Propickup Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/211068
FIRSTDRIVE By Lazelle Jones Photo: Bruce W. Smith Everyone likes a good love story and the marriage between 2014 Ram ½-tons and Fiat's 3.0L V-6 EcoDiesel is one in the making S eems like only yesterday Fiat took the helm at Chrysler and the synergies that lay there waiting to manifest themselves began and today continue unabated. Case in point: Chrysler's Ram Truck Division that's made great strides in the technological advancement of both light and heavy-duty pickups including being the first automaker to market with a half-ton diesel in more than a decade—the 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. WELLTESTED ENGINE Although the engine, a 240hp DOHC V-6 sourced from Fiat subsidiary VM 28 PROPICKUP December 2013 Motori SpA in Centro, Italy, is new to our ears, the turbocharged diesel engine has had its metal tested for the last 22 years and millions and millions of miles in Europe. What is new to the truck is the 8-speed electronic transmission developed with ZF expressly for the Ram 1500. The marriage between engine and transmission couldn't be nicer. The combination of the EcoDiesel's power-to-weight ratio and the ZF automatic gives the 2014 Ram 1500 very strong performance and equally impressive fuel economy. With a 26 gallon fuel tank, and when using the most conservative Although new to the U.S. market, the Fiat-sourced VM Motori V-6 turbodiesel has been a strong performer in Europe for years.