Ford releases official fuel economy estimates for the new 2019 Ranger with the 2.3L turbocharged I4 and a 10-speed automatic. How does it compare against the current midsize trucks in the United States? Here are all the numbers.
2019 Ford Ranger
These are the EPA-estimated numbers for the new Ranger.
While there are other gas-powered midsize trucks with V6 engines that come close or match the Ranger in terms of highway MPG, none can claim a 23 MPG combined number.
The 2.3L turbo I4 in the Ranger is rated at 270 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. If you want more torque and better highway fuel efficiency, you can get a Chevy Colorado or a GMC Canyon with a 2.8L turbo-diesel I4.
The diesel 2WD GM trucks are rated at 20 MPG city / 30 MPG highway / 23 MPG combined. It’s noteworthy to notice that the gas-powered Ranger has the same combined MPG rating as a diesel-powered Chevy Colorado.
If you are wondering about other four-cylinder gas-powered midsize trucks, they cannot match the combined 23 MPG number (see below).
The new Ford F-150 Police Responder vs Chevrolet Tahoe SSV is as close as we could get to a police truck smackdown. The state of Michigan recently performed a test for future police/law-enforcement vehicles. These vehicles include offerings from Chevrolet, Ford and FCA. While FCA and Chevrolet do build law-enforcement-friendly pickup trucks, they were not used in this test. With that in mind, we took a look a two of the trucks in this competition.
“All the patrol vehicles were tested with a clean roof (no overhead light or light bar) and without “A” pillar mount spotlights. We believe this is the best way to ensure all the vehicles are tested on an equal basis. Remember that once overhead lights, spotlights, radio antennas, sirens, and other emergency equipment are installed, overall performance may be somewhat lower than we report. Each vehicle was tested with the tires that are available as original equipment on the production model. Specific tire information for each vehicle is available in the Vehicle Description portion of this report. All vehicles listed in this report were equipped with electronic speed limiters unless otherwise noted, or with the exception of certain motorcycles.”- – Michigan.Gov
Here are the results. Both vehicles were tested on the same day in similar environmental conditions.
Chevy Police Pursuit Vehicle
Chevrolet Tahoe SSV 5.3L 4WD
DISTANCE TO REACH 100 MPH: 0.35 mile
TOP SPEED ATTAINED: 121 mph
DISTANCE TO REACH TOP SPEED: 0.79 mile
TIME TO REACH TOP SPEED: 34.39 seconds
0 – 60 mph times:
Run #1. 7.68 seconds
Run #2. 8.03 seconds
Run #3. 8.06 seconds
Run #4. 8.15 seconds
Run #5. 7.98 seconds
Ford F150 Police Responder 3.5L EcoBoost
DISTANCE TO REACH 100 MPH: 0.28 mile
TOP SPEED ATTAINED: 106 mph
DISTANCE TO REACH TOP SPEED: 0.42 mile
TIME TO REACH TOP SPEED: 21.24 seconds
0 – 60 mph times:
Run #1. 6.94 seconds
Run #2. 6.78 seconds
Run #3. 7.08 seconds
Run #4. 6.79 seconds
Run #5. 6.90 seconds
Interesting results. Both vehicles had fairly consistent 0 – 60 mph times with the Ford F-150 Police Responder easily averaging a second faster runs. While the Ford F-150 Responder used a (much) shorter distance to get to 100 mph, the Chevrolet Tahoe SSV is capable of a much higher top speed.
One thing I hope for all of us is to see either one these trucks in our rear-view mirror as little as possible!
2019 Chevy Trailboss vs 2019 Ford Raptor vs 2019 Ram Rebel
What is the best off-road half-ton truck for 2019? We took these three new off-road trucks to Moab, Utah to find out. They are the all new 2019 Chevy Silverado 1500 Trail Boss crew cab, updated 2019 Ford Raptor, and an all-new 2019 Ram Rebel.
How big are these new 4×4 trucks getting? Here is a quick look at the dimensions. It’s interesting that the Silverado has the longest wheelbase, but the shortest overall length among these crew cab trucks.
Chevy Trail Boss
Ford Raptor
Ram Rebel
Wheelbase:
147.5 in
146.0 in
144.6 in
Overall Length:
231.7 in
231.9 in
241.8 in
Overall Width:
81.2 in
86.3 in
82.1 in
How the off-road specs: ground clearance, approach/departure angles, and tires? The Ford Raptor has the best listed ground clearance and approach angle. The Trail Boss has the best departure angle.
Trail Boss
Raptor
Rebel
Ground Clearance:
10.88 in
11.5 in
10.2 – 10.7 in
Approach/Breakover/Departure:
28.7/na/27.2 deg
30.2/21.8/23.0 deg
23.1/20.1-22.1/27.1 deg
Tires:
Goodyear Duratrac 32in
BFG KO2 35 in
Goodyear Duratrac 33 in
What’s powering these off-road trucks? Each bring their own powertrain prowess to the table. The Silverado has a V8 with their latest fuel management system (DFM). The Raptor uses a high-output twin-turbo V6 engine, and the Ram features the V8 with a mild-hybrid assist system.
