Ford Motor Company confirmed it’s scaling down the production of its famous 5.0-liter, V8 engine as seen in the F-series pickup trucks. The news came down last Friday.
The manufacturer stated that consumer demand has shifted away from the gas-guzzling V8s to more efficient turbo V6 engines. As a result, the Ontario Assembly Plant in Windsor, Canada will lose the third shift in the engine production line.
There will not be any job cuts though. John D’Agnolo, head of Unifor Local 200 (the Canadian UAW), assured the media that affected workers have been well prepared for the move and will continue to work for Ford, albeit in a different production line. The workers will be given the opportunity to join the nearby Windsor Engine Plant Annex and support the production of the new 7.3-liter V8 which goes into the Super Duty truck.
The V8 is a staple in American muscles and trucks. However, it’s days as America’s favorite engine may be numbered.
F-series pickups come with a variety of smaller, turbocharged V6 engines, which are more fuel efficient and deliver similar if not better power and performance.
In the table below, you can see how the engines in the F-series range stack against each other.
| 2019 Engine |
Power [HP] |
Torque [LB-FT] |
Max. towing [LBS] |
Max. payload [LBS] |
City [MPG] |
Highway [MPG] |
|
3.3L Ti-VCT V6 |
290 | 265 | 7,700 | 1,990 | 19 | 25 |
|
2.7L EcoBoost Twin-Turbo V6 |
325 | 400 | 9,000 | 2,470 | 20 | 26 |
|
3.0L Power Stroke Turbo Diesel V6 |
250 | 440 | 11,400 | 2,020 | 23 | 30 |
|
5.0L Ti-VCT V8 |
395 | 400 | 11,600 | 3,270 | 17 |
23 |
|
3.5L EcoBoost Twin-Turbo V6 |
375 | 470 | 13,200 | 3,230 | 18 |
25 |
|
H.O. EcoBoost Twin-Turbo V6 |
450 | 510 | 8,000 | 1,200 | 15 |
18 |
The 5.0-liter V8 fits somewhere in the middle. It has good power, torque and is very capable. However, it’s fuel efficiency is last, considering you wouldn’t buy the H.O. V6 for the economy.
Both the 2.7-liter and 3.5-liter, twin-turbo V6 engines deliver similar if not better performance compared to the 5.0-liter V8. The Fast Lane Truck channel on YouTube tested all three engines equipped in otherwise identical trucks and found out the V8 is actually the slowest on the drag strip.
At the same time, both of the V6 alternatives offer a marginally better fuel economy.
By far, most efficient is the 3.0-liter Power Stroke Diesel V6. It has 30% better fuel economy compared to the V8 while maintaining similar performance metrics.
Looking at the bigger picture, it’s not surprising at all that Ford is reducing the engine’s production. The engineers have moved. We, consumers, are also slowly shaking off the obsessive cult towards V8 engines. There is a replacement for displacement.
