WTF150

$57k for a 1/2 ton diesel is insane. Why wouldn't one just buy a 3/4 ton diesel for the same price?

IIRC, the Ram one last year as well. I would be willing to bet that one model has ever won back to back years.

Truck owner

JMHO, the Ram is a good looking truck, although they need to tone down the monster nose on these trucks, seems to be getting bigger every year. I applaud Ram for trying the 1/2 diesel. Will the extra cost of the engine and the extra cost of the diesel fuel/maintenance be worth it. Well that will be up to the buyer. What worries me more is the word FIAT. History shows there not known for dependability or reliability. (Better buy the longest/best warranty Ram offers). To me 8 spd tranny is just too much for any truck. But time will tell. The Ram truck has a lot of new tech in this truck. Lets see how it sells and then read the Ram forums to get feedback from buyers. I just love how Motor Trend never adds the safety (crash ratings) in there assesments of TOTY. Todays trucks are more used to haul the family around (CC) then toys and yet the safety never seems to be calculated in there reviews. For Motor Trend to ignore this factor is just once again,,(Who paid them the most to buy there votes). If Ram used Cummings to build this diesel, I might be standing in line to get one but the word FIAT,, gives me shivers and will keep me far away from this truck. Too bad Ram you could have had a real winner.

Al Kohalic

Yes it does. Most reviewers are recording a 9-10 second 0-60 with just flooring it at a dead stop, and high 8 seconds with a 2,000 rpm boost launch. Considering that both the 5.0 & Ecoboost Screws are in the 6 second range 0-60, and the 3.7L Screw is in the mid 7 second range, I would say that is extremely slow.

Sweatmachine

*Cummins!!!

bsboothe

My dad traded in his '11 Ford w/5.0 for a '13 Ram 1500 Hemi w/8speed and loves it. He's old enough where he enjoys the car like ride and it pulls his 2 horse trailer just fine, even with a 3.21 rear end. The only real major difference between their 8 spd and 6 spd tranny is that the 8 speed has lower gears in 1st and 2nd. Their overdrive gears are still the same with a .67 ratio. It will interesting to see how well their ecodiesel will hold up.




As far as Chevy not winning truck of the year, their 6.2L requires premium fuel and they placed their trailer brake controller on the left handed side amongst other quirky things with their interior that doesn't make sense. Chevy really didn't do nothing different but upgraded its headlights and interior just to catch up the interior of Ford and Ram. Next year ought to be interesting to see who wins truck of year between the new F150 Atlas concept and the new Titan with the Cummins.

XtraLargeTall

I agree on a few points but for starters, it's Cummins, not Cummings.

I also agree that if Fiat is bringing up your reliability ratings, you had horrible reliability to start with.

As far as the Fiat diesel, it probably shares much of it's design with Cummins engines anyways (search European Engine Alliance between Cummins and Fiat Powertrain). How well it does, I have no idea but it'll be interesting to see as it sounds like it'll be worse performance-wise than many offerings with more maintenance and up-front costs as well. Probably a slight efficiency gain but I doubt it comes close to breaking even.

Combat vet

I owned a 2009 RAM 2500 Megacab before buying my '12 F150 with a 5.0. The Ram had plenty of power, but the blue-tec emission controls on that Cummins just ruined it. The regen cycle was a pain - had to get it on the freeway frequently and drive it like you stole it. Now it's a lot more fun to drive the 5.0 like I stole it!

HCFX2013

Everyone is all horny about this half-ton diesel and I don't know why. It is $4000 more than a Hemi (It will take you decades to get a return on your additional investment in fuel savings), it can only tow 9200lbs max and does 0-60 in 9 seconds. Reliability is also shady as hell. To buy this engine, factually you'd be an idiot.

So what am I missing here? What's the advantage over Ford's Ecoboost except fuel economy?

bsboothe

The Ecodiesel is only a $2850 upgrade from the Hemi and is available in all trims as well. As far as the tow ratings go, the typical Supercrew F150 Ecoboost with a 3.73 also has a tow rating of 9600 pounds according to Ford's website unless you get the max trailer tow package with the heavy duty payload package, then its closer to 11k lbs. The major advantage of the diesel is that its been averaging 26mpg vice maybe 20 compared to an ecoboost. Only time will tell how well Ram diesel will do, but the engine has been tested and utilized overseas for awhile now.

XtraLargeTall

Not to mention their own Hemi.