Is the Pentastar good for high mileage?

[Ram1500OwnerMaybe]

Current truck (non-Ram) is about 10 years old and almost 200,000 miles.
It is a V8 and still running strong.
Never towed and never expect to.

Debating about the 1500 and the V6.
If keeping a truck for 10+ years and expecting 200,000 miles, is the V6 a safe choice knowing that towing isn't expected?

 

[go-ram]

Current truck (non-Ram) is about 10 years old and almost 200,000 miles.
It is a V8 and still running strong.
Never towed and never expect to.

Debating about the 1500 and the V6.
If keeping a truck for 10+ years and expecting 200,000 miles, is the V6 a safe choice knowing that towing isn't expected?

I don't own one, so I can't give you any kind of real-world response. However, when Motor Trend/Truck Trend did their TOY (truck of the year) testing a couple of months ago, including Motor Trend's sophisticated "Real MPG" testing, they noted that the 2019 Ram 1500 with 5.7L Hemi with eTorque got better fuel economy than a roughly equivalent 2019 1500 with 3.6L V6 eTorque (both were 4x4 models).

See Motor Trend/Truck Trend's article: https://www.motortrend.com/cars/ram/1500/2019/ram-1500-2019-truck-of-the-year/

Excerpt under the article's sub-heading "EFFICIENCY": "The result is that Ram has the most efficient V-8 in its class; the V-8 eTorque is EPA-rated at 17/23/19 mpg city/highway/combined with rear drive or 17/22/19 with four-wheel drive. Non-eTorque Ram V-8s net 15/22/17 (rear drive) or 15/21/17 (four-wheel drive) mpg. Our Real MPG testing of the V-8 models generally falls in line with the EPA's results, but our eTorque V-8-powered 1500 Limited 4x4 beat the feds' numbers with an 18.7/22.6/20.3 score. The one weak point would be the hard-working V-6 eTorque powerplant. EPA-rated at 20/25/22 mpg with rear drive and 19/24/21 mpg with four-wheel drive, our Big Horn 4x4 model achieved an unimpressive 15.4/19.7/17.1 Real MPG score."

You can see that in their testing, the 5.7L eTorque V8 got 3.2 MPG (combined) better than the equivalent 3.6 L eTorque V6.

Not trying to convince you of anything, and who knows if your use-case and your real-world driving would duplicate MT's results, but that test result is enough of an eye-opener for any potential 2019 Ram 1500 buyer to take notice and do their own due-diligence, rather than assuming that any specific engine/transmission combination will be better than another.

 

[Electrical]

The results in that Motortrend article are not generally representative. I really don't know what to make of it but in other vehicles that offer both Pentastar and Hemi, the V6 has noticeably better fuel economy.

 

[19llhpb]

I have owned two Pentstar v-6 equipped vehicles and have not had any problems with them as far as reliability goes, had both to just over 100,000 miles then traded vehicles( they still were running great, was just time to upgrade). Currently have close relatives who have v-6 equipped vehicles approaching 200,000 miles with no problems. However, none of these are pickups. I guess my point is IMO I believe they are a reliable engine in a non-heavy workload environment and they may be also in a heavy work environment but I have no experience with them in that regard. Good luck!

 

[ROJO2223]

The results in that Motortrend article are not generally representative. I really don't know what to make of it but in other vehicles that offer both Pentastar and Hemi, the V6 has noticeably better fuel economy.

I have had both engines in previous years. The Pentastar consistency averaged 20mpg in the city. It would get close to 23-24 mpg on the highway up to about 70mph. Going about 75-80mph then mpg would fluctuate between 20-21mpg. My opinion going above 70mph the Pentastar would usually have the same mpg as my Hemi. The Pentastar struggles a tiny bit going over 70mph and beyond. That was my experience. On other ram forums some V-6 owners stated they would get 25-28mpg on the highway. I never experienced those numbers. My trips were usually from Houston to Little Rock.

 

[Ram1500OwnerMaybe]

The Pentastar struggles a tiny bit going over 70mph and beyond. That was my experience.

Actually this is good to know and would verify on a test drive.
My daily drive is on the highway doing 70-90mph.

