Fuel Efficency comparisons of most competitors

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GenoBluzGtr

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v6 or ecodiesel
Newbie to the forums, but I wanted to join to get info and share my research as I venture into what I expect to be ownership of a new Ram 1500 by November.

I am one of those affected by the VW diesel flap, and in a month or so, expect to have my Jetta TDI bought back by the company. With that buy-back, and the fact that I miss driving a truck (used pickups most of my life before the last two vehicles), I have been spending most of the past month or two researching performance, reliability, cost-of-ownership, etc for all the half-ton and mid-size trucks. The bottom line up front, is that Ram 1500 V6 and Eco-Diesel have, thus far, come out on top of my list. Granted, my focus so far has been on fuel efficiency, since I've been spoiled by phenomenal MPG (38 city, 48-52 hwy, and 40-42 average with mixed driving) and NO DEF needed.

I DO realize that will be far beyond anything I can expect from any truck on the market, and I'm prepared for that, but I also wanted to make sure I don't jump right into 15-18 mpg if I could help it.

I have a long commute (and this truck would be my daily driver) of about 58 miles each way, so I use a lot of fuel, and I put a lot of miles on my vehicles. I have averaged between 30,000 and 35,000 miles per year on my last two vehicles, so I used a 30K per year number for all my comparisons.

I also used a different fuel-per-gallon cost for the new Diesel models I researched (Ram Ecodiesel and GM Twins Duramax) to account for DEF useage. based on my calculations (and it's rather uninformed but based on a gallon of DEF per 1000 miles driven, along with a cost of $6 per gallon for the DEF), I added 15 cents per gallon to the price of diesel fuel in my area (about $2.40 right now). So, I used $2.40 per gallon for my Jetta, since it doesn't use DEF and $2.55 per gallon for the new vehicles to incorporate the cost of DEF. FWIW, I used $2.15 per gallon for 87 octane gasoline for all the other engines.

I also used the stats at fuelly.com as my input for Real World average MPG (including my own Jetta, which I actually get a little better than what's listed, but to be fair, I 'm using ALL fuelly.com data). Where there are multiple configurations listed for the mpg, i.e. quad vs crew vs extended vs supercab, etc... , I used an average of all the configurations listed/available. There were no lists for 4X4 vs 4X2 on fuelly, so there might be some variation that isn't accounted for. I intend to get a 4X4 model of whatever vehicle I buy.

So my cost / percentage difference in fuel costs per 2-week period (I used two weeks, because of my paycheck periodicity) compared with the Jetta:

Jetta TDI = $67.54 / NA
RAM V6 = $118.13 / 42.8%
RAM EcoDsl = $123.08 / 45.1%
GMTwins V6 = $124.04 / 45.5%
GMTwins Duramax = $128.43 / 47.4%
Tacoma V6 = $130.57 / 48.3%
Ford 2.7EB = $134.10 / 49.6%
4Runner V6 = $137.82 / 51%
Ford 3.5EB = $145.93 / 53.7%
RAM Hemi = $145.93 / 52.7%
Ford 5.0 V8 = $150.35 / 55.1%

again, these number represent: Fuelly.com Avg MPG for that vehicle/engine normalized over a 2-week period averaging 30K miles per year at 2.15 per gallon gas/2.55 per gallon diesel/def, and a percentage increase over the Jetta's cost for the same period/miles.

I was actually quite shocked that the two RAM configurations came out on top over the Tacoma/4Runner and the GM Twins as well as the F150 ecoboost. I actually, ALSO ran the numbers for the Nissan Frontier and the Honda Ridgeline, but they were eliminated early on due to a) Frontier mileage just plain sucks, and b) Honda is a unibody.

I thought you guys would find the numbers interesting, I apologize for such a lengthy first post. My next step is getting deeper into reliability comparisons as that will also impact cost-of-ownership, so any inputs or redirects that might help would be appreciated. Problems, TSBs, etc.

Thanks!
 
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GenoBluzGtr

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and here is the obligatory 'nerd chart' with the data:

Slide1_zpsjgowgmfw.jpg
 

shane1981

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hemi 5.7
imo if all you do is drive around and not tow anything and not looking for a lot of power obviously the v6 ram is the best choice if you were going with a Mopar product it's also no slouch at a little over 300hp but the hemi will not get that much less mpg than the v6 .I have the 5.7 with a custom tune and other bolt on and I'm getting an avg of 17 in the city and 25 on the hwy with the mds off and I do about 50% of spirited driving so it could get better

tuned by Jay Greene
 

Mpgrimm2

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The important thing to know with the hemi if you get one is to get it with the 8spd not the 6spd.

From my Up All Night Sleep All Day Gs7 on Tapatalk
 
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GenoBluzGtr

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Yeah, I'm sure the Fuelly.com data was a mix of the older transmission and the new one. The Fuelly rating for the avg MPG for the Hemi was 16.5 and the V6 was 20 (I did round up on the Hemi numbers and use 17MPG). That 3 mpg makes a difference of about $725 per year and about $28 every two weeks on fuel costs between the Hemi and the Pentastar. My most recent trucks were V8s as well... GMC Sierra and Dakota, but they were both over a dozen or more years ago. Both were great engines, and no engine trouble, but I had transmission problems with both of them. I will take gauge issues, light trouble, steering clunks, etc.. but anything prevalent with engine/transmission/transfer case/rear end/computer, etc... is a red flag for me. I'm single, live alone, work TONS of hours, and getting stranded isn't something I get fixed with a call home for a ride.


