2.0EB AWD 4K vs Hybrid AWD 4K towing test

[Elduchey]

Kenab Utah to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (that will take you to 9k feet at some point) with a 2500lb trailer in tow, some gear in the bed, driver, passenger, and two medium dogs in the back seat. That will tell us all we need to know...

Yep, this is exactly what I want to see. I've had no problem towing a 3,000lb trailer up to 8,000ft with my ecoboost but I'm really worried the hybrid is going to be a dog in the hills.

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[Blinky]

Yep, this is exactly what I want to see. I've had no problem towing a 3,000lb trailer up to 8,000ft with my ecoboost but I'm really worried the hybrid is going to be a dog in the hills.

I'm interested in the awd hybrid with 4k but I can't imagine dragging 4000 pounds up a mountain in a sub 200hp truck.
People are going to have to be VERY patient when towing with the hybrids.

 

[Scupking]

I'm interested in the awd hybrid with 4k but I can't imagine dragging 4000 pounds up a mountain in a sub 200hp truck.
People are going to have to be VERY patient when towing with the hybrids.

I'm sure Ford has done plenty of testing to make sure it can tow 4k in plenty of different situations.

 

[Rivers90]

I'm sure Ford has done plenty of testing to make sure it can tow 4k in plenty of different situations.

Ford went to a heavier duty transmission and upgraded cooling.
Cooling is often the real limit on towing.

 

[Blinky]

I'm sure Ford has done plenty of testing to make sure it can tow 4k in plenty of different situations.

I'd like to say I agree but with all the recalls, cheap-outs and persistent issues on our trucks I'll stick with my original opinion. I like these trucks but it's pretty clear that Ford did a lot of corner cutting to keep profits high while maintaining a reasonable price.

 

[Guv]

I've driven both and owned neither, and I couldn't disagree more. even the high output 2.7 is Chevy is not close to the usable torque from the Ford 2.7 V6.

the Chevy 2.7 is a huge step up from their naturally aspirated V6, but it's not better than Ford.

That almost isn’t a fair comparison The 2.7 Ecoboost is a little beast.
Punches way above it’s size.
My son has a Fusion Sport AWD with a 2.7 and it is pretty damn quick!

 

[colinl]

That almost isn’t a fair comparison The 2.7 Ecoboost is a little beast.
Punches way above it’s size.
My son has a Fusion Sport AWD with a 2.7 and it is pretty damn quick!

Ford originally wasn't going to do the 2.7v6 TT in the 2024 ranger and then GM brought their 2.7 ho to the full size trucks and made noise it was coming to the 2023 midsize trucks. that's why the new ranger has the 2.7 as late availability. I don't think anyone has received one yet. it's basically going to be a my25 ranger option IMHO.

 

[Hot Runr Guy]

Ford originally wasn't going to do the 2.7v6 TT in the 2024 ranger and then GM brought their 2.7 ho to the full size trucks and made noise it was coming to the 2023 midsize trucks. that's why the new ranger has the 2.7 as late availability. I don't think anyone has received one yet. it's basically going to be a my25 ranger option IMHO.

According to a guy on Ranger6G, there's a 2.7 on the lot at a dealer near Phoenix, that he intends to visit tomorrow.

HRG

 

[Phimosis]

Sent an email to TFL Truck today, asking if they had any intention of doing a head to head test, to see if one has an advantage over the other.

Heard back from none other than Andre himself, indicating that they hope to do this later this year, once the Hybrid AWD becomes available.

Stay tuned, HRG

The result is already clear:
The hybrid’s engine is 162 hp and system power is 191 hp, so the electric motor will continuously make 29 hp (21.6 kw) when climbing a mountain, while towing. The battery is 1.1 kwh, so a 21.6 kw motor will drain the battery from 100% to zero in 3 minutes. so the first 3 minutes of climbing the grade will be fine. Once the battery is empty, the gas engine will be the only source of power, which is 162 hp at 5,600 rpm.

On the flip side, when the ecoboost is purring at its 3,000 rpm torque peak, it’s making 278 lb/ft tq and 159 hp, which is equivalent to the hybrid’s hp at max rpm. Who wants to run an engine for 30 minutes at max rpm climbing a mountain, with zero headroom left, when another model in the line up can tow the same load at 3,000 rpm and have 90 hp of headroom left for passing?

The conclusion is that the ecoboost is a competent and well suited towing rig, while the hybrid is down on power, revs annoyingly high under load and feels like 4K trailer is too taxing on the hybrid while climbing mountains at freeway speeds.

 

[thev8man]

Sent an email to TFL Truck today, asking if they had any intention of doing a head to head test, to see if one has an advantage over the other.

