Our Chevy Colorado, Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma Aren't Hitting Their Fuel Economy Numbers

• We have three midsize trucks in our long-term fleet: a Chevy Colorado Z71, a Ford Ranger FX4 and a Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road.
• None of them are hitting their EPA-estimated fuel economy numbers.
• Two of the trucks aren't even close.

As you can see, we've seen poor fuel economy with all three trucks. Regarding the Tacoma, Steven Ewing, director of editorial content, had this to say: 

"Really struggling to hit the Taco's EPA fuel economy estimates," he wrote. "On several fill-ups where I did nothing but highway driving in between, I couldn't even hit 20 mpg. Granted, that was in Utah, with 80-mph speed limits (Utah, I love you). But even in California at 70-75 mph in heavier highway traffic, I couldn't get anywhere near 23 mpg highway."

Brent Romans, director of written content, isn't thrilled with the maximum range on our Ford Ranger:

"Our Ranger's range is not so great," Romans wrote. "Even on long highway drives, I've found that I can't make it more than 380 miles or so before I need to stop and fill up. Based on our testing data, this isn't significantly different from what we're getting from our Chevy Colorado and Toyota Tacoma test trucks. Still, I'm pretty certain I could make it past 400 miles on a single tank with a little effort in those vehicles."

Is it possible we're the problem?

Of course. We're the ones driving these vehicles and it's well known that driving style affects fuel economy. But aside from the Colorado, we're not even within spitting distance of the EPA's estimates. Our best fills back this up: We've cleared the EPA estimate with the Tacoma and Colorado, but by slender margins. And we've failed to do so at all on the Ranger. 

We've also struggled to hit the EPA estimate in our 2021 Ford F-150 Hybrid, returning just 19.9 mpg in combined driving. That's 4.1 mpg lower than the EPA estimate, and our best fill (25.5 mpg) is similarly not much better than what the EPA estimates. 

And, yes, the EPA fuel economy numbers are estimates. But if fuel economy is a primary motivator for buying a midsize truck, it's worth considering how efficient your truck will be when you're behind the wheel. Take one for a test drive and reset the trip before you leave the dealer lot to get a sense of how it'll perform during typical driving.