You need or want a pickup truck, but look at the price of fuel! We can’t change that, but we can fill you in on the most fuel-efficient and the thirstiest trucks for the 2022 model year.
We’re using Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) figures to find the lowest and highest consumption in combined city/highway driving (which is calculated at 55 per cent city and 45 per cent highway driving). Of course, there are many factors for the differences, and we’ll explain some of them too. We haven’t included heavy-duty trucks (three-quarter-ton and one-ton) because NRCan doesn’t require them to be rated.
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Full-Size Trucks
Gasoline 4×2 – The Best
- Ford F-150 3.5L V6 Hybrid – 9.7 L/100 km
- Ram 1500 3.6L V6 HFE eTorque – 10.4 L/100 km
- Ram 1500 3.6L V6 eTorque – 10.8 L/100 km
As you’d expect, electrification makes a difference. Ford uses a full hybrid system, meaning it can drive on its self-charging battery alone. Ram’s 1500 HFE (High Fuel Efficiency) uses a mild hybrid “eTorque” system — it can’t drive on battery alone, but combines gas and electricity for more efficient acceleration. The HFE is available only on the base Tradesman trim, while the slightly higher eTorque number is for other trims.
Gasoline 4×2 – The Worst
- Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra 5.3L V8 FFV – 14.5 L/100 km
- Ram 1500 Classic 5.7L V8 – 13.7 L/100 km
- Ram 1500 5.7L V8 – 13.6 L/100 km
More cylinders usually mean more fuel, as these trucks illustrate. We’ve bundled the Silverado and Sierra because they’re mechanical twins. The Silverado/Sierra FFV (Flex Fuel Vehicle) can also use plant-based E85 ethanol, but it’s rated here running on gasoline (if you run E85, which has less energy than gas, it rises to 19.1 L/100 km). The Ram Classic is the last-generation model, still built as a lower-cost option. The current-gen Ram V8 can be optioned with the eTorque mild hybrid, which brings it down to 11.7 L/100 km.
Gasoline 4×4 – The Best
- Ford F-150 3.5L V6Hybrid – 10.2 L/100 km
- Ram 1500 3.6L V6 eTorque – 11.1 L/100 km
- Toyota Tundra 3.4L V6 Hybrid – 11.7 L/100 km
Unsurprisingly, electrification wins in 4×4 also, and the Ford and Ram trucks use the same engine/hybrid systems as the 4×2 models above. The Tundra Hybrid is all-new for 2022 and uses a full hybrid system, and only comes in 4×4.
Gasoline 4×4 – The Worst
- Ram 6.2 V8 TRX – 19.8 L/100 km
- Chevrolet Silverado 6.2L V8 Mud Terrain Tire (No Start Stop) – 16.4 L/100 km
- Chevrolet Silverado 5.3L V8 Mud Terrain Tire (No DFM) – 16.2 L/100 km
- Ford Raptor 3.5L V6 (No Start Stop) – 15.8 L/100 km
Ram’s supercharged 6.2L V8 isn’t a surprise here; you don’t get 702 horsepower for nothing. What is surprising is that to include Ford’s top desert runner, we had to account for a couple of fairly ordinary Chevys here (their GMC Sierra counterparts rate the same) — and we did that to illustrate how certain features can make a difference.
The Silverado trucks rated here lack a couple of fuel-efficiency features, left off due to pandemic-related microchip shortages. Start/stop shuts off the engine at idle; if it’s included, the truck rates 15.0 L/100 km, not 16.4. DFM (Dynamic Fuel Management) shuts off some cylinders when full power isn’t needed; if the truck had it, it would rate 15.4 instead of 16.2. If the Raptor had its missing start/stop, it would rate as low as 14.6, not 15.8.
Diesel 4×2 – The Best
- Ram 1500 HFE 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel – 7.1 L/100 km
- Ram 1500 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel – 7.3 L/100 km
- Chevrolet Silverado 3.0L I6 1500 – 8.9 L/100 km
Diesel 4×4 – The Best
- Ram 1500 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel – 8.0 L/100 km
- GMC Sierra 3.0L I6 – 9.9 L/100 km
- Chevrolet Silverado 3.0L I6 – 10.1 L/100 km
Only GM and Ram put diesels in their half-ton trucks; Ford has discontinued it in favour of offering more turbocharged engines. Diesels get good fuel economy, and they’re a must-have in a heavy-duty truck if you plan to do heavy-duty towing, but consider all the factors. They’re pricier to buy, their oil changes are more expensive, and you’ll have to add diesel exhaust fluid (DEF).
