Well, let's see. The EB is maybe 1-2 mpg better (probably closer to 1, if not dead even)....not enough of a difference to warrant 10 fewer gallons. You would think if Ford marketed this as THE tow engine (which they are), most people are traveling long distances while towing and would want/expect the bigger tank. Doesn't make sense at all. If the EB was pulling 4-5 mpgs better, the smaller tank would make sense, but it's not...not even close.

I had nothing better to do this afternoon then drop by my local Ford dealer for an hour or so. Dealer let me take out a 5.0 Platinum (SCREW, 4x4, 3.73, 5.5 bed) and an XLT, 2wd, extended cab, 6.5 bed, EB (this was the only EB they had, otherwise I would have tried the make the comparison more close).

I did two identical 20 mile loops on the freeway, reset the MPG gauge at the exact same point for each vehicle, and drove them identically...1/2 of the loop was flat highway, other was rolling hills, with a decent steep grade at the the end. I set the cruise control at 70mph for both trucks and didn't touch it except to exit and turn around. If I was to bet, my money would have been on the EB since it was all around lighter and only 2wd, not a SCREW 4x4,

Both trucks averaged 18mpg almost to the tenth on the LCD screen. I was impressed with both vehicles especially going up the steep grade....if either down shifted, it was very subtle, but both held 70 VERY well, and no significant rev of the engine. The torque & TT was about the only noticeable difference, definitely put me back in my seat a little more in the EB than the 5.0 through most of the RPM range. Again, I was VERY impressed with BOTH engines.

My conclusion (and a very elementary one at best) is that the 5.0 works consistently over a wider operating range. The EB is more efficient until those turbos kick in and tends to be a little more "jumpy", with fuel economy tied to a much lighter foot on the throttle vs the 5.0. It's probably a better long range flat highway vehicle from a MPG standpoint, but the moment you introduce any hills, rolling terrain, etc, the engine appears to work a little harder and evens out any MPG gains over the 5.0

Seems to boil down to torque, acceleration (both favor the EB) vs sound and overall steady consistent performance (5.0). Not sure if this helps anyone else....I'm still torn.

The next test I do will be with a 4500lb boat behind each, but I'm going to wait until the dealer has an EB more closely matched with the 5.0 that I drove.

One more interesting note....dealer had three EBs at the beginning of the week, none left when I went in today. They didn't sell one 5.0 this week, but sold just about every EB they have.