With the ever-increasing price of gas these days, The Fast Lane Truck YouTube channel has taken it upon itself to do some investigating. Their question is simple. What is the most fuel-efficient truck category? Is it the full-size heavy-duty diesel, 4-cylinder turbo models, or perhaps just meeting in the middle with a V6? Today, we find out.
Our Competitors
The competitors for this fuel economy challenge are a Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Turbo Diesel, A Ford F150 XL Hybrid, a 2022 Nissan Frontier, and lastly the Hyundai Santa Cruz, which we have put to the test against the Ford Maverick. These 4 vehicles are as diverse a group as possible and this is what will help us understand what it really takes to be ultra fuel-efficient. Our host tells us there is an easy way and a hard way to do this.
The easy way would be to either just check the truck's sticker or visit fueleconomy.gov but this being The Fast Lane Truck he tells us that they pride themselves on real-world testing. In America, the manufacturer provides those numbers to the government, and those numbers are formulas and not actual real-world driving. Think of it as in extremely perfect conditions with a perfect working truck at the perfect time of day the truck could potentially get these fuel economy numbers. This is very different than the real-world application.
The Hypothesis'
The boys quickly get into arguing about the advantages and disadvantages of their perspective cars. The Nissan is the only truck without a Tonneau cover while the Hyundai has a better rear axle gear ratio. All of this is meaningless, as only the final numbers will be the deciding factor. The boys will test the cars by filling up their vehicles to the maximum point when the gas pump clicks once. They will then add for another 30 seconds to properly fill the vehicle and then do their loop drive at which point they will gas up the same way again and do the drive one more time to get the most accurate reading.
The PowerPlants Make The Difference
Starting with the most compact the Hyundai has a very compact 2.5-litre Turbo producing an impressive 281 HP and 311 Ft-Lbs of torque. Nathan, in the Nissan Frontier, tells us he is special because he is the only non-turbo engine. His 3.6 liter V6 produces 310 HP and 281 Ft-Lbs of torque. The Dodge Ram 2500 has a turbo Diesel inline 6 which produces 370 horsepower and 850 lb.-ft. of torque. Lastly, is Andre in his F150 hybrid who has a 3.5 Liter turbocharged V6 with electric assistance.
After their drives, the boys come back to review their numbers. Unsurprisingly, the Heavy Duty cost the most at $44.43 for the day with the Nissan Frontier coming in second to last with $31.58. Second place is the full-sized F150 while the Hyundai keeps its numbers low and cool with a $23.38 trip.