Hey Ram crew,
Thought I would drop in and give my two-cent review on my 2019 Ram Big Horn 3.6L ETorque since there just isn't a ton of information available on this V6 powertrain.
A little background on why I bought the 3.6L instead of the 5.7: I used my truck for general utility purposes and tow a little bit, but nothing over 5,000 lbs. I also wanted a truck that I could drive for 200,000 miles and not hate putting gas in it every time.
I'm mainly going to focus on the engine/performance here, as we all know how beautiful the interior and exterior of these trucks are.
Trim
2019 Ram Big Horn Crew Cab / 3.6L ETorque / 3.55 axle ratio / 4x4 / 20 inch wheels with Bridgestone dueler all-terrain tires
Environment
I live in a very hilly / slightly mountainous portion of North GA, which is important to this review because the 8-speed 3.6L does A LOT of shifting in this area in order to maintain speed and pull up hills.
Gas Mileage
I drive about 50/50 city/hwy and when I am on the highway I'm usually around 75-80mph, so I'm not exactly trying to "baby it".
With the in mind, I've averaged right around 21-22 mpg consistently over 15,000 miles. Pretty happy with that. If I lived in Flatabama (AL) I'm pretty confident I would be at 23+ mpg
Engine Performance
When I got this truck, I initially loved it during the first week, and then I started to absolutely hate it due to the throttle-delay and general crawl-to-sprint tendency of the engine. Basically, it wants to absolutely maximize mpg in every scenario, meaning it waits until it has no other choice before downshifting - This usually meant I was pushing further on the gas pedal for a solid second or two before the truck would "wake up". The other scenario was that if you pushed the gas just a little too hard, too fast, the engine would absolutely floor it for no reason.
LUCKILY I knew about the Pedal Commander, which literally saved me from trading in this vehicle. It removed all throttle delay, increased general predictability with the engine, and I'm pretty sure the more "normal" driving style helped out with the MPGs. I keep it at City+4 mode and it's been awesome. 10/10 the Pedal Commander is a MUST buy if you have the 3.6L. Model # PC78. You can buy it here
Issues
I have had two "scares" to far with the truck, albeit the truck is running fine after them.
There are just a few things that I don't love about the Ram, but they aren't deal-breakers at all.
Overall Score
Overall I absolutely love my truck, although nothing is perfect. Without the Pedal Commander I would probably give it a 5/10 just because the engine performance is so unpredictable and lethargic.
HOWEVER, with the Pedal Commander I give the truck an overall 8/10 and I will absolutely be keeping her for a long time to come.
Thanks for reading!
Thought I would drop in and give my two-cent review on my 2019 Ram Big Horn 3.6L ETorque since there just isn't a ton of information available on this V6 powertrain.
A little background on why I bought the 3.6L instead of the 5.7: I used my truck for general utility purposes and tow a little bit, but nothing over 5,000 lbs. I also wanted a truck that I could drive for 200,000 miles and not hate putting gas in it every time.
I'm mainly going to focus on the engine/performance here, as we all know how beautiful the interior and exterior of these trucks are.
Trim
2019 Ram Big Horn Crew Cab / 3.6L ETorque / 3.55 axle ratio / 4x4 / 20 inch wheels with Bridgestone dueler all-terrain tires
Environment
I live in a very hilly / slightly mountainous portion of North GA, which is important to this review because the 8-speed 3.6L does A LOT of shifting in this area in order to maintain speed and pull up hills.
Gas Mileage
I drive about 50/50 city/hwy and when I am on the highway I'm usually around 75-80mph, so I'm not exactly trying to "baby it".
With the in mind, I've averaged right around 21-22 mpg consistently over 15,000 miles. Pretty happy with that. If I lived in Flatabama (AL) I'm pretty confident I would be at 23+ mpg
Engine Performance
When I got this truck, I initially loved it during the first week, and then I started to absolutely hate it due to the throttle-delay and general crawl-to-sprint tendency of the engine. Basically, it wants to absolutely maximize mpg in every scenario, meaning it waits until it has no other choice before downshifting - This usually meant I was pushing further on the gas pedal for a solid second or two before the truck would "wake up". The other scenario was that if you pushed the gas just a little too hard, too fast, the engine would absolutely floor it for no reason.
LUCKILY I knew about the Pedal Commander, which literally saved me from trading in this vehicle. It removed all throttle delay, increased general predictability with the engine, and I'm pretty sure the more "normal" driving style helped out with the MPGs. I keep it at City+4 mode and it's been awesome. 10/10 the Pedal Commander is a MUST buy if you have the 3.6L. Model # PC78. You can buy it here
Issues
I have had two "scares" to far with the truck, albeit the truck is running fine after them.
- About 2 months after installing my pedal commander the voltage suddenly changed in the truck and I lost all throttle response and the truck went into "limp mode". Not a fun experience. It was extremely cold that day and I'm thinking somehow there was a voltage issue in what the vehicle was able to produce. I unplugged the Pedal Commander for a week just to be safe - plugged it back in and have had no issues the last 8 months.
- A few weeks ago I was driving in the city at around 35-40 mph and the truck suddenly made a "clunking" noise for about 2 seconds, followed by reduced acceleration. This one did scare me a bit. After I reached a red light and the engine cut off (stop start) and then fired back up I haven't had any other issues. If anyone can explain this one to me that would be great - I have no way of reproducing it though so no point in taking it in.
There are just a few things that I don't love about the Ram, but they aren't deal-breakers at all.
- As far as cheaper/V6 engines go, the F150s 2.7L Ecoboost absolutely wipes the floor with the Pentastar in terms of acceleration. I think it's like 1.4 seconds faster in 0-60, and it's definitely noticeable. It also gets roughly the same MPG as the Pentastar.
- Even with the Pedal Commander, I do find the engine to be "searching" every once in a while. It's not often, but sometimes the truck just doesn't react the way you would expect it to. I don't think Ram thought about hills when they redesigned this engine.
Overall Score
Overall I absolutely love my truck, although nothing is perfect. Without the Pedal Commander I would probably give it a 5/10 just because the engine performance is so unpredictable and lethargic.
HOWEVER, with the Pedal Commander I give the truck an overall 8/10 and I will absolutely be keeping her for a long time to come.
Thanks for reading!