Yes, no doubt you are correct. The Ram 1500 has a much nicer interior. I think GM said they plan to finally improve 1500 interiors in 2021.
But even then I would seriously consider the GM. Better MPG and an inline design is just icing on the cake. The previous ED design had a mystery bottom end issue with a significant number of low mileage catastrophic failures. As far as I know, FCA hasn't said anything about improvements to that portion of the new engine.
We'll see but I would be surprised if the GM 3L didn't out tow the new ED. That 10 speed auto with improved turbo and tight intake cooling plumbing should pay dividends on the Ike Gauntlet 3L diesel comparison.
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Like you, I wonder about the "bottom end" problems on some years of Gen-1/Gen-2 Ecodiesels. FCA never came clean, but I have heard from at least one very reliable source that the problem was the switch to a lower viscosity oil in pursuit of improved fuel economy. Supposedly, FCA switched back to a heaver-weight engine oil and most of the bottom-end failures went away.
There is a guy ("VernDiesel") who posted
here on 5thgenrams who got over 300,000 miles on his Gen-1/Gen-2 Ecodiesel, as a long-haul deliverer of boats & travel trailers. It's well worth reading all that VernDiesel posted in that thread ("Towing my 32' travel trailer"), because he really knows his vehicle and explained exactly how he did the maintenance, which oil he used, etc. Of course highway towing is exactly what the Ecodiesel was built for, and highway miles at the hands of a good driver and good mechanical mind like VernDiesel is a recipe for engine longevity, hence his 300,000+ mile Ecodiesel life.
I also read a post somewhere in the past six months or so where the guy claimed to have insider knowledge, and he said rest assured that VM Motori is well aware of the reliability issues on the Gen-1 & Gen-2 Ecodiesels, and that they had supposedly addressed them in this Gen-3 design. No way of knowing until they get a lot of real-world miles, but logic would tell us that even though FCA & VM Motori were not forthcoming about the bottom-end problems of the previous EDs, they most likely addressed it with this new engine, becaise it cost them a ton of money to replace all those blown EDs from years past.
I do agree that, for a truck, the straight-six diesel from GM is probably a better starting place than the V6 architecture that FCA & Ford adopted. But remember, both FCA's and Ford's 3.0 L V6 diesels were originally designed to go in the engine bays of front-wheel-drive sedans, so they had to be compact, and the Vee-configuration makes the most sense for sedans & SUVs.
Kudos to GM for going the most logical way with their light-duty diesel engine for their half-ton pickups - time will tell how good it really is. But remember, both Ford fans and Chevy/GMC fans have FCA to thank for their half-ton diesel engines, because FCA led the way and forced the competition to catch up.