GM Trucks Best Ford and Ram Overall in Edmunds Fuel Economy Comparison
Fuel efficient powertrains allow General Motors trucks to hang with, or beat the competition outright.
Automotive outlet Edmunds has crunched the crucial numbers. They have combed through prominent truck categories: mid-size, full-size, heavy-duty and diesel, to deliver the verdict: GM is kicking butt in the MPG game.
To begin with, Edmunds mentioned four mid-sizers: Honda Ridgeline, Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon and Ford Ranger. Certain industry stalwarts, like Toyota Tacoma, were out from the get-go. The Taco’s dated powertrain can’t hang with these much newer trucks. From there, it’s a clear win for the Colorado and Canyon twins. They tied Ranger for best freeway MPG (26), but undercut the Ford in price by several thousand dollars.
In the full-size category it’s Ram 1500, Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500. Again, older full-size trucks, like Toyota Tundra, were non-starters due to their aging powertrains not being up to task. Unfortunately, it’s not a clear GM win here, with Ford F-series pick-up holding a slight edge in absolute numbers. However, it’s a numbers game, and having two GM products make the top four is a win in itself.
The heavy-duty category is something of a gaff by the team at Edmunds, with the concession that trucks this large are usually work rigs, with the respective 3500 variants being duallys made for extreme towing more so than MPGs. But, it brings up the “d-word,” and that’s diesel.
GM is quick to the punch here, already offering Colorado and Canyon diesel. There is no diesel Ranger in the United States, and Ram doesn’t even offer a mid-size truck at all, so that’s a clear win. However, as Edmunds notes, F-150 diesel current trumps Silverado in the MPG game, simply because, at present, MPG figures haven’t been officially released. Though, that all-new 3.0-liter inline-six makes a lot more power, 272 horses to the Ford’s 250, and the same for torque: 460 lb-ft versus 440.
Overall, the win goes to GM, with 6 out of 11 top MPG picks, overall.