American vs Japanese - Truck/SUV Gas Mileage

March 4th, 2007 | by Brian Carr |

Today’s post is a follow on to my article which compared the estimated gas mileage between America’s and Japan’s top ten most fuel efficient vehicles of 2007.  As expected, the most fuel efficient Japanese cars blew away their American counterparts, thanks in part to having more hybrids and by just simply by producing smaller, lighter vehicles.

So, I thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and switch gears and look at the types of vehicles American manufacturers do best - trucks and SUVs.  I figured that by looking at the types of vehicles American auto makers are best known for, maybe I would be able to find somewhere where the Fords, Chevys, etc., weren’t lagging behind (in terms of gas mileage) in comparison to their Japanese counterparts.

I gathered the following data from fueleconomy.gov, and I tried my best to get both a mid-sized and full-sized truck and SUV for each of the major car companies.  Please keep in mind, this data is a generalization and does not take all of the makes and models into account, so take all of this with a grain of salt.

Without further ado, here’s the data:

American Trucks
Make Model Highway City
Ford Ranger           26           21
Chevy Silverado           22           16
Dodge Dakota           22           16
Ford F150           21           16
Dodge Ram           21           16
Chevy Avalanche           21           15
  Total:      22.17      16.67

Japanese Trucks
Make Model Highway City
Toyota Tacoma           28           23
Nissan Frontier           25           22
Honda Ridgeline           21           16
Toyota Tundra           20           17
Nissan Titan           18           14
  Total:      22.40      18.40

American SUVs
Make Model Highway City
Ford Escape Hybrid           31           36
Chevy Trailblazer           22           16
Dodge Durango           21           16
Ford Explorer           21           15
Chevy Suburban           21           15
  Total:      23.20      19.60

Japanese SUVs
Make Model Highway City
Honda CR-V           30           23
Toyota Highlander Hybrid           27           32
Honda Pilot           24           18
Nissan Pathfinder           23           16
Toyota 4Runner           22           18
Nissan Xterra           22           18
  Total:      24.67      20.83

According to this data, American trucks get roughly 1% worse gas mileage on the highway and 9% worse gas mileage in the city in comparison to their Japanese counterparts.  As for the SUVs, American vehicles get roughly 6% worse gas mileage on the highway and in the city.

As you can see, when it comes to trucks and SUVs, although Japanese vehicles still hold the advantage in gas mileage, the gap between the two countries definitely decreases.  But considering trucks like the Ford F150 and the Chevy Silverado are still the best selling vehicles in America, gas mileage for these vehicles still needs to come up - or people need to just stop buying these vehicles. 




  1. 6 Responses to “American vs Japanese - Truck/SUV Gas Mileage”

  2. By bk on Mar 5, 2007 | Reply

    The above blog is providing quite interesting and valuable information with regards to
    gas mileage between America’s and Japan’s top ten most fuel efficient vehicle. i do have similar kind of website which is providing adequate informatiom on vehicles

  3. By Joe Blow on Jul 23, 2007 | Reply

    Those rankings are way skewed. The Chevy Colorado isnt even listed. The Tacoma @ 28 MPG for highway is only its 2wd drive model. It’s 4wd model is around 21/22 MPG. At least get the data a little more accurate.

  4. By tom on Dec 4, 2007 | Reply

    I have a 2007 chevy full size truck but the gas mileage is killing me
    I am looking at japanese full size I never owned a japanese before
    which one should I buy ? oneteam4u@bellsouth.net

  5. By whammy on Dec 4, 2007 | Reply

    If your sitch is like mine, keep the Chevy. Buy a $500 4 cylinder beater, and only use the nice Chevy when the beater won’t get the job done. You’ll likely save a bundle on fuel, maybe enough to help pay for the Chevy. You’ll lose your a$$ if you try and sell the Chevy now, better to take the pain of finishing the truck payoff than the pain of selling at a wallet-smashing loss and not having a truck at all. Even on a trade, you’ll get taken to the cleaners, which will generally negate a large portion (if not all) of the savings from a change to a vehicle with better fuel economy. If you use a truck for everything, moderate your driving, little can change the fact that any truck is heavy, has a heavyweight drivetrain, and punches a big hole through the air. Just by changing *how* I drive just a smidgin, I get on average 4 MPG better than I used to. The old Dad trick, ‘drive like there’s an open cup of hot coffee on the dash in front of you’ works well in town, and keep your speed below 60 MPH on the highway should reward your mileage. Oh yeah… on the Jap trucks: I had a buddy who beat his 4.0V6 Tundra like a red-headed stepchild but maintained it religiously; 17 MPG and 250K miles later, sold it to some victim that’s still driving it today (two years later).

  6. By Big_Muddy on Feb 18, 2008 | Reply

    This isn’t right. The best fuel mileage from a small pickup is the Ford Ranger with 21mpg. It’s matched by the Mazda, but the Mazda is a re-badged Ford Ranger. Toyota Tacoma comes in below the Ranger.

    The best fuel mileage from Standard Sized Pickup trucks is the Dodge Dakota. It’s matched by the Misubishi Raider, but like the small pickups, the Mitsubishi Raider is a re-badged Dodge Dakota. The second most fuel efficient in this class is the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra, which for the most part are basically the same. Third place in the Honda Ridgeline.

    The most fuel efficient SUV is the Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner Hybrids. This (again) is matched by the Mazda Tribute Hybrid, with is a re-badged Ford Escape. Next in line is the Jeep Compass and the Jeep Patriot.

    Here’s the proof: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bestworstEPAtrucks.htm

    Look it up.

  7. By Gary on Mar 1, 2008 | Reply

    I used to own a 2000 GMC Sierra. I traded it in on a 2007 Toyota Prius. I have to admit that i do miss my truck, but will never again waste my hard earned $ putting it in the gas tank! Unless you need a truck for work, lose the bigger is better stigma, and buy a fuel efficient car. I am currentley getting over 40 mpg in the winter and over 50 mpg in the summer. It was hard for me to leave my truck, but i had to do it for my pocket book and the enviroment.

Post a Comment