What Kind Of MPG Does A Ford 3.5L Ecoboost Get? Here’s What Drivers Are Saying

The well-regarded Ecoboost engine family is Ford’s answer to the never-ending emissions standards, which seek to lower harmful gases from fossil fuel combustion. As the original Ecoboost engine, the Ford 3.5-liter Ecoboost had its first stint under the hood of the 2010 Lincoln MKS before expanding its application to the likes of the Ford Flex, Ford Taurus SHO, and Lincoln MKT. Like the rest of the Ecoboost lineup, it combines turbocharging and direct fuel injection technology to deliver comparable performance to a larger, naturally aspirated engine — all while returning good fuel economy, and much lower CO2 emissions than a competing non-turbocharged engine would.

Since then, the Ford 3.5L twin-turbo Ecoboost V6 engine has evolved through various updates, with each bringing significant improvements. There are now also many vehicles that use or have used the V6, including the Ford F-150, F-150 Raptor, Ford Expedition, and Lincoln Navigator. In EPA testing, current generation Ford F-150 models with the hybridized Ford 3.5-liter Ecoboost engine and four-wheel drive returned 23 mpg combined, while rear-wheel-drive, nonhybrid variants gained 20 mpg. Pairing the V6 with four-wheel drive further lowers the combined city-highway return to 19 mpg, or even 18 mpg when the Ford F-150 Tremor is specified. To no one’s surprise, the F-150 Raptor is the least efficient of the lot, with its high-output mill returning 16 mpg combined.

But just what do the real-world Ford 3.5L Ecoboost fuel economy numbers say? Let’s take a look.

The Ford 3.5L Ecoboost delivers respectable fuel economy

Discussion threads on Reddit and elsewhere indicate that the Ford 3.5L Ecoboost mpg is decent, with owners getting about similar numbers to the EPA estimates. Aurelius_0101, a Texas-based owner of a 3.5-liter Ecoboost-powered 2022 Ford F-150 on Reddit said, “I get 19-20 MPG. Sometimes I put 93 octane instead of 87.”

Another Redditor by the name husbandoftheyear2028 cited getting up to 21 mpg on 87 octane gas. In their own words: “My 2021 3.5 I average 21mpg on 87 octane with my mostly highway commuting. That’s with a good bit of stop and go traffic. 4×4 crew cab 6.5ft bed max tow, so a lighter truck would probably see a little better with my uses.” Drivers have also mentioned earning around 17 and 19 mpg with the Ford 3.5L Ecoboost V6, which is pretty consistent with EPA data.

While the real-world mpg of the Ford 3.5L Ecoboost will obviously be influenced by factors such as driving habits, driving conditions, and fuel quality, some drivers have highlighted tires as being a major force. Commenting on a YouTube video comparing the efficiency of a 3.5L Ecoboost versus the 5.0L Coyote V8 engine’s, driver @Matt-zn4zp argues that tires play an important role in determining how efficient the Ford 3.5L Ecoboost can be.

“Tires make a huge difference! Tire weight, tread pattern, rolling resistance and unsprung mass are major factors in fuel economy. I have a 21′ F-150 w/ the 3.5L and with passenger AT (although looked more like highway tires) I usually got 22mpg. I switched to the same size tire although now an LT A/T tire and I losses on average 3 mpg due to the heavier more aggressive tread pattern,” they said. This was in counter to the assertion by YouTuber Getty’s Garage that tires alone could not have accounted for the significant difference in fuel economy between the Coyote V8 and Ecoboost V6.