What Are the Best MPG Pickup Trucks?

Most pickup truck ads feature capabilities — towing, payload, tech and off-road features — over fuel efficiency, which makes sense because if the truck isn’t up to your tasks, more miles per gallon won’t make that truck work for you. But a lot of trucks now feature robust capability and better fuel economy that can lower your operating costs. Here’s a look at the best 2023 pickup trucks for getting more done with less fuel — be it gasoline, diesel or electricity — sorted by truck size.

Related: Here Are the 10 Cheapest Pickup Trucks You Can Buy Right Now

The top spots are dominated by diesel and electrified trucks, though some have higher prices or less capability than the gasoline alternatives. Before you pay more, you should calculate whether you’ll save enough on operating expenses in your situation to be dollars ahead in the long run with alternative fuels. Your total mileage, as well as towing and payload use, matter, as do the relative cost of fuel (diesel being generally higher) and charging for an electric truck. And in most cases, size matters — you can save a lot on expenses and sticker price with a smaller truck if that’s all you really need.

These light-duty pickups are ranked by the configuration of each truck with the highest EPA-estimated combined mpg rating — or the EPA’s combined mpg-equivalent calculation for electric vehicles (mpg-e compares electric energy use to gasoline energy). For hybrid and diesel configurations rated best in the category, we also note the truck’s best-rated conventional gasoline version, and for two-wheel-drive configurations, we also note the top-rated four-wheel-drive variant. Note that the top-rated powertrains might be extra-cost options and may not be available with all cab, bed and trim variations.

Compact Trucks

The Best: Ford Maverick, 37 mpg combined, front-wheel drive

The Ford Maverick revived the compact pickup category for the U.S., and with its standard gas-electric hybrid 2WD powertrain, it is by far the most fuel-efficient pickup of any size with an internal combustion engine. The hybrid’s overall work specs are more limited than most trucks but still are robust enough for many needs, particularly in urban areas where its stellar 40 mpg city rating stands out. Fuel economy for the hybrid system, which is based on a 191-horsepower, 2.5-liter gasoline four-cylinder engine, drops to 33 mpg on the highway. The Maverick’s lone other powertrain is a 250-hp, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 277 pounds-feet of torque. It is the only version that offers all-wheel drive, and it’s EPA-rated for 25 mpg combined with FWD and 24 mpg with AWD. An off-road-oriented Tremor version was added for 2023 and is rated 21 mpg combined. In its debut year, the Maverick was Cars.com’s Best Pickup Truck of 2022 and Best of the Year 2022.

The Rest

• Hyundai Santa Cruz, 23 mpg, FWD: Hyundai’s compact pickup is a relative of the brand’s Tucson SUV. Its base engine is a 191-hp, 2.5-liter four-cylinder that’s rated 23 mpg combined with FWD or AWD. The optional 281-hp, turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder with AWD is rated 22 mpg combined.

Mid-Size Trucks

The Best: Jeep Gladiator, 24 mpg, 4WD

The Gladiator is a specialty mid-size truck that blends pickup capability with the top-down, off-road personality and skills of Jeep’s Wrangler and standard 4WD. Now in its fourth year, it’s little changed for 2023 and still leads the mid-size group in fuel economy with 24 mpg combined with the optional 260-hp, turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 EcoDiesel engine that puts out 442 pounds-feet of torque. The standard gasoline engine — a 285-hp, 3.6-liter V-6 — is less of a star with an EPA rating of 19 mpg combined.

The Rest

• Ford Ranger, 23 mpg, 2WD: This is the highest rating for a 2WD truck with the Ranger’s only engine, a 270-hp, turbocharged 2.3-liter gasoline four-cylinder that puts out 310 pounds-feet of torque. The best rating for 4WD with that engine is 22 mpg combined. Note that the Ranger is being fully redesigned for the 2024 model year. The 2.3-liter base engine carries over, but there will be a pair of newly available engine upgrades.
• Chevrolet Colorado, 22 mpg, 2WD: Fully redesigned for 2023, the Colorado dropped its diesel and V-6 options in favor of turbocharged 2.7-liter four-cylinder engines. The base version puts out 237 hp and 259 pounds-feet of torque, while a higher-output version produces 310 hp and up to 430 pounds-feet. The best rating with 4WD is 21 mpg combined.
• Honda Ridgeline, 21 mpg, AWD: The Pilot-SUV-adjacent pickup with a lot of novel features is offered only with AWD and a 280-hp, 3.5-liter gasoline V-6 with 262 pounds-feet of torque. It’s rated at 21 mpg combined.
• Toyota Tacoma, 21 mpg, 2WD: The Tacoma offers the same 21 mpg combined rating with the base 159-hp, 2.7-liter gasoline four-cylinder with 180 pounds-feet of torque and the 278-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 engine that makes 265 pounds-feet. With 4WD, both engines are rated at 20 mpg. Note that the Tacoma is getting a full redesign for the 2024 model year that will drop the V-6 and add new gasoline and hybrid four-cylinder power options.
• Nissan Frontier, 21 mpg, 2WD: The Frontier got a major freshening for 2022, and the only engine offered for the carryover 2023 model is the 310-hp, 3.8-liter gasoline V-6 with 281 pounds-feet of torque. With 4WD, it is rated up to 20 mpg combined.
• GMC Canyon, 20 mpg, 2WD: This GM sibling of the Chevy Colorado also has been redone for 2023 and offers only the less economical but most powerful 310-hp version of the turbocharged 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 430 pounds-feet of torque. The best rating with 4WD is 19 mpg combined.

