POWER STROKE DIESEL PULLS AWAY
DISPLAYS CAPACITY FOR BIG-TIME HAULING, AND AT A PREMIUM PRICE
People usually associate full-sized diesel pickups with large-displacement and noisy yet powerful engines, but that’s not the case with Ford’s new, diesel-powered F-150. At least, not with two of those three factors.
For 2018, Ford has added a fifth engine choice for its full-sized pickup. Joining the 3.3-litre V6, the 2.7-L and 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engines, and the 5.0-L V8 is an all-new 3.0L diesel engine. It’s the first time a diesel engine has propelled an F-150 in more than three decades.
This new engine is less than half the displacement of the 6.7-L Power Stroke diesel available in the Fseries Super Duty — and it is quiet. It’s the same Ford-designed engine you’ll find in the Range Rover HSE diesel and it shares similar specs, though it is configured differently to facilitate packaging. It adds about 159 kilograms to the F-150’s weight.
Regular folk can get the 3.0-L V6 turbo diesel in the Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum trims with a SuperCrew cab and either a 5.5- or 6.5-foot bed, or with a SuperCab and 6.5-foot bed. Trucks destined for fleet customers are available with the diesel in the same cab and bed configurations, but across lower trim levels, including the XL and XLT.
Ford’s new diesel claims 250 horsepower, but more significantly, 440 pound-feet of peak torque from as low as 1,750 rpm, which is more torque than the 2.7-L EcoBoost, 3.3-L V6 and 5.0-L V8 gasoline engines. It’s this bountiful output that contributes to this newest F-150’s diesel class-leading hauling power, with a payload of up to 2,020 lbs and a towing capacity of up to 11,400 lbs for fleet vehicles. Non-fleet trucks have slightly lower specs, at 1,940 and 11,000, respectively.
The engine mates to a 10-speed automatic transmission, a powertrain combination that returns a claimed fuel consumption of 9.5 L/100 kilometres combined, or as low as 8.0 L on the highway, on two-wheel-drive models. No other fullsized pickup claims numbers that low. Four-wheel-drive models use about 1.2 L more fuel, combined.
Emissions-reducing diesel exhaust fluid is contained in a 21-L tank that is good for about 16,000 km before needing a refill. The F-150 diesel is also equipped with an automatic start/stop function to further reduce emissions and fuel consumption, and it is quite smooth in operation.
The engine is exceptionally quiet, and if you don’t tell someone sitting in the cab that there’s a diesel engine under the hood, they’d probably never know. The only thing giving the spark plug-less mill away is the low redline and low engine speed on the highway, as it spins at about 1,400 rpm at 100 km/h. Despite its relatively small displacement and excellent fuel economy, the engine is powerful — especially down low in the revs — and it hauls close to its claimed trailer-pulling capacity, again, in surprising silence.
Another less likely environment where the engine emphasizes low-end torque is on a closed offroad course. The course was made muddy and nearly impassable by earlier rain, yet despite lacking a locking front differential (the rear locks) and rolling on OEM tires at normal pressures, the truck is remarkably capable. It climbs steep, slippery slopes and wades through deep mud bogs with remarkable ease, and with very little fuss under the hood.
The 10-speed automatic shifts smoothly with barely perceptible gear changes, which is expected because gear ratios are spaced closely together. There is a gear indicator in the central-dash display that shows which gear is selected, and you can often see the numbers change without feeling anything.
A fuel economy challenge loop during the test included traffic lights, long uphill sections and some highway stretches. I hyper-miled a two-wheel-drive F-150 on this loop, producing a remarkable 40.6 miles per gallon, or 5.8 L/100 km. While this number is unrealistic, it’s not unreasonable to expect close to or better than the factory-claimed numbers under normal driving conditions.
Ford has done an excellent job with the 3.0-L V6 Power Stroke diesel in terms of fuel efficiency, silent operation and performance. However, the premium to pay for this new engine ranges from $5,650 to $8,200 above the standard gasoline engine, depending on trim level. So, if you want to take advantage of the money saved on fuel, it’s really something that you should consider if you’re a high-mileage driver or you intend to keep your F-150 for many years.
The F-150 Power Stroke diesel will arrive in dealers this spring.