A pickup truck with power and fuel economy

Hello Paul, I would like to buy a used or new pickup truck to drive to my farm in Kabale. I need a good combination of power to carry my farm produce on the hilly terrain and fuel economy for the long journey back to Kampala. I would like to know whether I should buy the biggest diesel engine since big engines have most power. Charles

Hello Charles, you do not have to buy the biggest pick up diesel engine to have all the power and torque you need. In the past, it has been a fact that bigger engines are more powerful than smaller ones but today, it is just a truism. There are smaller engines which are faster, more powerful with better fuel economy than the bigger ones.
Engine power has for a long time been determined by how much fuel and air mixture it can burn in the engine cylinder. That is why engine power was synonymous with engine cylinder cubic capacity (cc) or the bigger the engine capacity the faster an engine was likely to accelerate and tow heavier loads than smaller engines could.
However, this rule of thumb changed with the introduction of turbo chargers and common rail fuel delivery systems in more recent engines.
A turbo charger is a device that harnesses exhaust flow to spin a turbine which uses forced air induction to compress air flow into the engine. This allows the engine to pack more air and fuel for compression in a small size four cylinder engine to release more power, torque and better fuel efficiency. Newer engines are designed with two turbo chargers to increase the power and fuel efficiency benefit. Common rail fuel delivery utilises a high pressure pump and storage line which delivers the right amounts of fuel into the engine instantaneously and efficiently.
Take for instance the 2018 new Nissan Navara with a 2.3 litre twin turbo 4WD D/Cab pickup delivers an engine power output of 140 KW @ 3,750 rpm and a torque of 450NM @ 2500 rpm. This engine’s accelerates from 0-100 KPH in 10.8 seconds and its fuel efficiency is between 14-15 KM/ litre. The older 2004 Nissan Navara Dcab 4WD with a 2.5 litre YD25 single turbo Diesel engine delivers a power output of 128 KW @ 4,000 rpm and has a fuel efficiency of about 10.7 KM/ Litre. Acceleration from 0-100 KPH takes 12.9 seconds.
The older 1995 QD 323 Nissan 3.2 litre non turbo Diesel engine produced a power output of 80.9 KW @ 3,400 and took 13.8 seconds to accelerate from 0-100 KPH.
This shows that the newer smaller engine with twin turbo chargers is so much more efficient with better power and fuel economy. So, you donot have to go for the biggest diesel engine to enjoy the best engine power.
Newer but smaller diesel engines with twin turbo chargers and common rail fuel delivery will give you better engine power and improved fuel economy to travel to Kabale and drive on your hilly farm.