Full-Size Trucks

The Best (Tie): Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 26 mpg, 2WD and GMC Sierra 1500, 26 mpg, 2WD

These GM corporate siblings vary in features, trims and options, but they share the top 26-mpg rating and the powertrain that produces it: an available 3.0-liter turbo-diesel engine that puts out 305 hp and 495 pounds-feet of torque. The trucks also rack up the best 4WD mileage at 24 mpg combined. The trucks’ best mileage with a gasoline engine is 20 mpg with 2WD and the available 310-hp, turbocharged 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 430 pounds-feet of torque.

The Rest

• Ford F-150, 25 mpg, 2WD: The top F-150 rating is for a 2WD truck with the available hybrid twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 powertrain that has total output of 430 hp and 570 pounds-feet of torque. The best with 4WD is 23 mpg combined, also with the hybrid powertrain. With a conventional gasoline engine, the best fuel economy figure is 22 mpg combined for a 2WD truck with the available 325-hp, twin-turbocharged 2.7-liter four-cylinder that makes 400 pounds-feet of torque.
• Ram 1500, 23 mpg, 2WD: Production ended in January for the 2023 Ram 1500 diesel, last year’s best full-sizer (though nearly 2,000 new diesels still are listed for sale on Cars.com as of this writing). The Ram 1500 mileage leader now, at 23 mpg combined, is the 2WD Tradesman HFE model, an extended-cab work truck available in white or black and powered by a 305-hp, 3.6-liter V-6. The best V-6 fuel economy is 22 mpg combined, and the best 4WD truck also uses the V-6 and is rated 21 mpg.
• Toyota Tundra, 22 mpg, 2WD: The fuel economy leader for the Tundra, which was redesigned for 2022, is the i-Force Max hybrid that uses a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 and puts out 437 hp and 583 pounds-feet of torque. The hybrid also offers the best 4WD rating at 20 mpg combined. The top-rated non-hybrid is a 2WD truck that gets 20 mpg with a 389-hp version of the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6.
• Nissan Titan, 18 mpg, 2WD or 4WD: The Titan’s only powertrain is a 400-hp, 5.6-liter V-8 with 413 pounds-feet of torque, which gets up to 18 mpg combined with either 2WD or 4WD.

Battery-Electric Trucks

The Best: Rivian R1T, 73 mpg-e, AWD with 21-inch wheels

The Rivian luxury pickup, new for 2022, has four-motor AWD and a 135-kilowatt-hour battery pack that’s good for an EPA-rated range that was boosted to 328 miles by a recent software update. Rivian has also said that less expensive versions with two motors and less range are due to roll out in 2024.

The Rest

• Ford F-150 Lightning, 70 mpg-e, 4WD Extended Range: This version of Ford’s electric pickup also has the longest rated range at 320 miles.

The GMC Hummer EV pickup is not in this group because current models of the specialty truck are too heavy for an EPA light-duty vehicle rating. While EVs still are a niche of the pickup market, the universe of electric trucks will grow in the next few years, with new ones due in 2024 and 2025 from Chevrolet, GMC and Ram. Tesla and Toyota also have electric pickup trucks in the works, and entries from EV startups such as Atlis and Canoo also might come to market.

More From Cars.com:

• Best Pickup Truck of 2023
• Full-Size Pickup Truck Inventory Returns With a Vengeance, But at What Cost?
• Redesigned 2024 Ford Ranger Priced From $34,160, Raptor From $56,960
• Breaking Down the 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500’s Towing Capacities
• Auto Show Faceoff: 2025 Ram 1500 REV Vs. 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning
• Breaking Down the 2023 Ram 1500’s Towing Capacities
• Breaking Down the 2023 Toyota Tacoma’s Towing Capacities
• Breaking Down the 2023 Toyota Tundra’s Towing Capacities
• Is the 2023 Chevrolet Colorado a Good Pickup Truck? 5 Pros and 3 Cons

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