Ram Hybrid for 2025

[CanRebel]

690 miles with a 27 gallon fuel tank. If the first 125 of those miles are pure electric the "generator" is returning 21MPG. That's not very impressive.

They claim this.

Ram estimates a full charge will provide 145 miles of pure electric driving range.

690 with gas charging. But that of course isn't towing or likely anything in the truck, besides a driver in perfect weather.

 

[NCRaineman]

They claim this.

Ram estimates a full charge will provide 145 miles of pure electric driving range.

690 with gas charging. But that of course isn't towing or likely anything in the truck, besides a driver in perfect weather.

Sure. 145 miles hauling nothing, on flat ground, on a nice day.

Admittedly if it gets even 100 miles real world electric range that would be fine for a lot of people, but who is gonna pay $80k for it when a gas Ram is $60k?

That's 4000 gallons of gas at $5/gal... with an average of 20MPG that would take you 80,000 miles. Driving an average of 15,000 miles a year you'll need over five years just to reach the break even point.

EVs continue to make zero financial sense.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Gas engine maintenance, EV battery issues, and complicated software? Sign me up.

Ram lost their way. I haven't been excited about a new Ram since the 4th gen launch. When Ram was the value proposition. An aggressive sharp looking body, offering a better interior and more comfortable ride than the competitors could touch, and doing it with a very capable truck at a lower price point. Now the competition is offering V8s while Ram is futzing around with a Rube Goldberg drive train.

 

[NCRaineman]

Gas engine maintenance, EV battery issues, and complicated software? Sign me up.

Ram lost their way. I haven't been excited about a new Ram since the 4th gen launch. When Ram was the value proposition. An aggressive sharp looking body, offering a better interior and more comfortable ride than the competitors could touch, and doing it with a very capable truck at a lower price point. Now the competition is offering V8s while Ram is futzing around with a Rube Goldberg drive train.

All must be sacrificed on the Altar Of Green. CAFE is all that matters, not making a reliable product that consumers want or can afford. We're going into the 80's malaise era again. If the automakers can survive the next ten years consumers will be forced to buy this crap because that's all there will be.

 

[CanRebel]

Sure. 145 miles hauling nothing, on flat ground, on a nice day.

Admittedly if it gets even 100 miles real world electric range that would be fine for a lot of people, but who is gonna pay $80k for it when a gas Ram is $60k?

That's 4000 gallons of gas at $5/gal... with an average of 20MPG that would take you 80,000 miles. Driving an average of 15,000 miles a year you'll need over five years just to reach the break even point.

EVs continue to make zero financial sense.

I'm going guess $90K-$95K and $140-$150K for the high end one.

 

[Randy Grant]

Haha no frigging way. That thing is gonna weigh 8,000lbs and eat tires and brake pads like candy. Not to mention it will likely carry a $20k premium over a similarly equipped gas only Ram... and $20k buys a LOT of gas, even at $5/gal.

Also doesn't resolve the problem of the average EV battery only lasting 10 years. If the engine doesn't power the wheels and that battery goes you've got a really pricey brick on your hands.

IMO this is something Stellantis is going to use as ammo to push back against the ridiculous federal mandates. "See, we tried to tell you, nobody wants these things." They'll end up losing money on every one sold, even with govt subsidy.

Don't be so all fired negative.
I'm not setting off the fireworks yet, but don't throw it in the toilet yet either.

 

[Randy Grant]

That is an interesting Question

I was wondering about maintenance which Mr. @turkeybird56 said above.

Like when do you change the oil? anti-freeze? Other maintenance? If you don't actually use the gas engine, does that mean oil will last longer?
Unlike other "Hybrid" cars. If the battery dies, you can use the gas engine, but in this case you can't. If the battery stop works, gas engine isn't going do anything but try to charge a battery that isn't working.

Just a guess, but in the case when the battery only mode uses up the charge, the generator would still power the electric traction motors.

 

[Randy Grant]

They claim this.

Ram estimates a full charge will provide 145 miles of pure electric driving range.

690 with gas charging. But that of course isn't towing or likely anything in the truck, besides a driver in perfect weather.

