RAM EcoDiesel a Flop for Towing

SGardiner wrote:
If your looking for a daily driver with good fuel economy that can also pull your 7,000 lb TT it looks like a good option to me.

The ike gauntlet is the exception and likely the most extreme conditions you would ever see.

Do the math of the added $4,000 cost of the Ecodiesel over the 2.7L Ecoboost. The added cost of maintenance where both are recomended to change the oil at 10,000 miles but the Ecoboost oil change will cost about $40-50 to where just the oil filter alone for the Ecodiesel cost about that much. Edmunds.com reported that the oil change for their long term test Ecodiesel costs them $154 here..


Then there is the added cost of diesel in the mix. Going by the EPA highway numbers and the most up to date average cost of gasoline versus diesel in the US of unleaded being $2.457 with diesel being $.40 higher, the 28 mpg of the Ecodiesel is equivalent to a gasoline engine getting 24 mpg which is well below the 2.7L Ecoboost EPA numbers so the Ecodiesel would cast more in fuel. If you go by the real world combined numbers that most review sites are getting for both engines(Ecodiesel 23 mpg and 2.7L Ecoboost 20 mpg) then you would still pay more in fuel for the Ecodiesel than the Ecoboost per year. So there's no added fuel cost benefit there either unless you were towing more than 15% of your annual mileage which most don't. There is also the factor that Ram only offers the Ecodiesel with a 27 gallon tank while the Ecoboost can be optioned with a 37 gallon tank giving you a longer or equal range for the most part even when towing.

So basically, this is what you get with the Ecodiesel over the 2.7L Ecoboost. You have to pay about $4,000 more for it up front. You have to pay over 3 times as much for maintenance. You have to pay more in fuel for most of the time unless you tow more than 15% of your annual mileage. All this for something that has less pulling power, less payload, and struggles to even keep within 10 mph of the speed limit going up hills. So where is the benefit in it?

I think people are being blinded by only looking at the MPG number and the fact that it is diesel, but neglect to look at the big picture and do the math. I can see paying more for the Ecodiesel if it had better towing performance and more capability along with its fuel mileage which is why I went with the Cummins over the 6.4L Hemi in my 2500. However, I can't see paying more all the way around and getting less performance and less capability. It just doesn't make sense.