On October 1, 2026, filling a Ford F-150 Raptor R from empty cost $191.64 at the national average price of premium. Filling a Jeep Wrangler 392 cost $114.45. In California, the same two fills cost $245.52 and $146.63. Those are the headline numbers. The useful ones are per mile, and they tell a different story than the pump total does.
Every figure below comes from three places: the EPA's ratings on fueleconomy.gov, the manufacturers' own 2026 specification pages, and AAA's daily price survey. Nothing is estimated from a forum post, and the arithmetic is shown so you can redo it with whatever the sign says in your town.
The three vehicles
These are the two factory V8 off-roaders that land at roughly the same price, plus the Raptor's own six-cylinder sibling for contrast.
- Ford F-150 Raptor. 3.5L High-Output EcoBoost V6, 450 horsepower, 36.0-gallon tank. EPA: 14 city, 18 highway, 16 combined, rated on regular gasoline. Ford's 2026 spec sheet lists premium 91+ octane as the recommended minimum fuel. Ford.com shows it starting at $79,005.
- Ford F-150 Raptor R. 5.2L supercharged V8, 720 horsepower, 36.0-gallon tank. EPA: 10 city, 15 highway, 12 combined, premium gasoline. Ford lists premium 91+ as the minimum.
- Jeep Wrangler Moab 392. 6.4L V8, 470 horsepower, 21.5-gallon tank. EPA: 13 city, 16 highway, 14 combined, premium gasoline. Jeep.com lists premium as the recommended fuel and a base price of $79,995 plus $1,995 destination.
- Jeep Wrangler 4-door, 3.6L V6 automatic. 285 horsepower, 21.5-gallon tank. EPA: 18 city, 23 highway, 20 combined, regular gasoline. This is the Wrangler most people actually own, and it is the floor the V8s should be measured against.
Prices used throughout, from AAA on October 1, 2026: national average regular $4.41, premium $5.32. California: regular $6.40, premium $6.82. AAA publishes to four decimals; the totals below use the unrounded figures.
What a full tank costs
| Vehicle | Tank | Fuel | National average | California |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raptor R | 36 gal | Premium | $191.64 | $245.52 |
| Raptor, on premium (Ford's recommendation) | 36 gal | Premium | $191.64 | $245.52 |
| Raptor, on regular (EPA rating basis) | 36 gal | Regular | $158.89 | $230.47 |
| Wrangler Moab 392 | 21.5 gal | Premium | $114.45 | $146.63 |
| Wrangler 4-door 3.6L V6 | 21.5 gal | Regular | $94.89 | $137.64 |
Two things stand out. First, the Raptor R and the 392 cost about the same to buy, but the Raptor's tank is two-thirds bigger, so a fill is about $77.19 more at the national average. That is a tank-size fact, not an efficiency fact. Second, the cheapest honest number for the Raptor is on regular, because that is the fuel the EPA rates it on. Ford's own spec sheet recommends premium for it, which adds $32.74 per tank nationally. Whether you follow the recommendation is between you and your warranty.
What a mile costs, and what a year costs
A tank is the wrong unit. You buy fuel by the mile whether you notice or not, and the per-mile figure is what separates these trucks. The yearly column assumes 12,000 miles at the EPA combined rating, which is a round number, not a claim about how you drive.
| Vehicle | EPA combined | Range per tank | Per mile, national | Per mile, California | 12,000 miles a year, national | 12,000 miles a year, California |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raptor R | 12 mpg | 432 mi | 44 cents | 57 cents | $5,323 | $6,820 |
| Raptor, on premium | 16 mpg | 576 mi | 33 cents | 43 cents | $3,992 | $5,115 |
| Wrangler Moab 392 | 14 mpg | 301 mi | 38 cents | 49 cents | $4,563 | $5,846 |
| Wrangler 4-door 3.6L V6 | 20 mpg | 430 mi | 22 cents | 32 cents | $2,648 | $3,841 |
At the national average, the Raptor R costs about 17 percent more per mile than the 392, and about double the V6 Wrangler. Over 12,000 miles, that is $760 a year more than the Jeep and $2,675 more than the six-cylinder. On an $80,000 vehicle, the fuel difference between the two V8s is real money but not deciding money. The difference between either V8 and the V6 Wrangler is a car payment.
Range is where the Jeep pays for its small tank. At the combined rating, the 392 runs about 301 miles between fills. The Raptor R runs about 432, and the V6 Wrangler about 430. A 392 owner on a long trip stops for gas more often than anyone else in this comparison, and pays premium every time.