 

[Rtl Colorado]

Also they just hit
10 million mark on the Penstar motors
Built so they have a few on the road

 

[habu987]

In terms of mpg (can't speak to reliability), you can see my mpg in my signature. I live in fairly hilly northern Virginia and drive with a pretty light foot. Roughly 70/30 city/highway.

 

[go-ram]

In terms of mpg (can't speak to reliability), you can see my mpg in my signature. I live in fairly hilly northern Virginia and drive with a pretty light foot. Roughly 70/30 city/highway.

It's interesting that your 3.6L V6 fuel economy (17.8 MPG) is fairly close to what Motor Trend got with their "Real MPG" testing. Not saying this is conclusive, just interesting and worth investigating further.

The 3.55:1 final drive ratio is a nice compromise between performance and economy, that's one advantage to the 3.6L V6 (5.7L Hemi available ratios are 3.21 and 3.92 for 2019 1500).

If someone is looking for fuel economy as a high priority for their use-case, it makes sense to me that a Hemi eTorque, driven with a light foot, would probably be the best choice, because that engine would nearly always be loafing and not stressed. Over the years, I have learned that it is better to have a little more power on tap and rarely use it, than to go with the low-end engine and have it working hard all of the time. Now, whether or not the Hemi eTorque would pay for itself in the long run, that's another story.

The other consideration is resale value...what percentage of people buying a used pickup are looking for a V8 vs a V6? The OP could go to KBB.com and check trade-in value for 2015 or 2016 Rams, identically equipped except for engine, and get a pretty good feel for whether or not the V6 is more of a liability or an asset at resale time.
.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Second the above. If the OP is pretty sure that he will keep the new truck another 10+ years then resale is a lesser issue however you automatically exclude a lot of possible buyers by having a light duty 6 in the truck. Id think youd be better off with the 3.21 hemi, at least potential resale would not suffer. Now if its a quad cab 4x2 then ok, the 3.55 axle will net you adequate power (under 80) and good economy.
I drove 3.55 CC Pentstar vs a CC 3.21 hemi back to back and within 1/4 mile out I had decided against the Pentstar, and I was wanting the 3.55 V6 to work for me (Big Horn trim). It downshifted too much and I felt the tranny would just be stressed more.
My truck is a glorified grocery getter and highway trip taker so no reason to drive it hard.
Good luck with your choice.

 

[Bluesurf]

Last weekend I drove my V-6 from Houston to Austin and back. Ran smoothly, My Summit ran a bit quicker due to the weight difference. I'm very pleased, I don't want to get 13-16 mpg's. In Houston Hemi's are everywhere, The drivers love them and hate the poor mpg's. Since I will never be towing, I wouldn't consider the Hemi 8. I've never seen a more powerful v-6 in a huge SUV than in my Super Charged Ranger Rover HSC incredible power and torque. 380 hp & 332 lb.ft. torque. I bet it would give the Hemi a good run.

 

[cbadge]

I'm averaging 17mpg driving mostly highway including steep grades.

 

[Mulchman83]

I have 2 ram 1500s one is a 2016 3.6 with 440,000 miles on it and it runs great and the engine feels as strong as it did when new. The 2nd is 2019 ram 1500 3.6 with 230,000 miles on it both trucks didn't have any problems untill they were over 200k miles and at that it was things like fuel pumps, oil filter housing, and joints things that just mileage out. I love both of these trucks and the pentastar engine

 

[Darksteel165]

I have 2 ram 1500s one is a 2016 3.6 with 440,000 miles on it and it runs great and the engine feels as strong as it did when new. The 2nd is 2019 ram 1500 3.6 with 230,000 miles on it both trucks didn't have any problems untill they were over 200k miles and at that it was things like fuel pumps, oil filter housing, and joints things that just mileage out. I love both of these trucks and the pentastar engine

How many miles on the 2016 before you had the engine rebuilt?

 

[Boston]

So much about cost of ownership and reliability depends on usage.

Take those men and women who drive heavy hauler escort vehicles. They can cover 500 miles a day, almost day in and day out. Keep up with the fluid changes and those vehicles will happily get to 250/300k. On the other hand a vehicle driving 3 miles twice a day, even with normal engine oil changes will likely sludge up as the oil vapors never get burnt.

 

[Mulchman83]

How many miles on the 2016 before you had the engine rebuilt?

It has never been rebuilt. The transmission was replaced at 240k motor is sound