I'm actually part of his 1% club. I use WOT often. I have raced a few cars. My prior and current gas tow vehicles see it most often now. In my diesel, I agree with his remark. I expect the engine speed to pick up and pull hard to redline. Instead, torque tapers off and there is no surge until an upshift to bringengine speed lower and boost up. Really quite disappointing to drive that way in a diesel - so I don't. It is far more enjoyable for every other situation. 65-90mph passing without 2-3 gear downshift hesitation. It.just.goes. Quietly, effortlessly, well with a lot of boost. I expect the same from the Ecodiesel.
How do I know? I have a 2011 Chevrolet Malibu 4-cyl gas and a 2012 VW Passat TDI. Competitors in mid-sized passenger sedan market. The Malibu has 20% more horsepower. It is faster at WOT. I hate driving the Malibu though. Always the wrong gear, delayed downshifts. 23mpg lifetime average over 39k miles compared to 38mpg lifetime average over 35k miles for the diesel. In that size class, the TDI behaves like a V6 for every condition except WOT. The Ecodiesel in the Ram 1500 should drive like a strong V8 in every condition except WOT while using far less fuel. Enough to offset up front and operating costs? No one can reliably estimate that. So like I said. Buy a diesel because you like it and can afford it. If you don't like it, great! You'll likely save money with different options.