The California case
California is the extreme, and it changes the shape of the problem, not just the size. Regular there cost $6.40 on October 1, which is more than the premium cost in the rest of the country. A California owner filling a Raptor with regular paid $230.47, more than a national-average owner paid for a full tank of premium.
The second effect is less obvious. Nationally, premium ran 91 cents a gallon over regular. In California, the gap was only 42 cents. So the premium penalty, the extra you pay for owning a V8 that wants 91 octane, is smaller in California than almost anywhere else, because regular is already so expensive there. The California 392 owner pays $8.99 more per tank for premium than for regular. The national owner pays $19.55 more.
Per year, a California Raptor R owner driving 12,000 miles spends about $6,820 on fuel at the combined rating. A California 392 owner spends about $5,846. A California owner of the V6 Wrangler spends about $3,841, which is more than a national-average owner spends running a Raptor on regular.
What changed in a year
AAA's year-ago figures put national premium at $4.02 on October 1, 2025. A Raptor R fill at that price was $144.56; a 392 fill was $86.33. In twelve months, the Raptor R fill rose by $47.08 and the 392 fill by $28.12. Nothing about either truck changed. The price of premium went up $1.31 a gallon.
The part you control
The EPA number is the one thing on this page you cannot change. What you bolt on and how you drive is the rest. Oversize tires, a roof rack left on all winter, a rooftop tent, and highway speed all pull real mileage out of a V8 off-roader, and the heavier and taller the build, the bigger the hit. We worked through the roofline math on a Gladiator to show why the overland range problem is the roofline, not the engine, and the tire pressure side in airing down. For the record, a spare tire cover does not move the number in any way you could measure.
The short version
A Raptor R tank costs about $192 nationally and $246 in California. A Wrangler 392 tank costs about $114 and $147. Per mile, the Raptor R is the most expensive of the three, the 392 is in the middle, and the V6 Wrangler costs about half of either. The 392 stops for gas most often. And if you live in California, regular already costs more than the rest of the country pays for premium, so the V8 penalty is the smallest part of your fuel bill.
Prices are AAA averages for October 1, 2026, and change daily. Fuel economy figures are EPA estimates for the 2026 model year; your mileage will vary with tires, load, speed, and terrain. Tank capacities and fuel recommendations are from the manufacturers' 2026 specifications.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to fill up a Ford Raptor?
The 2026 F-150 Raptor and Raptor R both carry a 36-gallon tank. At the AAA national average on October 1, 2026, a full tank of premium cost $191.64 and a full tank of regular cost $158.89. In California, the same tank of premium costs $245.52. Prices move daily, so run the math with the price on the sign.
Does the Ford Raptor require premium gas?
Ford's 2026 F-150 specification sheet lists premium 91 octane or higher as the recommended minimum fuel for both the 3.5L High-Output EcoBoost in the Raptor and the 5.2L supercharged V8 in the Raptor R. The EPA rates the 3.5L Raptor on regular gasoline and the Raptor R on premium. Ford recommends premium for both; it does not say the 3.5L will not run on regular.
Does the Jeep Wrangler 392 need premium gas?
Jeep lists premium gasoline as the recommended fuel for the 2026 Wrangler Moab 392, and the EPA rates its 6.4L V8 on premium. At 21.5 gallons, a full tank of premium cost $114.45 at the national average on October 1, 2026, and $146.63 in California.
What gas mileage does the Jeep Wrangler 392 get?
The EPA rates the 2026 Wrangler with the 6.4L V8 at 13 mpg city, 16 highway, and 14 combined on premium gasoline. On a 21.5-gallon tank, that works out to about 301 miles of range at the combined figure. The 3.6L V6 four-door automatic is rated 18, 23, and 20 on regular, for about 430 miles on the same-size tank.
Which costs more to run, the Raptor R or the Wrangler 392?
Per mile, the Raptor R. At the national average premium price, it costs about 44 cents a mile against 38 cents for the 392, because 12 mpg is worse than 14. Per fill, the Raptor R costs far more because its tank is 36 gallons to the Jeep's 21.5, but it also goes about 432 miles on that tank against about 301.
How many gallons does a Ford Raptor hold?
Thirty-six gallons. Ford's 2026 F-150 specification sheet lists a 36.0-gallon tank for both the 3.5L High-Output EcoBoost and the 5.2L supercharged V8, on every cab and box configuration those engines come in.
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