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2019 Chevrolet Colorado Z71 Trail Runner

The Most Fuel-Efficient Trucks

Aside from SUVs, trucks are among the most popular vehicles among American car buyers. And while most truck buyers will pay the most attention to facts and figures like a truck’s tow rating, payload capacity, and other handy features, one feature that might be overlooked is fuel economy. After all, why would you care about …

Aside from SUVs, trucks are among the most popular vehicles among American car buyers. And while most truck buyers will pay the most attention to facts and figures like a truck’s tow rating, payload capacity, and other handy features, one feature that might be overlooked is fuel economy. After all, why would you care about a truck’s fuel economy if you only care about towing and hauling?

However, fuel economy is still important if you use your truck for daily errands and want something that can go a great distance between fill-ups. In that case, we found five truck models from Ford, Chevrolet, and RAM that fulfill your fuel-efficiency needs. Here are the most fuel-efficient trucks according to Fueleconomy.gov.

Ford Ranger

If you’re looking for a compact truck, then the Ford Ranger has a lot offer. For starters, it has a host of safety technologies and appearances packages so that you can personalize to your liking. And under the hood, the Ranger comes standard with a turbocharged 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engine that produces a stout 270 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque and is able to achieve up to an EPA-estimated 21 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway.

The Ford Ranger is a small but capable pickup truck.
Ford Ranger | Ford

Chevy Colorado

The Chevrolet Colorado is the brand’s compact truck offering that is available in a variety of bed, cab and engine sizes to best suit your needs. However, if you want the best fuel economy, then you’ll have to opt for the 2.8-liter turbo-diesel, four-cylinder engine that produces 181 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque is able to return an EPA-estimated 20 mpg in the city and up to 30 mpg on the highway. Of course, you might be more interested in the fact that the truck is able to tow up to 7,000 pounds, but gas mileage is important too.

2019 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison
2019 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison | Chevrolet

Chevrolet Silverado

If you’re in the market for a full-size truck, then the Chevy Silverado is a great choice. Along with a variety of bed choices, there are four different engines to choose from. But if you want the most fuel-efficient option, then you’ll have to choose a configuration that includes the 3.0-liter Duramax turbo-diesel, six-cylinder engine, which produces 277 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque and can pull up to 9,500 pounds. But what’s more impressive is that it can also get up to 23 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway as long as you don’t mind having to pump diesel fuel into it.

A photo of the Chevrolet Silverado outdoors.
Chevrolet Silverado | Chevrolet

RAM 1500

In case you do a lot of highway driving in your full-size pickup, then you’ll be best suited with the RAM 1500 equipped with the 3.0-liter, turbo-diesel six-cylinder engine. This diesel engine produces 260 hp and 480 lb-ft of torque, but the best thing about it is that it can achieve up to 22 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway according to the EPA. With that configuration, you can definitely have your cake and eat it too, although, you’ll just have to get used to pulling up to the diesel pump at the gas station.

A press image of a silver 2021 Ram 1500 Limited Longhorn 10th Anniversary Edition in a southwestern outdoors scene
2021 Ram 1500 Limited Longhorn 10th Anniversary Edition | FCA
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