2015 Pickup Truck Fuel Economy: Ford Vs Ram Vs Chevy, Who's Best?

Americans buy more full-size pickup trucks than any other vehicle type, so boosting their gas mileage has a much greater impact than improvements in smaller and more efficient cars.

Since 2012, truck makers have responded to increasingly stiff corporate average fuel economy rules by steadily improving fuel efficiency in their high-volume trucks.

SEE ALSO: Why Green Car Reports Writes About Full-Size Pickup Trucks

We've rounded up all of the official figures we could find to see which 2015 pickup is the most-efficient full-size truck on the road this year.

The new 2015 Ford F-150 now features a smaller 2.7-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine option, as well as an all-aluminum body and pickup bed.

But the aluminum F-150 faces hot competition from the 2015 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, now in its second year, which offers the only diesel engine in the half-ton truck market.

CHEVROLET SILVERADO: 20 mpg combined

The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 was redesigned for the 2014 model year, but certain powertrain options that weren't available at launch last year are now being offered.

The most efficient Silverado is the rear-wheel drive C15 model equipped with the 4.3-liter V-6 and six-speed automatic transmission, which is rated at 20 mpg combined (18 mpg city, 24 mpg highway).

The four-wheel drive K15 model cuts that to 19 mpg combined (17 mpg city, 22 mpg highway).

MORE: Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra Pickups To Get 8-Speed Automatic To Boost MPG

The 5.3-liter V-8 and six-speed automatic combination that launched with the redesigned Silverado last year is now the middle child in a lineup that includes the V-6 and a larger, 6.2-liter V-8.

The smaller V-8 is rated at 19 mpg combined (16 mpg city, 23 mpg highway) with rear-wheel drive, and loses 1 mpg in the combined and highway categories with four-wheel drive.

Finally, the largest 6.2-liter V-8--which gets a new eight-speed automatic--is rated at 17 mpg combined in either RWD or 4WD configuration.

The near-identical 2015 GMC Sierra C15 and K15 models earn exactly the same ratings as their 2015 Chevy Silverado counterparts.

FORD F-150: 22 mpg combined