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More Road Trip Fuel Economy - 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Long-Term Road Test
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More Road Trip Fuel Economy - 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Long-Term Road Test
This update to Edmunds' Long-term Ram 1500 EcoDiesel includes discussion of fuel economy on the truck's road trip to Northern California.
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Did you also burn through a couple gallons of DEF fluid?
That's still darn impressive considering it wasn't that long ago that 18-19mpg was typical highway economy for a full size pickup and even the 4 cylinder compacts barely broke 20.
What the heck full size trucks are you thinking about and when? 17 mpg highway was stupidly high with 15 being the average about 10-15 years ago.
Mixed emotions about this. I first look at the numbers and think its pretty good. Then I think about how my Dad's full-lux (for the time)1984 GMC 6.2 liter diesel got 24 on freeway trips. Then I think about how much better and, with all the safety equipment, heavier this pickup is and think it's pretty good again. I think about how this is at traveling 80 or so mph as opposed to maybe 65-70 in old speed limits and think its good. But then I think about how fuel systems and transmissions have evolved over the past 30 years and at the end I wonder, is this that great? In the end, still leaning to yes.
Mixed emotions about this. I first look at the numbers and think its pretty good. Then I think about how my Dad's full-lux (for the time)1984 GMC 6.2 liter diesel got 24 on freeway trips. Then I think about how much better and, with all the safety equipment, heavier this pickup is and think it's pretty good again. I think about how this is at traveling 80 or so mph as opposed to maybe 65-70 in old speed limits and think its good. But then I think about how fuel systems and transmissions have evolved over the past 30 years and at the end I wonder, is this that great? In the end, still leaning to yes.
As usual, the Big 3 continue to give us better and better efficiency with respect to power trains that translates to the inching up of mpg gradually, and the fruition of (finally) a diesel for a product that should have had a diesel for diesel-like performance need since early in the 1990s, and so a modern, conservative, intelligently-designed diesel is a very good thing. And it's also good that the Big 3 did not follow the original plans to build or procure the over-powered, cost-busting V8 diesels that were in the works before the recession. But it seems as everything else in the design of modern full-size trucks works against what they are trying to achieve with respect to respectable mpg to meet expectations in the 21st century, and these overly-tall,, over-massed, overweight beast designs dredges on with each new iteration . The hood lines and bed top rails are still way too high for safe and useful operation for the average human, besides the fact that this high line increases drag and mass. The wheels and tires are way too big to achieve low roll resistance, and the mass in those huge 17" rims and ample rubber around them also increase vehicle height, undercarriage space, and weight, which all works against the power trains being used to increase mpg; not to mention all of this mass, size and height also saps performance and responsiveness that is possible with a more reasonable truck. I know these trucks have to include fairly-large and wide rims and tires and clearance to handle payload and for high tow weights, but what we're seeing with these extreme designs is much more about image of "monster truck" than it is about a tool that one can actually use. A better, more useful full-sized truck might look something like a current Sprinter Van; take away the van body and add a drop-side bed that has the versatility of a box bed or a flat bed; much improved vision around the cabin, especially from the front. In such a case, Americans would be offered a full-size that fits more of us; we coul climb in without a ladder; actually see the road in front of us; could actually reach items inside the bed without a device to help get us up there; and an ecodiesel like this one could achieve 30+ on the hwy. as an added bonus.