Heard back from none other than Andre himself, indicating that they hope to do this later this year, once the Hybrid AWD becomes available.

Stay tuned, HRG

Booyah

 

[The Real Maverick]

More than a few traffic related fatalities because of overloaded pickups.

More than a few hundred traffic fatalities due to cell phones in unladen pickups.

You have no point here. (Sorry.)

 

[The Real Maverick]

I'm interested in the awd hybrid with 4k but I can't imagine dragging 4000 pounds up a mountain in a sub 200hp truck.
People are going to have to be VERY patient when towing with the hybrids.

That's not an unreasonable assumption. However I'd counter with:

How many miles / minutes do you plan to be pointed uphill?

30 minutes per weekend?
30 minutes per year?
30 minutes over the life of the truck?

If you don't have 30 minutes of patience, well, what does that say about you?

 

[The Real Maverick]

The result is already clear:
The hybrid’s engine is 162 hp and system power is 191 hp, so the electric motor will continuously make 29 hp (21.6 kw) when climbing a mountain, while towing. The battery is 1.1 kwh, so a 21.6 kw motor will drain the battery from 100% to zero in 3 minutes. so the first 3 minutes of climbing the grade will be fine. Once the battery is empty, the gas engine will be the only source of power, which is 162 hp at 5,600 rpm.

On the flip side, when the ecoboost is purring at its 3,000 rpm torque peak, it’s making 278 lb/ft tq and 159 hp, which is equivalent to the hybrid’s hp at max rpm. Who wants to run an engine for 30 minutes at max rpm climbing a mountain, with zero headroom left, when another model in the line up can tow the same load at 3,000 rpm and have 90 hp of headroom left for passing?

The conclusion is that the ecoboost is a competent and well suited towing rig, while the hybrid is down on power, revs annoyingly high under load and feels like 4K trailer is too taxing on the hybrid while climbing mountains at freeway speeds.

What if I told you the peak torque of the hybrid is about the same as the EcoBoost? (Because it is 265 lb-ft gas and electric combined.)

What if I told you the Hybrid hums along at 3500 to 4000 rpm towing uphill and more like 2900 on flat? (Because it does.)

What if I told you the Hybrid has similar headroom for passing (from the battery)? (Because it does.)

One of the aspects of tow/haul mode is the hybrid keeps the battery charged, in reserve, for that last 20% of pedal input when you floor it to pass.

People VASTLY over-estimate horsepower requirements.

Very few UNDERSTAND what horsepower (power) is from a scientific standpoint.

High horsepower = fast acceleration.

There is NOT a strong correlation between horsepower and towing.

The vehicle with greater horsepower will have faster zero to 60 times and that's about it.

Once moving, at 60 mph, you need 60 horsepower to tow a small 4,000 lb. camper. 120 horsepower will get you up the steepest interstates at 6-7% grade.

Back country with 12% grade you'll be going slow, so not much wind resistance.

Hint: power is work / elapsed time

If you have more time (ex slower speeds) you need less power.

 

[The Real Maverick]

HP is NOT directly proportional to towing ability as this experiment shows.

A single Toyota Tundra can tow 150,000 pounds on flat terrain.

A Hybrid Maverick pulling 4k is literally and figuratively no sweat.

 

[Guv]

The result is already clear:
The hybrid’s engine is 162 hp and system power is 191 hp, so the electric motor will continuously make 29 hp (21.6 kw) when climbing a mountain, while towing. The battery is 1.1 kwh, so a 21.6 kw motor will drain the battery from 100% to zero in 3 minutes. so the first 3 minutes of climbing the grade will be fine. Once the battery is empty, the gas engine will be the only source of power, which is 162 hp at 5,600 rpm.

On the flip side, when the ecoboost is purring at its 3,000 rpm torque peak, it’s making 278 lb/ft tq and 159 hp, which is equivalent to the hybrid’s hp at max rpm. Who wants to run an engine for 30 minutes at max rpm climbing a mountain, with zero headroom left, when another model in the line up can tow the same load at 3,000 rpm and have 90 hp of headroom left for passing?

The conclusion is that the ecoboost is a competent and well suited towing rig, while the hybrid is down on power, revs annoyingly high under load and feels like 4K trailer is too taxing on the hybrid while climbing mountains at freeway speeds.

Good write up!
One more thing to add, if the test is in thin air this always favors a boosted engine. Also, the hybrids engine design has relatively low output for its size. This is fine when driven moderately or when the electric motor is used as a power adder as in passing or initial acceleration. When the battery is used up you effectively have the power and torque of sub 2.0L engine.

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