MotorTrend Tests the 1500's

NinerBikes wrote:

boocoodinkydow wrote:

jerem0621 wrote:
I had an experience today that kind of reminded me of this thread. I was getting my Town & Country serviced at our local dealership and they told me it would be about an hour. I said no problem...I'll go check out the Rams.

As I'm checking out all these shiny trucks I see an EcoDiesel badge and say "EcoDiesel" outloud... I hear someone respond and say "EcoDiesl POS"... I look up to see another customer who claimed that he has a friend that owns one and it's been in the shop for a month because the fuel pressure sensor is on back order...

He then points to his truck.... A Cummins Megacab 2500...then it all became clear to me.... The EcoDiesel isn't a Cummins therefore it's a "POS".

So I replied, "I have a Pentastar in my Van and if I were to buy a Ram it would probably have a Pentastar"... Fella didn't want to talk anymore, lol.

This thread has been entertaining for sure.... But I'm not sure anyone spends $35-50k on a truck purely for MPG.... EVERY SINGLE diesel owner I have known appreciated the extra MPG that a diesel Nets, but that wasn't THE reason they bought a diesel... They needed or wanted power that diesel provides.... Yes, the EcoDiesel isn't as fast as the pentastar, I don't think that's in dispute. But when you drive this Ram the power always seems to be right where you need it.. No crazy shifting and 5,000 RPM wind up to get to the power... It's just there... Depress the pedal slightly and 420 lb/ft of tq are right there low in the powerband...

For Half ton loads the EcoDiesel is a great choice, it gets great MPG towing and the torque is down low in the rpm band and remains fairly constant to 3000 RPM's where the TQ starts to fall off...

Interestingly at 3000 rpm the EcoDiesel is pulling about 400 lb ft and 215 HP....

Thanks!

Jeremiah

A fair assessment, Jeremiah. Thanx. Interesting encounter at the dealership. As an Ed owner, I would be remiss in not admitting to some trepidation over the various maintenance issues that are occurring. I take a bit of resolve in the fact that reports of problems are prevelant on any brand specific forum. Only time will tell if my concerns are founded or not. What is even more alarming, however, are the many instances of non available repair parts. I've actually seen factory buy backs & lemon law settlements simply because of delays in repair parts.

This is a common occurence on German and Italian imported cars and parts, to this day. The Japanese have figured out Just In Time inventory control, so it is much less of a problem for them.

More trucks are being built out of "parts bin" specials from subcontractor vendors, such as engine and engine components, transmissions, etc, that are located abroad. So spare parts will be something you wait for. Get used to it, don't abuse your truck while working it, and hopefully it won't break.

My experience at Hunter Dodge yesterday with a salesman was not the best. All he seemed to care about was me driving home in a new RAM ecodiesel off of his lot, that he had in inventory, that afternoon. Very obnoxious and high pressure closer type of guy. No dealership trades, and he swore up and down that you'd be lucky to get $4000 off on a 2014 Ecodiesl truck. Funny, I have a signed piece of paper with a VIN number on it, that says differently. Go figure. I would not feel comfortable giving them my business. YMMV.

As a tow vehicle, and being on vacation and possibly breaking down far from home, with no parts availability due to lack of spares near by, for weeks, it's really making me rethink if this is something I want to take a chance with.

I suggest taking a look at the Pentastar with 3.55 rear axle ratio. The Pentastar has a good distribution of power and loves to spin and make power. My Pentastar is slightly detuned from the ram Version but my 285 ish HP really put a smile on my face.

The Ram Pentastar with 3.55 will give you about 1800 lbs of payload and about 7500 lbs tow rating in a 2wd crew cab Bighorn... its 305 HP will easily handle that load. Plus when not towing you will get 20 plus MPG's around town 23 ish MPG on the highway.... and that 8 speed keeps the Pentastar well in the Powerband. When I test drove the Pentastar Ram it felt like a V8 from not too long ago as the power felt low in the RPM range and immediatly started pulling.. Unlike Fords 3.7 V6 F150 that needs 6,000 rpm to move... (not throwing stones, just seat of the pants and tach needle observations)

And the Pentastar is a pretty good sounding motor from the Cab.

I think Chrysler is approaching the 2 million mark on the Pentastar motors produced and they have proven pretty reliable.

Thanks and good luck no matter what you decide,

Jeremiah