Trail Boss
Raptor
Rebel
Engine:
5.3L V8: 355 hp / 383 lb-ft
3.5L TT V6: 450 hp / 510 lb-ft
5.7L V8 eT: 395 hp / 410 lb-ft
Transmission:
8-sp auto
10-sp auto
8-sp auto
Fuel Tank:
24 gal
36 gal
23 – 33 gal
After an entire day of testing the three trucks on the Baby Lion’s Back and Fins & Things trails, we saw strengths and weaknesses of each truck.
The new Ford Raptor has all the hardware to tackle the relatively wide trails of Moab. This truck is still in a class of its own. The MSRP of the truck you see here is just over $74,000. The Raptor simply devoured the higher speed sections and showed fine prowess with rock crawling. It never really slid or spun a tire all day, although the departure angle was a bit lacking.
The $57,000 Chevy Silverado Trail Boss edged out the $59,000 Ram Rebel just by a hair on these Moab trails. The slightly higher clearance and approach angle helped the truck clear more obstacles. Still, the Rebel is more comfortable than the Chevy and has more off-road and luxurious features. The Rebel offers a selectable rear axle locker, while the Trail Boss relies on a G80 limited slip locking axle.
EPA recently published fuel economy estimates for all gasoline engines available in the new 2019 Chevy Silverado 1500 and the results are mixed, disappointing, and difficult to explain. In at least two engine/transmission combinations, the 2019 Silverado 1500 is showing MPG estimates that are significantly worse than the comparable outgoing 2018 truck.
2019 Chevy Silverado 1500
Let’s start with the good news, and then go into the surprising results. Chevrolet is introducing their new Dynamic Fuel Management (DFM) system for the 2019 Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks. It’s a more sophisticated cylinder skip technology than the cylinder deactivation that preceded it (the older system is referred to as AFM). The new DFM system can seamlessly switch between up to 17 different cylinder firing modes.
5.3L V8 / 8-Speed
The new 5.3L V8 with DFM and an 8-speed automatic transmission is EPA-listed at 17/23/19 MPG. This is one MPG better than the 5.3L V8 / 8-speed combo from the previous generation.
Here is our real-world highway MPG evaluation/comparison that includes a 2019 Silverado 1500 Trail Boss. This comparison also has some shocking results, but the shocker did not have to do with the Chevy.
6.2L V8 / 10-Speed
The big 6.2L V8 also gets DFM, and it is paired to a 10-speed automatic in the 2019 trucks. The 2018 Silverado had a 6.2L V8 with AFM and an 8-speed automatic. The new truck is getting one MPG better in the city rating, but the combined MPG rating remains the same as the older model at 17 MPG for the 4WD configuration.
5.3L V8 / 6-Speed
This engine/transmission combination is mostly a carryover from 2018. This version of the 5.3L V8 uses AFM cylinder deactivation. It’s mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. This is where things get interesting and not in a good way. The 2019 Silverado is rated 17 MPG combined, and the older generation 2018 truck is at 19 MPG combined.
The new truck, which is lighter in weight (by up to 380 lbs) and larger in size, is rated at two MPG less than the older model. The lighter weight should help the truck’s fuel economy. The larger size may hurt aerodynamics, but can it account for a two MPG decrease?
4.3L V6 / 6-Speed
The 4.3L V6 continues duty in the 2019 trucks, but this one also loses MPG when compared to the 2018 model. This one is even more startling. The 2019 Silverado with the 4.3L V6 (AFM) is rated at three MPG less than a 2018 model. 17 MPG combined for the 2019 truck, versus 20 MPG combined for the 2018.
Special High Efficiency Model
2019 Chevy Silverado 1500 gets a special XFE high fuel efficiency model. This one is powered by the new 5.3L V8 with DFM and an 8-speed automatic. In 2WD configuration, this 2019 Silverado XFE is rated at 17/24/19. The highway rating of 24 MPG gets a one MPG boost.
If you are looking for a new 2019 Chevy Silverado 1500 with a gas engine, it’s the new 2.7L turbocharged I4 that is mated to an 8-speed automatic. It’s rated at 20/23/21 MPG for a 2WD model.
We did a quick real-world MPG check on the 2.7L turbocharged four-cylinder, and the trip meter was always showing results that are better than the EPA ratings. We will do a proper MPG loop with the new trucks and bring you the latest results soon.
Ford set up a full-scale Raptor-palooza event in Utah called the 'Raptor Rally' to celebrate its full lineup of off-road juggernauts, as well as their owners. Here's what the experience was like!