I would be very interested if there are any good fact-based comparisons of reliability between the two, as well. problems, tsb's, etc... As a daily-driver, being able to rely on it to start, operate properly/safely, and get me home consistently without a lot of trips to the dealer are high on my list. I'm doing searches, but the search function on this forum is kinda picky and returns a lot of non-relevant stuff.
 

shane1981

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hemi 5.7
The important thing to know with the hemi if you get one is to get it with the 8spd not the 6spd.

From my Up All Night Sleep All Day Gs7 on Tapatalk
mine is 8 speed 3.92 so if you got say the 3.55 or the 3.21 you would proly get a little better

tuned by Jay Greene
 

XCELLR8

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Central Illinois
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2022
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5.7 Hemi
I'll give you my real word mpg on two hemi Rams I had. Both were stock trucks with no mods. The 2011 Quad Cab with the hemi, 5 speed trans, and 3.55 rear gears would do 19mpg to 20mpg highway at 60mph on two lane road. The 2014 Crew Cab with the hemi, 8 speed trans, and 3.21 rear gears would do 24mpg to 25mpg on the same commute. The numbers were doing calculations on each fill up. I drove 50 miles each way to work 100 miles round trip.
 

jasonw

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5.7L Hemi V8
Looks like you are really doing your research. Good work.

When you get into the reliability comparisons, look at actual owner accounts and actual long-term studies. Ignore "predicted reliability" garbage, such as the style used by Consumer Reports.
 

THETANK

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up jor *** mang
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2015 R/T
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5.7L Hemi
my 2015 R/T which is the small RAM (use this term lightly) will net me just above 600 miles to a tank but that said I am light on the gas pedal at all times.
 

drittal

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6.7
The 3.5l ecoboosts with 6sp and steel body wasn't all that fuel efficient. 1-2 mpg better than my 6.4 hemi.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
 

TerraNewf

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NL, Canada
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2019
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5.7 Hemi
my 2015 R/T which is the small RAM (use this term lightly) will net me just above 600 miles to a tank but that said I am light on the gas pedal at all times.

What size gas tank is in your truck?
 

rsdata

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N Ky
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2014 BigHorn 1500 8spd 4X4
Engine
Hemi 5.7
just got a new to me 2014 RAM 1500 crew cab Hemi 5.7, 8 spd 3.21 gears about a month ago
very pleased with hwy MPG hand calculated at just over 20MPG over rolling hill terrain in OH and KY over about 1200 miles doing 65-75 MPH avg... I do have a tonneau bed cover.
With 32 gallon tank and filling up with 87 octane gas I was doing about 420 miles/tank with needle between 1/2 and 1/4 tank on guage and filling with about 22 gallons of gas each time I stopped for gas...
 

Crusader556

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Ohio, USA
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2014 Longhorn
Engine
Hemi 5.7
mine is 8 speed 3.92 so if you got say the 3.55 or the 3.21 you would proly get a little better

tuned by Jay Greene

I have a 2014 Longhorn with the 5.7 Hemi and 3.92 axles. If you don't mind can tell us what bolt on upgrades and tunes you are using to get the 17/25 MPG you mentioned a few posts up?

Thanks!
 

shane1981

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hemi 5.7
I have a 2014 Longhorn with the 5.7 Hemi and 3.92 axles. If you don't mind can tell us what bolt on upgrades and tunes you are using to get the 17/25 MPG you mentioned a few posts up?

Thanks!
headers no cats, Jay Greene 93 octane custom tune ,Moe's throttle body ,clutch fan delete, 170 stat, vararam intake, catch can . fore some reason I got mpg bump after I installed the catch can.also MDS is off

tuned by Jay Greene
 

kevperro

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Pentastar 3.6L
Dude... you are a serious nerd. That is great research though and pretty much the same conclusion I came to in terms of analyzing fuel mileage before my purchase.

I also note that I probably spent $3K-$4K less than any other full-size truck that I compared my RAM 1500 with when actually shopping at the dealers. You have to do this part independently because every area has different incentives but the other model that I liked and was comparing at the end of my process was a Ford XL short bed with the 2.7 Eco boost. That thing had a ton of power but all the independent (not owner subjective opinion) reviews showed it getting poor fuel mileage and the added complexity of turbos & direct injection and start/stop BS drove me to the RAM which was at least $3K cheaper.

In terms of reliability, Chrysler doesn't have a stellar history. But most modern vehicles are MUCH better than even a decade ago in terms of long-term reliability. I figured I'd go with a mature drivetrain that wasn't in its first couple years of production and the $3K or so I saved up front was insurance.
 

OilfieldLife

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Hemi 5.7
I usually average 24 mpg with cruise set on 60 mph, about 17 mpg in town in stop and go traffic, and about 22 mpg going 75 on the interstate. 2015 ram 1500 big horn hemi 4x4 with 3.21 gears. Also this is with heavier tires than factory I have 33"x12.5" Atturo MTs everything else is stock except muffler delete
 
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kevperro

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I can get 30 MPG if I do 60 MPH on the Interstate with no start/stop. That isn't realistic real world driving though.

Real world driving I get around 23 MPG combined. I drive in Seattle for work so most of my driving is in traffic start/stop.

I have what is probably the best combination of factors to contribute to good fuel economy. I have the short bed, regular cab in 4x2 with the 3.22 non-LS rear end along with the Pentastar. I have a tonneau cover and stock wheels and tires.

I estimate you give up a 2 MPG going with a Hemi which isn't that much of a difference. I'd buy a Hemi without hesitation but drive both and come to your own conclusions.
 
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