In a diesel electric locomotive, the engines don't lug down under load the way a purely diesel only unit does. In the locomotive scenario, the generator has a demand, and the engine throttles up to maintain RPM's and then throttled back down to a constant RPM once the train is moving, but the traction motor actually does all the work, and I imagine the Ramcharger works similarly. The size of the fuel tank is what gives range.
I would have thought that they would have used a small diesel engine like the four cylinder Isuzu or something similar. What a generator needs is low end torque, not high end HP.

 

[Randy Grant]

Looks like it is evenly split between the" lets see what happens" and the "SLAM THE RAM NO WAY IN HELL" crowd.

 

[Redfisher1974]

My cat’s breath smells like cat food.

 

[NCRaineman]

I would have thought that they would have used a small diesel engine like the four cylinder Isuzu or something similar. What a generator needs is low end torque, not high end HP.

The Pentastar production line is still running, gotta do something with all those engines.

Ford made a similar move with the S550 Mustang. They initially offered the carryover V6 from the previous generation until all those engines were used up. With Ram 1500 Classic, Charger and Challenger production over Stellantis is sitting on excess Pentastar production... so use what you've got in the parts bin to make something.

Pentastar will be going away in a few years, replaced by a 300hp version of the turbo four currently found in Hornet. That same engine exists, mated to an 8HP50 in RWD and AWD, in the Alfa Romero Giulia sedan. All they gotta do is up the boost a little and drop it in anywhere Pentastar is currently found.

 

[bballr4567]

Sure. 145 miles hauling nothing, on flat ground, on a nice day.

Admittedly if it gets even 100 miles real world electric range that would be fine for a lot of people, but who is gonna pay $80k for it when a gas Ram is $60k?

That's 4000 gallons of gas at $5/gal... with an average of 20MPG that would take you 80,000 miles. Driving an average of 15,000 miles a year you'll need over five years just to reach the break even point.

EVs continue to make zero financial sense.

Where do you guys keep coming up with these price guesses? Go and check out the price difference between the various 4xe models and gas. A base GC 4xe starts at $60k but a gas GC that is the equivalent trim starts at $52k.

You will not even come close to averaging 20MPG with the I6. Try MAYBE 15 in real world.

The hang wringing over an OPTIONAL model that has zero effect on what you can get is hilarious.

 

[NCRaineman]

Where do you guys keep coming up with these price guesses? Go and check out the price difference between the various 4xe models and gas. A base GC 4xe starts at $60k but a gas GC that is the equivalent trim starts at $52k.

You will not even come close to averaging 20MPG with the I6. Try MAYBE 15 in real world.

The hang wringing over an OPTIONAL model that has zero effect on what you can get is hilarious.

Even just an $8000 price difference buys a lot of gas. That makes the break even point two years at $5/gal.

Our Ram averages 20MPG now, with a Hemi and 3.92 rear end. It's all in how it is driven.

I tell ya, people sure jumped on that EV bandwagon hard. No matter how much real world data is supplied they're still the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[bballr4567]

Even just an $8000 price difference buys a lot of gas. That makes the break even point two years at $5/gal.

Our Ram averages 20MPG now, with a Hemi and 3.92 rear end. It's all in how it is driven.

I tell ya, people sure jumped on that EV bandwagon hard. No matter how much real world data is supplied they're still the best thing since sliced bread.

For me, with the Ramcharger, I'd only ever use gas on road trips. That's it and most of my road trips are only in a 3 hour drive time so even then I'd use very little gas on those. Oh yea, and the POWER. I mean come on, 0-60 in 4.4?!?! HA!

Plus, they've already showed the Ramcharger in Tradesmen trim too. It'll be cheaper than the REV as it has basically half the battery pack size of the standard REV. The DCO is going to be so low people will not mind the higher MSRP as they will come out ahead.

It's really not a bandwagon anymore. If you don't enjoy it, there are still other flavors and I sincerely applaud Ram for giving every single person an option in what they want for propulsion. I just don't understand the negativity towards it. No EV range anxiety, great eMPG and an ample amount of ways to still use it as a bonafide truck.

 

[Redfisher1974]

Wonder what the difference in cost is between letting the v6 charge battery or plugging it in?

 

[NCRaineman]

The negativity towards it is that it doesn't make any sense. Depending on the price difference between it and a gas Ram you are going to be driving for several years before you reach the break even point... and I'm not even figuring in the cost of electricity.

