2015 Ford F-150 SFE: Highest Gas Mileage Model For Aluminum Pickup
Various details have already been released about the radical new 2015 Ford F-150 pickup truck, the first-ever to use an all-aluminum body to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency.
Now another piece of information has leaked out: Ford will offer an F-150 SFE model, a special option package that boosts fuel economy ratings slightly higher than regular models with the same engine.
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The new SFE package option was reported by industry trade journal Automotive News [subscription required], based on a dealer ordering guide for the new pickup truck.
Ford spokesman Mike Levine later confirmed that the SFE option will be available for the XL and XLT trim levels, which together make up 70 percent of total F-150 sales.
It will also be offered on two different body styles: regular cab and SuperCab, he said.
Trucks equipped with the SFE package will ride on 17-inch wheels and tires, among the smallest available on any full-size pickup on the market today.
The engine used for the SFE option will be the new, smaller 2.7-liter EcoBoost direct-injected and twin-turbocharged V-6 that will launch on the 2015 F-150.
That engine is rated at 325 horsepower and 375 lb-ft of torque, Ford says, and is likely to make up 28 percent of sales.
The base engine for the 2015 F-150 is a 283-hp 3.5-liter non-turbocharged V-6 that produces 255 lb-ft of torque. Ford has not yet released power and torque ratings for the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 or the larger V-8 it will offer in the new pickup.
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Fuel economy ratings for full-size pickups have become a major point of competition among the Detroit Three, each of which has taken a slightly different tack to boost the efficiency of its big trucks in the face of steadily higher CAFE regulations.
Ford was pleasantly surprised by how quickly its downsized, turbocharged V-6 EcoBoost 3.5-liter engine was adopted by buyers of the previous F-150 generation.
General Motors, meanwhile, fits non-turbo V-6 and V-8 engines fitted with cylinder activation, and is adopting eight-speed automatic transmissions across its truck lineup.
Ram, on the other hand, not only fits eight-speed automatics but launched the first light-duty diesel pickup truck offered to U.S. buyers in many years. That engine is a 240-hp V-6 turbodiesel that produces 420 lb-ft of torque.
No EPA fuel efficiency ratings have yet been released for the 2015 Ford F-150.
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