average 12.

The other day, 2 guys an 2 dirtbikes. Running around 80mph got 8.5mpg, not the first time this thing has got single digits either. I had high hopes for this thing but I'm over it.

Location?

As I posted earlier....
Location is everything and the gearing.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Southern oregon.

Truck has 3:73's IIRC

 

[Macintosh]

If you want a real answer check fuelly.com. You can input your model, engine, gearing, etc and get a bell curve showing actual MPG in real world use from real users. Check your current vehicle as well and see how your results vary from the average, and you can extrapolate that (i.e. your driving habits and trerrain) to another vehicle relative to other drivers. Nothing else I have seen is even remotely as close to reality. Also, it's a given that mods like chipped, tires, lifted, etc as well as amount of towing will skew the results so you have to read into it a bit.

 

[widnert]

It totally depends on the gear ratio you have versus their "test ratings" truck, how fast you drive, and traffic conditions, etc. I'm pretty sure that at some speeds it's an exponential drop in mileage for every 10mph of speed added.......as opposed to a linear type graph. I know in my F-350 that at 85mph the mileage is quite a bit worse than even at 75mph. Although I always have wondered at what speed they figure their highway ratings.

Agreed. You cannot do any mileage comparison without figuring in gear ratios and tire sizes/types. Someone will stick on aggressive AT/MT tires a size or two bigger on a truck with low gearing and complain how this <name your brand> "sucks" at fuel economy and should be sued for false advertising. All manufacturers use an optimized setup on their trucks for calculating their advertised fuel economy. And that changes for each measurement category they post (towing, cargo hauling, etc, etc).

 

[mi650]

I have a '22 Silverado with the 5.3. On the freeway, the sweet spot seems to be 82 MPH.


A salesman told me once that Corvettes are the only vehicles with accurate EPA estimates. I've had 3 Vettes, and it's held true with them.

 

[keystone112]

My 2019 Ford Ranger with the 4 cylinder turbo gets terrible MPG. I average about 22.5.

May as well have a full size V8.

 

[kitandace77]

2018 Ram 1500 5.7 with full cab I usually get 17-18mpg winter using remote start to warm up and 18-20 in summer mostly highway miles with cruise set at 80. Last elk trip I think I got closer to 14-15 with cruise set 80-90 from WI to ID.

 

[LFC911]

I have a 2020 Silverado with the 3.0L Duramax and love it. Pretty common to see 28-30 MPG on the highway.

I have the '22 and had a few check engine lights come on but minimal issues after 20k miles and would highly recommend.

 

[ljaq516]

You could use a website like Fuelly.com to do some research on “real” mpg vs what’s listed from manufacturer. You can narrow down year, make, and model and see what other users are averaging with mpg. It’s not measured by any onboard computer. Just the mileage you drove and how much it took to fill up your tank. So you get a more realistic look at mpg. But of course, like everyone has mentioned before, your mpg greatly depends on a million factors, driving style, loaded vs unloaded, flats vs hills, etc.


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[HuntHarder]

Ram 2500 6.4l gasser. Lifetime computer says 13.1 mpg. It lies, I hand calculate a couple times a year and it is almost always 1.5-2 miles less per gallon than what the computer says.

 

[dtrkyman]

My Grand Cherokee was pretty much spot on, until I lifted the front and went up 2 inches in tire size! Still much better than a stock 4 runner which is part of the reason I bought it.