4 Sedans That Get Worse MPG Than Pickup Trucks
Pickup trucks don’t get the best gas mileage around. Whatever drag coefficient the automaker advertises, a seven-foot-tall vehicle with a five-foot-tall grille is just going to push a ton of air down the road. And full frame construction means trucks are heavy. It’s not shocking that the latest V8 Ram gets 15 city/22 highway mpg (17 combined), the Dodge Charger sedan with the same engine was more efficient by every measure: 16 city/25 highway mpg (19 combined).
That said, some of the latest trucks are incredibly fuel efficient. While some recent cars, not so much. The most fuel efficient 2024 truck is Chevrolet’s full-size Silverado 1500 optioned with the 3.0-liter I6 turbodiesel. The 2WD version is rated for 23 city/29 highway mpg (26 combined). Twenty-six combined mpg is a high bar, even for a sedan. And I know a diesel truck is a non-starter for most folks, so I’m not going to use it as a benchmark for this sedan list.
Midsize pickup trucks are also growing more efficient every year. The Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon, Ford Ranger, and Toyota Tacoma all offer efficient, turbocharged four cylinders engines. And the Nissan Frontier V6’s mpg doesn’t lag far behind: 18 city/24 highway mpg (21 combined). The most efficient 2024 midsize is the 2WD Toyota Tacoma: 20 city/26 highway mpg (23 combined). Modern midsize pickup truck mpg trounce these V8 sedans, and even some V6 sedans. But you’ll be shocked how poorly some turbo I4s stack up.
V8 Dodge Charger – 16 city/25 highway mpg (19 combined)
The last of its kind, the Dodge Charger carried the torch for the V8-powered, four-door, RWD American sedan for 20 years. But Dodge finally canceled the platform after 2023. Late in 2024, we may see its replacement. The top-trim gasoline power plant will now be an I6 co-developed with Alfa Romeo.
V8 Ford Crown Victoria – 16 city/24 highway mpg (19 combined)
For decades before the Charger, Ford’s Crown Victoria was the go-to car for police and taxi drivers. It was very much like the Charger and got similar fuel mileage–15 years ago! So what good is all the Charger’s multi-cylinder deactivation technology and big 8-speed automatic? Well the V8 Crown Vic had a lot less horsepower (239 vs 370). A low mileage one might still make a good used car, but don’t expect to get modern midsize pickup truck mpg numbers.
V8 Audi S8 – 18 city/24 highway mpg (18 combined)
Audi’s answer to these V8 American muscle cars is its S8 sedan with a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8. That’s a relatively small displacement, and with the turbos spooled down you’d think it would get better fuel mileage. But no such luck. This German car is tuned more for performance than mpg, and falls behind many trucks in efficiency. Obviously, top-trim super sedans from Mercedes-AMG and BMW’s M division guzzle as much gasoline–if not more.
V6 Ford Fusion AWD – 17 city/26 highway mpg (20 combined)
This one shocked me. I think of the Ford Fusion as a fuel-efficient sedan with a transverse-mounted I4. But the sport version had a series of V6s, finally going to a turbocharged 2.7-liter version in 2017 to save some gas. Still, that car didn’t get midsize pickup truck mpg. But here’s what’s wild: opt for the AWD Fusion with the turbocharged I4 and the mileage only climbs to 20 city/29 highway (23 combined). That ekes out a win against the 2WD Tacoma on the highway, but only ties with it in every other metric.
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