Ram 1500 Eco Diesel Review

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Well again I haven't hand calculated the actual usage and the big bonus for me is that when I tow my trailer my mielage doesn't drop nearly as bad as it would with a gas truck. Gotta remember my 2500 weighs 7500lbs and my rough mielage calculations are driving in GTA BS stop and go so they might be better.
 
caboose56 said:
My 05 Sierra (Z71 5.3L, crew cab) gets 12.5L/100km highway and about 16.5L/100km city. Whats wrong with your ecoboost? lol
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What's wrong is they call it an ecoboost lol. Nothing eco about it. I'm sure my right foot doesn't help but I'm not really stomping on it either. I think one of the problems is keeping the revs out of the boost range on this motor.
 
unL33T said:
Well not quite but they should be significantly better.
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Not really when it comes to trucks.

The 2015 Ford Transit has an available diesel motor,

from what I see on the forums, it appears to only get about 3-8mpg better than the 3.5L EcoB engine. To me, not worth the $6g premium.

If it got double the mileage of the Eco, I'd be all over it.

The Sprinter 2.1 4cyl diesel on the other hand? that thing is amazing... up to 36mpg highway
 
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Read it and weep, amigos...

The Ford EcoBoost, the only V6 in the test, spanks ALL the V8 contenders (and it even has less hp), has the quickest acceleration 0-60 , and the best mileage of the bunch.

(for the "what does 0-60 have to do with it" crowd, this and the 1/4 mile are benchmarks that virtually all automakers in the world compare against for the last 1000 years or so. You even see these terms and figures on the manufacturers websites....)

http://www.caranddriver.com/compari...ng-performance-data-and-complete-specs-page-6
 
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You drive that eco boost to get those 0-60 times and you can kiss mileage goodbye. So those results are moot.
 
SunnY S said:
Not really when it comes to trucks.

The 2015 Ford Transit has an available diesel motor,

from what I see on the forums, it appears to only get about 3-8mpg better than the 3.5L EcoB engine. To me, not worth the $6g premium.

If it got double the mileage of the Eco, I'd be all over it.

The Sprinter 2.1 4cyl diesel on the other hand? that thing is amazing... up to 36mpg highway
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I did say the modern gas engines are closing the gap quickly.

Roomie said:
You drive that eco boost to get those 0-60 times and you can kiss mileage goodbye. So those results are moot.
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Yes. The great thing about diesel is it barely matters how hard to push it. You'll get about the same mileage regardless. Got 40+ US MPG consistently in my Jetta whether I babied it on the highway or spun the tires off every stop light in the city.
 
SunnY S said:
Read it and weep, amigos...

The Ford EcoBoost, the only V6 in the test, spanks ALL the V8 contenders (and it even has less hp), has the quickest acceleration 0-60 , and the best mileage of the bunch.

(for the "what does 0-60 have to do with it" crowd, this and the 1/4 mile are benchmarks that virtually all automakers in the world compare against for the last 1000 years or so. You even see these terms and figures on the manufacturers websites....)

http://www.caranddriver.com/compari...ng-performance-data-and-complete-specs-page-6
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Thats fantastic but this thread is about the Ram Diesel 1500 not the v8
 
unL33T said:
I don't see what paying for fuel has to do with anything.
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It means the accelerator pedal only has two positions: 0 and 1.

SunnY S said:
Read it and weep, amigos...

The Ford EcoBoost, the only V6 in the test, spanks ALL the V8 contenders (and it even has less hp), has the quickest acceleration 0-60 , and the best mileage of the bunch.

(for the "what does 0-60 have to do with it" crowd, this and the 1/4 mile are benchmarks that virtually all automakers in the world compare against for the last 1000 years or so. You even see these terms and figures on the manufacturers websites....)

http://www.caranddriver.com/compari...ng-performance-data-and-complete-specs-page-6
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First of all, that's Car and Driver, they're not truck people.

Secondly, the Car and Driver observed mileage was the same between the Chevrolet V8 and the Ford Ecoboost, and the Ram Hemi was only 1 mpg behind. They didn't test the Ecodiesel. Had they, it would have done substantially better. The Ford has the highest EPA ratings ... but it doesn't deliver in the real world. It's the only one in this group that did not even manage to achieve its EPA city mileage number.

The Ford wants 91 octane fuel ... At 16 mpg ... Ouch.

Thirdly, I wouldn't call 0.1 seconds difference in zero to 60 mph a "spanking". That's a rounding error. In any case, the Chevy was 0.1 sec quicker than the Ford in the quarter mile. Again, for this purpose, that's a rounding error.

They tested these trucks as if they were cars. Granted, that's how most people drive them most of the time. But who really does 6 seconds zero to 60 mph in their daily driving??

The Ford has the highest as-tested tow rating; the Chevrolet would have beaten it by a smidge if they had chosen a towing-optimized configuration (I'm not sure what the difference would have been). Few people tow 10,000 lbs with a 150/1500 series pickup anyhow ... you really should be going heavy-duty for towing that much. The tail is heavier than the dog, by quite a bit.

For all the fuss made about the Ford's aluminum bodyshell ... it's less than 100 lbs lighter than the Chevy, which is pretty much a rounding error. It's 400 lbs lighter than the Ram and Toyota. They are all porkers. (My van weighs less than any of them ...)

And ... the Ford is the most expensive. Surprisingly, the Toyota is the cheapest. (And thirstiest - and has the most dated design.)

At the end of the day, these all really close to each other.
 
Brian P said:
It means the accelerator pedal only has two positions: 0 and 1.



First of all, that's Car and Driver, they're not truck people.

