Eco Is Pretty Sweet!

[Sweetee]

I took my Express in for a LOF yesterday and asked my "guy" if I could take a new ECO for a spin rather than just "kick tires." He handed me the key fob for a Laramie Crew Cab and off I went. The color and trim was not to my taste, but I was most interested in how the ECO Diesel compared to to Hemi and the Pentastar.

I hit the remote start from across the parking lot and heard the horn beep, but did not hear it start. I thought perhaps there was a problem at first, but I only heard the engine running when I got within 10 yards. I don't know if I'll get used to the dial shift, but off I went. I put about 10 miles on it both in town and on the highway. It is certainly not a Hemi from a stop, but after a leisurely launch, (turbo lag???) I had no complaints. From 0-10 mph, there doesn't seem to be much there. However, the quietness of the truck from 10 mph on up is remarkable!

I can't believe anyone would shy away from a "Diesel-noise" standpoint. I spoke with a Chrysler rep in the showroom and he shared that this motor has been in minivans and 300s in Europe since 2011. If I had the bucks and was looking for a new truck, I would certainly consider it. Although, I'd hate to give up what my Hemi can do with the "go pedal." I spent some time figuring out cost effectiveness, and concluded the break-even point (considering gas vs. Diesel + DEF and mpg estimates) to be somewhere above 100K miles.

This one had an msrp of $55.6K. I checked with my "guy" and he shared that about the lowest msrp you could do right now is $45K. Also, right now from what I understand, the ECO is only available on the crew cabs. It'll be interesting to see when you can get a "base-type" Diesel and how much it'll cost.

Happy shopping!

 

[WhiteExpress]

You learn how to drive a turbo diesel, it's not the same as a gasser.
They respond differently, and once you've learned it, they are rockets.

I'm sure the Ecodiesel is no different. I just wish you could get a M7 behind it.

 

[aIIan]

I'm sure it's a nice setup but I have a hard time getting used to the idea of a Italian minivan diesel in a full size pickup.

I might change my mind at some point but I'm not buyng a first generation anything.

 

[Ramzaq]

Just an update, the VM 3.0 is not in any mini van in Europe, just the Jeep and the 300.

 

[Sweetee]

I stand corrected! I knew the Chrysler guy said 300, and I thought the other one was the minivan. My bad! None-the-less, this engine has been well-tested since 2011. Hopefully, reliability will not be an issue.

Personally, I don't think I would want one, but I'm sure there are many out there that'll be interested.

 

[Burla]

You know at these prices I think I would opt for the 2500. It still is a 1500 frame and that is a huge downside when compared to the Cummins. You can get 10k off the Cummins any day, but my dealer said they wouldn't even give me a deal on the eco diesel. This Homie don't play that. The santa rosa Ram dealer has over 10 Cummins in the high 30's.

 

[Sweetee]

You know at these prices I think I would opt for the 2500. It still is a 1500 frame and that is a huge downside when compared to the Cummins. You can get 10k off the Cummins any day, but my dealer said they wouldn't even give me a deal on the eco diesel. This Homie don't play that. The santa rosa Ram dealer has over 10 Cummins in the high 30's.

I think I would agree with your position. Like others have said, "let's see how this first model year holds up." Towing capacity and the proven history of the Cummins speaks volumes. My original post was mostly intended to share my observations on Diesel noise and initial driving impressions. I regularly drive Cummins for our local dealership doing dealer-trades or buys. I have yet to be disappointed with how the Cummins performs. My last Diesel experience was a 450 mile trip from Kentucky back to the dealership with a loaded cab-chassis/flatbed and I got 19mpg.

 

[twooldfarmers]

I'm sure it's a nice setup but I have a hard time getting used to the idea of a Italian minivan diesel in a full size pickup.

I might change my mind at some point but I'm not buyng a first generation anything.

In actual fact this motor was developed specifically for Cadillac by VM Motori prior to the economic crash of 2008.

It was destined for Caddy's Europeon production vehicles as you cannot be competitive in Europe without an oil burner

 

[UneasyJmitchell]

Those diesels will probably scream with a tuner. I think the tuners do way better with diesels than gas motors.

 

[MountnBear]

The EcoDiesel engine is in a couple of Maserati's!! Just a bad translation that came out as minivan.

 

[RangerGress]

I think I would agree with your position. Like others have said, "let's see how this first model year holds up." Towing capacity and the proven history of the Cummins speaks volumes. My original post was mostly intended to share my observations on Diesel noise and initial driving impressions. I regularly drive Cummins for our local dealership doing dealer-trades or buys. I have yet to be disappointed with how the Cummins performs. My last Diesel experience was a 450 mile trip from Kentucky back to the dealership with a loaded cab-chassis/flatbed and I got 19mpg.

A buddy and I tow 7000lb enclosed trailers. He has a late model Ram 2500, I had an old F-250 diesel until last week when I bought an Ecodiesel. We tow to the same distant events, on the same routes, at the same speed.

He got 12.5mpg towing, my old-school F-250 got 13. The Ecodiesel gets 14. The big Cummins engine has tons of power, but it's hard to buy that it got 19mpg towing unless a person was in a big tailwind or drafting off an 18wheeler. My F-250 got 17 on the freeway if I kept the speed down, and 12 around town. The Ecodiesel gets 24 around town. Double mpg is serious stuff.

