The diversity of RAM owners is pretty awesome. We can all get just what we want. And not disrespect others for their choices.
For me, diesel powered light trucks do not make sense anymore. I am currently downsizing to a 1/2-ton truck now, so when I configured my truck to order last month, I was back and forth on the HEMI and EcoDiesel.
I went with the HEMI for a few reasons. First, I want the truck to respond when I gas it (add fuel). Right now, not in a few seconds.
EcoDiesels that I tested seemed "sleepy".
Even the tuned CTD I had previously had some lag; if you did not catch it just right, waiting for the turbo to spool was like dial-up internet service.
I traded the CTD 6.7 (2012) for a 2016 2500 6.4 HEMI (current DD). I sacrificed about 3-4 MPG. Lost some towing capability. But I have more towing capability than I use, and with the Flowmaster system installed, it sounds awesome! I now have 167,000 trouble-fee miles.
With the CTD, the 800-pound gorilla in the engine room made his presence known at all times. The truck felt front-heavy and the payload was reduced by about that amount. Warm-up and cool-down time seemed tedious. Maintenace costs were significantly higher.
When at about 150k miles it "lifted the head" (head gasket failure) the bill was north of $5K . The turbo went a few weeks later (mechanic mistake, I think) to the tune of $ 3K. EcoDiesels (earlier generations) have not had a great track record, I had concerns.
Sometimes less is...less. I personally don't see the ED as an upgrade to the HEMI-just a choice.
I respect you ED owners, I wish you internal combustion happiness.