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Finally Drove It and It Was Worth the Wait - 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited March 2015 in Ram
imageFinally Drove It and It Was Worth the Wait - 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Long-Term Road Test

I just drove our long-term 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel for the first time, and although it reminds me a lot of our 2014 Silverado 1500 in personality, its advantage in fuel efficiency might give it the edge.

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Comments

  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    The 28% difference in fuel economy you cited is about the same as the price difference between diesel and regular gas.
  • nomercy346nomercy346 Member Posts: 69
    The price difference at the pump is tough to ignore, too...
  • actualsizeactualsize Member Posts: 451
    Those differences are regional. Diesel is cheaper than regular unleaded right now in our area, and even at the worst of times its within a dime of premium. And it can vary widely from station to station, too.

    This week's national average prices are:

    $2.424 regular unleaded
    $2.646 midgrade
    $2.829 premium
    $2.899 diesel #2

    Based on these numbers from the AAA fuel gauge report (fuelgaugereport.com), diesel is currently running 16% more expensive than regular unleaded, so the cost per mile is indeed cheaper. It works out to 13 cents per mile for the Ram versus 13.9 cents per mile for the Silverado.

    For us, using the prices on the sign in the picture that accompanies my February fuel summary post, the Ram is costing us 13.9 cents per mile and the Silverado 4x2 would be costing us 19.9 cents per mile.

    And this isn't apples to apple because ours was a 4x2 Chevy. No matter what the price, a 4x4 Silverado would use more fuel and cost more per mile, which works in the Ram's favor.

    Interestingly, if you bought the 5.7-liter Hemi the minimum octane requirement is midgrade. The national average price of Diesel is only 10% more expensive compared to that. And that's the comparison that matters if you've settled on a Ram but cant decide which engine to get.

    Twitter: @Edmunds_Test

  • redraiderguy08redraiderguy08 Member Posts: 1
    Even if fuel cost are close or slight better for diesel the actual operating costs favor a gas engine. The diesel has much costlier service visits and you have to pay for diesel exhaust fluid. Which this vehicle goes through quickly... Resale value is mostly a wash as well. The delta between paid price and resale price in the diesel may be better. But you have to tie up multiple thousands of dollars for years, so you pay for the extra resale in that way. You would end up with the same resale delta if you bought the gas truck (losing some resale value) but made money on a safe investment with the initial savings. It sure would be nice to confidently choose diesel because you want to save money over the long run, but right now it is just not the case.
  • dan_acostadan_acosta Member Posts: 24
    As always, your mileage may vary. After 40K miles my lifted 2014 4x4 5.3 Sierra has averaged 20 overall (measured at the pump), but I suspect I am at the high end of the spectrum for most drivers of these trucks. Other than cost, the biggest concern I would have on the RAM was the unexpected shutdown it had as reported by Edmunds. Fortunately, no issues yet with the Sierra.
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