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Midsize Trucks
Among midsize trucks, only the mechanical twins of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon are available in two-wheel drive. For those, fuel figures are 10.9 L/100 km for the 2.5L four-cylinder, and 11.3 for the 3.6L V6.
Gasoline 4×4 – The Best
- Ford Ranger 2.3L I4 – 10.9 L/100 km
- Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon 2.5L I4 – 11.4 L/100 km
- Honda Ridgeline 3.5L V6 – 11.5 L/100 km
Ford’s Ranger, which only comes with a turbocharged 2.3L, wins this round. The GM twins take second place with their available four-cylinder. But the Ridgeline is only a decimal place off with its V6. It’s a larger engine, but its cylinder deactivation and nine-speed automatic help reduce fuel consumption.
Gasoline 4×4 – The Worst
- Chevrolet Colorado 3.6L V6 ZR2 – 14.1 L/100 km
- Toyota Tacoma 3.5L V6 TRD Off-Road Pro – 12.9 L/100 km
- Toyota Tacoma 3.5L V6 – 12.7 L/100 km
- Jeep Gladiator 3.6L V6 – 12.6 L/100 km
You wanna play, you gotta pay. The Colorado ZR2 and Toyota TRD Pro are built for serious off-roading, and that means a thirstier truck. We added the Gladiator alongside the regular Tacoma because both those trucks earn those ratings with their available six-speed manual transmission. Stick shifts are fun, but modern automatics are more efficient. If you order the Tacoma with a six-speed automatic, consumption drops from 12.7 to 11.8 L/100 km.
Diesel Midsize
Only GM and Jeep offer diesels in their midsize trucks, and so we’ve rated them all from highest to lowest. The Jeep is 4×4 only and has six cylinders, and still gets better fuel numbers than the Chevy 4×2 and its four-cylinder — but the Jeep also has an eight-speed automatic to the Colorado’s six-speed automatic, and makes its peak torque at lower engine revolutions. The GM trucks have more towing and payload capacity.
- Jeep Gladiator 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel – 9.8 L/100 km
- Jeep Gladiator Rubicon 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel – 10.0 L/100 km
- Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon 2.8L I4 4×2 – 10.1 L/100 km
- Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon 2.8L I4 4×4 – 10.5 L/100 km
- Chevrolet Colorado 2.8L I4 ZR2 4×4 – 12.1 L/100 km
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Compact Trucks
Two trucks currently compete in the recently-revived compact truck market, both of them based on SUV platforms.
- Ford Maverick 2.5L I4 Hybrid – 6.3 L/100 km
- Ford Maverick 2.0L I4 AWD – 9.6 L/100 km
- Hyundai Santa Cruz 2.5L I4 AWD – 10.6 L/100 km
Naturally the hybrid takes the crown here; it has full hybrid capability, and come only in front-wheel drive. The Maverick and Santa Cruz both use turbocharged engines and all-wheel drive.
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Electric Trucks
There are only two electric trucks on the market right now, both full-size and both in short supply: the Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T. As with other electric vehicles, they’re measured two ways by NRCan. One is in kWh/100 km, and the other a more familiar measurement of Le/100 km – litres equivalent, comparing the amount of electricity used to the equivalent energy in gasoline.
- Ford Lightning Extended Range – 3.3 Le/100 km; 29.8 kWh/100 km
- Rivian R1T – 3.4 Le/100 km; 29.9 kWh/100
- Ford Lightning Standard Range – 3.4 Le/100 km; 30.6 kWh/100 km
- Ford Lightning Platinum – 3.5 Le/100 km/ 31.5 kWh/100 km
As for electric trucks in the pipeline, GMC hasn’t issued specifications on its Hummer yet, but guesstimates put this super-heavy model at around 5.0 Le/100 km — well shy of the Ford and Rivian. The Chevrolet Silverado will also have an electric version, and Ram is coming out with one eventually as well. We’re also waiting to see when, or if, Tesla’s Cybertruck ever rolls off an assembly line.
Some final things to remember…
NRCan’s ratings recognize some differences, such as off-road trims or those missing fuel-saving technologies, but overall, trucks are rated primarily by 4×2 or 4×4. Not surprisingly, automakers will test the lightest version of each model (such as a Regular Cab rather than Crew Cab), which might not be the one you’re considering. Use the EnerGuide label on new vehicles to get model-specific fuel information.
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