Ram 1500 diesel review

bimbert84 wrote:

wilber1 wrote:

It's not about "downshiftaphobia", it's about lower noise levels and lower fuel consumption for the 85% of driving that doesn't require high power.

So basically, during the 85% of the time we don't need high power, the EcoDiesel can produce more power. But during the 15% we do need high power, it cannot. Keep in mind that during that 85% of the time, the Hemi will not be running in a high gear turning 4500 RPMs, so it won't be burning tons of fuel, and it won't be making a bunch of noise. And all that talk about engine torque being everything becomes rather moot.

With the Hemi, most of the time it'll be humming along at low RPMs, smoothly and quietly. But when 300HP is needed, the Hemi can harness it simply by downshifting. The EcoDiesel cannot, and it's gonna slow down despite having more peak torque.

That's the beauty of having more gears: you can choose what you want the engine to do for you based on your driving needs at any given time. Need quiet and smooth? Double OD. Need medium power? 5th gear. Need high power? Drop to 3rd.

But if the engine doesn't have enough power in the first place, the need for high power simply cannot be satisfied, no matter what you do.

-- Rob

All the low end tq is where the diesel will shine. This along with 30% more energy per volume of diesel vs gas. While the hemi is struggling to get mid teens in the city, the ecodiesel will be in the 22-23 mpg area in the city. Roughly 50% better mile per gallon.