 

[Adept]

if i had to choose between the 6.7 and the 3.0 i would pick the 6.7... but honestly I wouldnt mind having either one. But hey i'm not complaining my 4.7 gasser is pretty nice

 

[AOFA]

6.7 vs 3.0? They are two totally different engines for different applications.
if you compared apples to apple on options ie: Laramie 1500 3.0 to a Laramie 2500 6.7 ... the initial cost would not be close either. service costs and upkeep are also different.

 

[Collin]

I don't think it makes sense from an average driver's perspective. Paying more for an engine that isn't a Hemi doesn't make sense to most people.

Feeling like you're driving a minivan is bad enough--you need some real gas mileage gains to just break even in some far off distant future.

Let's be realistic...you have to calculate how many YEARS you have to drive until you BREAK EVEN with the the engine price difference. 5 years? 7 years? Are you even going to have that truck in 5 years? We can also project in the future that engines will be more and more efficient. in 5 years there will be engines that are more efficient and more powerful, and you'll still be driving a slow truck. What's the resale going to be on these things?

Too many downsides and few upsides. Let's see how far they can push this thing and maybe in a few years they'll offer both engines for equal cost with a proven platform

 

[AOFA]

Collin, You obviously haven't driven this truck to assume it drives like a mini van. You are just speculating on other's speculation. Go drive one. This truck is not slow. The torque ranges are different in a gas and diesel engine and do take some getting used to. This argument has and will be played over and over again. It's right for some and not for others.
As for the resale, it promises to be significantly higher. example 2008.5 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the V6 diesel.

 

[Jabalone]

I test drove the Eco yesterday. It was nice and smooth, quiet and definitely had good low end power compared to the Hemi. Dealer offered 25K trade on my 2013 Ram and all they needed was an additional 30K and it was mine! lol... I'd have to put on a lot of miles to make that sort of saving in fuel, although the diesel was loaded too. Sticker price was 65K Canadian with a 10K rebate. They're very nice trucks, for sure, but selling at quite the premium at the moment.

 

[O.R.T.]

I gotta admit that after seeing our techs prepping a couple of the trucks and Jeeps I am interested. I too said "Is it even running?" given my background knowing what Cummins are like.

Just wait, it's only a matter of time before someone throws on a bigger turbo, modify's a BOV, etcetera. Then the real fun happens.

 

[loveracing1988]

I don't think it makes sense from an average driver's perspective. Paying more for an engine that isn't a Hemi doesn't make sense to most people.

Feeling like you're driving a minivan is bad enough--you need some real gas mileage gains to just break even in some far off distant future.

Let's be realistic...you have to calculate how many YEARS you have to drive until you BREAK EVEN with the the engine price difference. 5 years? 7 years? Are you even going to have that truck in 5 years? We can also project in the future that engines will be more and more efficient. in 5 years there will be engines that are more efficient and more powerful, and you'll still be driving a slow truck. What's the resale going to be on these things?

Too many downsides and few upsides. Let's see how far they can push this thing and maybe in a few years they'll offer both engines for equal cost with a proven platform

I would trade my hemi for the ecodiesel in a heartbeat. I absolutely hate the fuel mileage, my highest mileage so far is 17.3 and that was last year. So far my best this year is 16.8 and that was 200 miles of 60 to 65 mph driving. If I can jump up to 25 to 26 mpg that is a huge gain.

 

[rpr]

Well, I did test drive an EcoDiesel.

In fact I was so disappointed with the first one I test drove a second one, thinking there might be an issue with the first one.

As others have said, they are a very different experience than the Hemi.

But from someone who was very excited about the EcoDiesel and thought that was going to be my next engine, some honest opinions:

They are anemic off the line.

At slow cruising speeds, you can floor it, release it, floor it, release it at full one second intervals and the engine will only start to spool up and the vehicle will never change speed.

It has extremely narrow power bands, to me, the first 40% feels anemic, the middle 20% feels good, and the top 40% feels just OK.

It is extremely quiet and refined, but I would never adjust to the turbo lag in the stock implementation.

Once Diablo and others start to come out with EcoDiesel tunes it will likely be a different story, but right now it was very disappointing from my perspective.

Add the fact that the low payload capacities on the Rams get even lower with the EcoDiesels, apparently due to the additional weight of the engine (50lbs) and emission control equipment (150 lbs).

I believe the EcoDiesel Rams may have the lowest payload capacity of any full size truck, but I'm not certain about this.

I may regret it at the pump after custom tunes come out, but I went with the Hemi.

Too big of an investment for me to gamble on potential future gains in as yet unwritten custom tunes.

Just my $0.02.

 

[bri113]

Well for all you guys out there making speculation I picked up my eco diesel two days ago and its not so bad…. Before this truck i had the 2013 dodge ram hemi with 390hp and this new ecodiesel is much slower but off the line its not to bad. also the truck sitting at idle sounds like a diesel but a very quiet one…. the gas mileage is def there my dad was driving it a few weeks back when it was still at the dealer and it wasn't technically ours yet but the dealer let us sighed it out so we could drop our boat (approx 7100lbs with trailer) off for service and he got 18.1 mpg with the boat on the back driving at approx 55-60 mph on a relatively flat highway. anyway just my .02 from an ACTUAL OWNER…… sorry for the bad english i broke my wrist 3 day ago so I'm typing with one had and half typing with the casted one.