Ford F-150 Raptor R Exists For The Hard-Core Off-Roader

Just look at the Ford F-150 Raptor pickup. It makes no bones about having the worst mileage figures, but then again, it is moving 700-plus horsepower around so you would expect it.

Something begins to strike you if you follow the automotive world for longer than, say, 15 minutes. It seems there is a list for practically any topic you might imagine.

The “Greenest Pickup,” the Raptor R, isn’t

For example, there are the usual lists of “best cars” and “best trucks,” of course. When you add the “best EV” or “Best EV pickup,” you can see just how complete the fields are that most make competition for.

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Take Kelly Blue Book, for example. The venerable automotive site values vehicles around this time of year. Indeed, they did it again as they chose new value leaders for 2023 and 2024. The winner was Ford’s sixth-generation Bronco, which beat out the new Toyota Tacoma considerably.

Now, we are looking at the Ford Authority’s (FA) discussion about “why the Ford F-150 Raptor R exists. Today, we know that the Raptor R provides “a select few with a highly capable off-road-focused, supercharged V-8 powered pickup with a menacing look that matches those attributes.

While Consumer Reports notes best cars, trucks, some aren't

FA notes that, given its size and weight, no one would expect this 700+ horsepower machine to return anything resembling decent fuel economy.

The Meanest Pickup On the List

As such, FA notes, it is no surprise that the Ford F-150 Raptor R has landed on the  American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) 2024 Greener Cars meanest list.

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Indeed, “while both the Ranger and the Ford Maverick Hybrid have been praised on this report for being “greener choices” among modern vehicles, the Raptor R made the “meanest list” for being one of the 12 brands that are the “worst performing mass-market models in regards to its fuel consumption – which result in an annual estimated fuel cost of $3,777 – the third-highest on the list.”

Further, they noted that Raptor R scored just 24 out of 100 possible points. In other words, the Raptor R is thirsty and makes no bones about it.

Thirstiest On the List

This isn’t the first year for this report. The ACEEE releases its “GreenerCArs report. The report looks at greenhouse gases and vehicle emission criteria from pollutant emissions. Each year, ACEEE releases its GreenerCars report, which assesses the greenhouse gas and “criteria pollutant emissions from the production, use, and disposal of every new vehicle on the market, coupled with fuel economy data. This data is calculated from when a vehicle is produced to when it reaches its end-of-life moment, giving us a total picture of a vehicle’s impact on not only our wallets but also the environment,” FA concludes.

The ACEEE report for EVs includes a comprehensive look at emissions, including the:

• “The upstream emission generated not only by the electricity used by an
• However, the emissions produced when mining and processing minerals for batteries.
• As well as the emissions stemming from manufacturing those vehicles and their components.

When it is finished looking at the component parts of the emissions picture, the ACEEE then “assigns each vehicle a green score, then ranks the best and worst in categories including the greenest, greener (which doesn’t include EVs, says FA), and “the meanest of the bunch.”

Ford Motor Photo

Marc Stern has been an automotive writer since 1971. His automotive articles have appeared in venues including Popular Mechanics, Mechanix Illustrated, AutoWeek, SuperStock, Trailer Life, Old Cars Weekly, Special Interest Autos, and others. You can follow Marc on Twitter or Facebook.