Maverick Vs. Ranger Vs. F-150: Which Is The Most Fuel Efficient Ford Truck?

Ford offers one of the most wide-ranging series of trucks available on the market today. From their popular compact Maverick pickup all the way up to their massive heavy-duty rigs, Ford offers a truck for just about every need. Short of a mini Kei truck, there's nothing you can't get from the blue oval that has a bed out back and some hauling capability to go along with it. But which one of these trucks is the most efficient?

Towing and payload is certainly important when it comes to buying a pickup, but if you're driving your truck on a daily basis, fuel economy is probably a priority too. Is it the tiny pickup truck that'll get you the best MPG? Or does the full-size F-150 with its hybrid system have the advantage? Outside of the big heavy-duty trucks (which are too large to be rated by the EPA anyway), what is the most efficient Ford truck?

The Maverick is a compact pickup that's at the base of Ford's truck lineup. It's only available in one configuration when it comes to the cab and the bed: crew cab (four doors) and standard bed. Trucks are normally available with all sorts of different cab configurations, bed lengths, and even the choice between single- and dual-rear wheels, but the Maverick stakes its reputation on being simple, useful transportation. The Maverick's standard powertrain is a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that puts out 250 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque. 

There's another available powertrain, however, and it's the Maverick's not-so-secret weapon. The Maverick is available with a hybrid system that uses a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and an electric motor to produce 191 horsepower and 155 lb-ft of torque. Finding it strange that an optional engine would have less power? Well, it would seem strange if the fuel economy weren't so impressive.

The standard 2.0-liter engine tops out with an EPA fuel economy rating of 26 mpg combined on front-wheel drive models, with lower estimates for all-wheel drive and off-road focused models like the Maverick Tremor. The hybrid-powered Maverick checks in at 37 mpg combined –a serious jump over even the most efficient version of the standard engine. The hybrid powertrain is a $1,500 option for Maverick buyers and unfortunately, it isn't available with all-wheel drive, but if you don't need the ability to power all four wheels, you'll save big at the pump.

Right in the middle of Ford's pickup truck lineup is the Ranger. It's larger and more capable than the Maverick, and it competes against trucks like the Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier. The Ranger gets several updates for 2024 including the addition of two new engines to the lineup. In previous years, the Ranger was available with only a turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine. Now, the Ranger has the choice of the standard 2.3-liter engine that produces 270 horsepower, an optional turbocharged 2.7-liter V6 that puts out 315 horsepower, and an optional turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 on off-road Raptor models that put out an impressive 405 horsepower. Every trim level in the Ranger lineup, with the exception of the four-wheel-drive-only Raptor, is available with the choice of rear- or four-wheel drive.

As you'd probably expect, Raptor models with the big off-road tires and high-output engine are the lowest rated when it comes to fuel economy. The EPA estimates that the Ranger Raptor will return 17 mpg combined. With four-wheel drive and the 2.7-liter engine, the EPA's estimate creeps up a bit to 20 mpg combined, and with the 2.3-liter engine, things top out at 22 mpg combined. In other words, the most-efficient version of the Ranger just barely edges out the least-efficient version of the Maverick (the off-road focused Tremor, which checks in at 21 mpg combined). So if you're looking for the most efficient Ford truck, the Maverick is still in the lead. 

The F-150 is Ford's full-size truck. It competes with pickups like the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, the Ram 1500, the Nissan Titan, and the Toyota Tundra. Despite all that tough competition, the F-Series has been America's best-selling truck for nearly five decades. Part of the F-150's success over the years has come from its versatility — offering a wide range of trims and configurations for a wide range of customer needs, and the current F-150 has that same appeal. The F-150 received more power and a new design for 2024, and it's available with several different engines.

The off-road F-150 Raptor has two high-output engines available: a supercharged 5.2-liter V8 and a turbocharged 3.5-liter V6. Other F-150 models offer a turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 as well (with less power output than the Raptor model), along with a 5.0-liter V8, a turbocharged 2.7-liter V6, and a hybrid model that pairs the 3.5-liter V6 with an electric motor and battery. With all those varying engines, fuel economy ratings vary as well. 

The supercharged Raptor model is rated at an unsurprising-but-still-low 12 mpg combined, while most other trims are between 19 and 21 mpg combined. The top rating for the F-150 is the hybrid, checking in at 23 mpg combined. That's enough to beat out the best Ranger, but it still can't knock the Maverick, and it's 37 mpg combined out of the top spot. Still, for such a large truck, the F-150's fuel economy ratings are pretty impressive.