Ford Pins Light Pickup Hopes on Turbocharged F150 With 20% Highway MPG Boost
By John O'Dell August 11, 2010
Ford Motor Co. promised that its EcoBoost suite of engine technologies would spread throughout its lineup, and today the automaker announced another significant application for the power- and fuel-efficiency-enhancing EcoBoost V6: the 2011 F-150 pickup with perhaps 20 mpg overall fuel economy.
The turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost (right) joins Ford's snarly 5-liter V8 and a normally aspirated 3.7-liter V6 as new additions to the F-150 powertrain portfolio as Ford at once tries to make the half-ton pickup more relevant - and saleable - in a U.S. market that turned its back on pickups several years ago after a fuel-price scare followed by a deep and stubborn recession.
Only now are pickup buyers hesitantly returning to the market and those who've decided to come back are - like just about every other new-vehicle buyer - looking for better fuel economy.
The F-150's heavily revised engine lineup for 2011 is Ford's answer, one that company engineers today claimed will boost the entire F-150 lineup's fuel economy by 20 percent compared with 2010 and will be "class-leading" for all but the F-150's largest engine choice, the 6.2-liter V8 that's already been seen in the special F-150 Raptor.
Ford's new engine strategy is a telling symbol of how attitudes and market conditions have changed since the current-generation F-150 launched for 2009 with a V8-only engine lineup that eschewed 6-cylinder power even for base models.
Turbo + Pickup = Premium
In the past, turbocharged engines and pickups haven't been seen as much of a match, but this rare packaging means the 3.5-liter EcoBoost will be the F-150's premium engine choice - available in all trim levels.
Left, Ford's 2011 Harley-Davidson F-150.
Ford engineers said final fuel-economy figures haven't been calculated for the new EcoBoost-propelled F-150, but said it will deliver a 20-percent improvement over a 2010 F-150 with the 5.4-liter V-8, which in rear-drive configuration is rated at 14 miles per gallon in the city and 20 mpg on the highway for a 17 mpg combined. A 20 percent gain would give the EcoBoost F-150 an impressive 20 mpg combined rating.
Ford also said it hasn't finalized power and torque numbers for the F-150 EcoBoost application, but it will be interesting to see if the EcoBoost can deliver a 24-mpg highway rating the 20-percent-increase claim suggests.
In addition to their strong claims for power and fuel economy, Ford engineers also are promising that the new engines will be capable of serious tugging. The tow rating for both the EcoBoost and 6.3-liter engines is 11,300 pounds; the 5-liter can tow up to 9,800 pounds and the 3.7-liter V6 will tow up to 6,100 pounds.
Expected now is a riposte from chief competitor General Motors Co. and perhaps even Toyota Motor Corp.
GM already has said it is preparing major power and efficiency advances for longstanding small-block V8s.
Bill Visnic, senior editor for Edmunds AutoObserver
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