I assume you are a homeowner and can install a home charger. How much extra will that cost on top of the vehicle itself? Ask some of the Tesla owners from California how much charging costs them a month. You might be surprised.

https://www.motortrend.com/features/how-much-does-it-cost-to-charge-a-tesla/

How much more does the thing weigh than a gas truck? A regular Grand Cherokee weighs 4500lbs, a 4xe weighs 6900lbs. What effect will that have on tires and brakes?

Plus, what is your resale value going to look like in five years? In ten years? If that battery takes a dump how much will it cost to replace? $10,000?

Will your homeowners insurance go up if you buy an EV? You'd better check.

Too many things that don't make financial sense. Too many unknowns.

 

[bballr4567]

Your last sentence is perfect. Too many unknowns yet you've already declared it doesn't make sense. To anyone you say. Yet, to me, it makes perfect sense.

The MSRP isn't an issue when comparing to a ICE Ram because the vast majority of those considering a Ramcharger won't consider the hurricane. It's a different customer completely.

You do realize that it has one pedal driving right? The brakes will be fine. How often do expect people to be changing them?

I don't care what it costs to charge in California.

Home chargers are cheapish and getting cheaper. Plus, itll like include a L2 charger. Most can be installed for under $400 and that's only if you don't have access to 220 in your garage.

If your engine takes a dump how much does it run you? 6 to 8k? What about a transmission? These are never questions asked about ICE vehicles when buying but immediately brought up with EVs. Why?

I know what all my variables are and a PHEV (although Ram doesn't want it called that but it's also not really an EREV either) works perfectly. It's what I wanted when I bought my Powerboost but it wasn't available. Zero chance I'd be in an EV truck that isn't a Tesla as the fast charging network is absolute trash.

 

[Randy Grant]

Wonder what the difference in cost is between letting the v6 charge battery or plugging it in?

Depends on whether you are parked at home or on the road. Why would it even matter unless you are planning on leaving the truck running while parked, or pulling one hell of a long cord.

 

[Fatbob Frank]

Frankly, I think Ram marketing is making a mistake NOT calling it a Hybrid...
The majority of people today seem to be mistrustful of fully electric vehicles but hybrids have been around for 2 decades now and have been getting more popular...
According to sources the Wrangler 4XE is Jeeps' #1 selling Wrangler. And Wrangler people are a surprisingly traditional breed....
My wife wanted a new Grand Cherokee last year and ( against my better judgment) she wanted the 4XE version...
Crow tastes like crap...
It's the nicest vehicle we've ever owned...
I drove it to work every day last winter and never once felt like I should have taken my PW cause of the bad winter roads..
Our monthly electric bill went up about $20...
I hadn't filled it up for a month...It still had over half a tank of gas...
I would have burned through 2 tanks of gas in my truck at least...

 

[NCRaineman]

Frankly, I think Ram marketing is making a mistake NOT calling it a Hybrid...
The majority of people today seem to be mistrustful of fully electric vehicles but hybrids have been around for 2 decades now and have been getting more popular...
According to sources the Wrangler 4XE is Jeeps' #1 selling Wrangler. And Wrangler people are a surprisingly traditional breed....
My wife wanted a new Grand Cherokee last year and ( against my better judgment) she wanted the 4XE version...
Crow tastes like crap...
It's the nicest vehicle we've ever owned...
I drove it to work every day last winter and never once felt like I should have taken my PW cause of the bad winter roads..
Our monthly electric bill went up about $20...View attachment 531524
I hadn't filled it up for a month...It still had over half a tank of gas...
I would have burned through 2 tanks of gas in my truck at least...

How much did it set you back compared to a non-hybrid GC?

Divide that by the cost of a gallon of fuel to see how much gas you could have bought with the cost difference. Multiply that number by the average MPG of a gas Jeep to see how many miles you need to drive pure electric to break even with a gas Jeep. Oh, and make sure you are accounting for that $20/mo of electricity too.

People think they are saving money buying an EV and not using that horrible foreign oil. Truth of the matter is they paid several thousand in fuel costs up front, and are paying interest on that amount, instead of just filling up every week.