Despite my line of work, there’s something I don’t like about modern cars in addition to tire repairs kits instead of a spare wheel in the trunk. My gripe concerns the capacity of a fuel tank, which isn’t as good as it used to be 10 to 20 years ago.
Take, for instance, the Ford Ranger for the U.S. market. The 1993 model used to feature 20 gallons while the 2018 model features 18 gallons. Pretty much the same thing has happened to my daily driver, namely a Hyundai i30 compact hatchback.
Turning our attention back to the Blue Oval, there is an exception to this rule. In markets where diesel still is the preferred fuel for this type of vehicle, the Ranger levels up to 21.1 gallons or 80 liters. The XLS dual cab in the following video is fitted with that tank, and as the headline implies, its mileage is pretty impressive.
Content creators Ahmed Jaffar and Mohamed Sirelkhatim chose the 2.2-liter turbo diesel for their hypermiling experiment, an engine that comes with the six-speed automatic instead of the 10R80 of the Raptor and stateside truck. The two protagonists thought that 1,000 kilometers “would be a very ambitious target,” but to their surprise, the fuel gauge was showing a quarter of a tank left at 864 clicks.
“It’s a test I’ll remember for a long time to come,” said Jaffar after 1,252 kilometers of making the most out of every milliliter of diesel. A tough call in the scorching heat of Dubai, more so if you hear the average speed and total duration of the experiment. Without further ado, those would be 90 kph (55.9 mph) and 17 hours.
For reference, 1,252 kilometers translate to 777.9 miles on one tank of fuel. The Environmental Protection Agency says that the Ranger for the U.S. market is good for 414 miles in one go, but then again, the 2.3-liter EcoBoost is a little thirstier too.
At the time of writing, Ford doesn’t offer any diesel option for the Ranger in the United States nor does hearsay suggest that diesel is coming to the 2022 redesign. Elsewhere in the world, the 2.0-liter EcoBlue is the most efficient option the Blue Oval offers.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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