Secondly, the Car and Driver observed mileage was the same between the Chevrolet V8 and the Ford Ecoboost, and the Ram Hemi was only 1 mpg behind. They didn't test the Ecodiesel. Had they, it would have done substantially better. The Ford has the highest EPA ratings ... but it doesn't deliver in the real world. It's the only one in this group that did not even manage to achieve its EPA city mileage number.

The Ford wants 91 octane fuel ... At 16 mpg ... Ouch.

Thirdly, I wouldn't call 0.1 seconds difference in zero to 60 mph a "spanking". That's a rounding error. In any case, the Chevy was 0.1 sec quicker than the Ford in the quarter mile. Again, for this purpose, that's a rounding error.

They tested these trucks as if they were cars. Granted, that's how most people drive them most of the time. But who really does 6 seconds zero to 60 mph in their daily driving??

The Ford has the highest as-tested tow rating; the Chevrolet would have beaten it by a smidge if they had chosen a towing-optimized configuration (I'm not sure what the difference would have been). Few people tow 10,000 lbs with a 150/1500 series pickup anyhow ... you really should be going heavy-duty for towing that much. The tail is heavier than the dog, by quite a bit.

For all the fuss made about the Ford's aluminum bodyshell ... it's less than 100 lbs lighter than the Chevy, which is pretty much a rounding error. It's 400 lbs lighter than the Ram and Toyota. They are all porkers. (My van weighs less than any of them ...)

And ... the Ford is the most expensive. Surprisingly, the Toyota is the cheapest. (And thirstiest - and has the most dated design.)

At the end of the day, these all really close to each other.
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the Ford is down 55hp on the Chev. It still bests or matches the chevy while achieving equal or better fuel economy. Brakes shorter, handles better.

Efficiency...
 
Let's glean something that might actually be truck-related out of that C/D test: The available spread between the lowest and highest gear ratios in the driveline. A tall top gear allows highway cruising at low revs (quieter, better mileage). A stump-pulling low gear is good for getting a big trailer started, or getting un-stuck from mud, or dragging a boat out of the water.

They do most of the calc for you by giving mph per 1000 rpm in each gear.

First gear: Chevy 6.3, Ford 6.4, Ram 6.3, Toyota 6.6. Not a lot of difference although the Toyota trails a bit. The Ford only has a 6-speed automatic and its first gear isn't as low, but it has a shorter final drive.
Top gear: Chevy 44.8, Ford 37.9, Ram 45.8, Toyota 37.1. The two with the 8-speeds beat the two with the 6-speeds.

Another thing that's important if you do a lot of long trips ... the Chevy is the quietest at 70 mph cruise. The Toyota is the loudest.

There is a 10 speed automatic transmission that Ford has in the works, which could shake this up a little, but it's probably a year away from production ...
 
SunnY S said:
Brakes shorter, handles better.
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Unloaded braking isn't particularly relevant (and the numbers weren't much different anyhow - and will mostly be governed by the tires). How are the brakes when descending a mountain when towing rated capacity? C/D didn't test it. They are a CAR magazine. They don't do trucks.

Who buys a pickup truck for driving around a slalom course??
 
As soon as you put some weight behind it you'll be in boost unless going downhill. Boost = by by fuel economy. A N/A 2.7L truck would hardly move under its own power, without boost that thing would be the biggest pos. Now to drive it so it actually keeps up with traffic you'll be killing your mielage constantly.

You just go against the grain no matter what. Even after people that own the damn thing say that the mielage isn't good. Blah blah 0-60 times, then blah blah the fuel mielage. Once an article disproves your opinion you just keep switching back and forth and then leave the frigin truck that was asked about out of the entire equation. I'm surprised we haven't seen any ratings on that oversized elcomino that Honda tries to pass off as a truck.
 
Brian P said:
It means the accelerator pedal only has two positions: 0 and 1.
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That was mostly highway, which is cruise control at 120. I was the one driving and it was no different than how I normally drive, which is fairly digitally. Still, I get 10L/100km in my AWD cars (mostly city) and 20L/100km (mostly highway) in the Sierra. I care about real world numbers more than rated or hypermiling numbers. In my experience, a diesel driven hard will get close to double the economy of a gas vehicle driven hard.
 
Well it depends .... But in my city driving experience the difference is not that high, but it's up there. I drive fairly snappy my Golf TDI, floor it when I need to ... In another words, I don't drive on mpg, but rather to get as fast as possible from one point to another. I average a little over 7l/100.

My car is getting some bodywork care done so I have been "enjoying" a paid for rental Chevy Cruze 2.0 gas with 6 AT (my car is 6MT). Regardless whether I just shove in D or shift by myself, I am struggling to stay under 12L/100 ..... It actually shocked me and I keep wondering whether this normal, because it's quite ridiculous number for 140HP engine ..... The engine feels fine, just the consumption

I have a new sense of appreciation for my Golf .... I am not going to comment on the missed torque of my golf.
 
So which truck has the best skid pad rating?? lol

I'm actually shocked that anyone who's shopping for a truck gives a **** about 0-60 times or 1/4 mile times.

- fuel consumption
- ride quality
- towing capacity
- V8 rumbliness.

These are the criteria that a normal truck owner would evaluate.
 
SunnY S said:
premium is recommended, not required.....

The other point I neglected to mention is that the Eco V6 produces less emissions than the competitors V8s.

Efficiency....
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You better call C&D and have them re do the testing with the Ford using 87....
 
caboose56 said:
You better call C&D and have them re do the testing with the Ford using 87....
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That thing would ping like a sob on regular. My 5.3L chevy didn't like to be revved high without premium, so I just drove it like a truck. My dads dodge did the same thing when I was younger if driven hard.
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