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Just Drove 3.6L Big Horn

Predfan

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So I've been waiting since January to take a 2019 on a test drive. I live in Alberta and the pickings are slim for the V6 engine on RAMs site there's only 4 V6 in the province and they're fairly low options. I treated myself to a little vacation in the mountains to finally see one in person. I've always had my heart set on a higher trim 1500 like the longhorn. Recently I've had a change of heart and have been finding it difficult to justify paying an extra 10 grand over a well equipped bighorn for some leather and adaptive cruise I can only use in the 5 summer months a year we have. this leads me into sitting in and test driving the V6 bighorn for the first time. fairly low optioned only had the lvl2 group and bucket seats with 3.55 gears. I really want the pano roof and LED headlights. I'm coming from a 2010 reg cab long box 1500 as base as you can get RAM with the 5.7 L. The first thing I can say is holy cow I am impressed with the interior the cloth was amazing with the heated seats along with the rubber heated steering wheel. then there was the cloth accents on the doors and fancy trim on the dash and my god going from a digital clock to the 8.4 screen I was blown away. I fell in love it's just leaps and bounds ahead of my 2010 ram.

My dealer was excited to drive with me as this was the first time he was able to ride in the new v6 as well. we started off leaving the lot waiting @ the stop sign I remember to look @ the RPMs which read 0 showing the stop start is working and i punch the gas. I was shocked at there being no shudder or lag. also the V6 loves to Rev and was very fun coming off the line not as deep a growl as my Hemi not as quick but it was still a fun get up and go. then there was the ride quality and how smooth it was. Reading reviews just doesnt do it any justice. My 2010 feels ancient with how it bumps around and with how much outside noise you get with it. The best part was getting onto the off ramp to merge onto the 110km/hr hwy. i punched it and it had absolutely 0 issues getting up to speed and merging honestly it was not anemic at all and i doubt it would have any trouble whatsoever making passes on the HWY. I dont know if the salesman was just trying to pump it up for a sale but he also said compared to the 2018 V6 this years does feel like it has more punch to it. my only regret on the short drive I had was I didn't reset the L/100km reading. which was showing 14L/100km when I sat in the truck @ 24km on the odometer so it was probably a lot of idling. I really wanna see more real world economy ratings on this truck.

So all said and done I think I've fallen in love with the 2019 V6 bighorn. that being said I still want to test drive a 2018 2.7L ecoboost just to see what ford has to offer as you can get a lariat trim for the same price as the big horn right now.
 

devildodge

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Anxious to hear what you feel about the Ford

The V6 is as powerful as the V8s before the Hemi.

With the exception of towing heavy...the V6 is a good option.
 

Jako

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Anxious to hear what you feel about the Ford

The V6 is as powerful as the V8s before the Hemi.

With the exception of towing heavy...the V6 is a good option.
Pretty sure my 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 8 cyl is 230 HP, 2019 Ram 1500 V6 295/300 HP?
 

Billy James

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I think you will be fine with the V6 as long as you don't tow or haul heavy things. The V6 Pentastar is a great engine. I had a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with 3.73 gears and the Pentastar V6 and it ran great. However, it really bogged down when towing my boat (approximately 3,000 lbs); which prevented me from taking my boat on long trips. With my 5.7 Laramie I hardly notice that the boat is there.
 

devildodge

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Pretty sure my 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 8 cyl is 230 HP, 2019 Ram 1500 V6 295/300 HP?
305 hp 269 lbft.

My 99 V10 only has 310 horse power...but 450lbft.

360...245 hp 335 lbft
318...230 hp 295 lbft

The 4.7l it replaces...310 hp 330 lbft

The 3.9l V6 from the first Ram 1500...180 hp and 220 lbft

Yeah, it is capable.
 

iupui1299

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I agree with you on the cloth seats. I originally only wanted leather but after seeing the cloth I was pleasantly surprised in how nice they are.
 

Predfan

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Ya the most I use the truck for is throwing a quad in the back or camping stuff. I might be buying a a little trailer 3-4k lbs im hoping being a truck and with the etorque its doesnt feel to horrible towing a light load.

And ya the lvl2 is an awesome high value package I just dont think I can do halogen headlights again.
 

4sallypat

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I test drove a 3.6L from a local dealer who got some work trucks in ( Tradesman & BigHorn) and have to say the engine did not feel less than a Heni.

For urban drivers, I think it's perfect and for me who does not tow hardly at all and never hauls, the 3.6 works well.

It's tough though to find any 3.6L Rebels in So Cal so it looks like a custom build.

Here's a video I liked comparing the towing ability of a V6 vs. Hemi on a steep mountainous, high altitude drive between 2 2019 RAM 1500:
V6 vs V8 towing high altitude & steep mountain highway $22,000 difference in trims!
 

Predfan

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Ya im hesitant to pull the trigger untill some actuall owner reviews come in on the mileage
 

Maineiac

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When I first got my truck and we had an October heat wave my mileage was 21 with 80% highway driving.

Now with it being in the 20’s my mileage is 18-19. I also need to factor in the crappy Iowa ethanol gas taking off 10% of my possible mpg vs straight 87.
 

Predfan

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When I first got my truck and we had an October heat wave my mileage was 21 with 80% highway driving.

Now with it being in the 20’s my mileage is 18-19. I also need to factor in the crappy Iowa ethanol gas taking off 10% of my possible mpg vs straight 87.

I was really hoping for atleast 24 on the highway with the 3.6 with about 19 city
 

habu987

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With my latest tank, I was about 80% city, 20% highway. Hand calc shows 17.1 mpg. The last ~90 miles or so of the tank were almost all highway, and the lie-o-meter ticked up from 16.8 to 18.7 mpg over that time. I've got an approximately 1000 mile road trip coming up over the holidays, so I should be able to get a good highway reading then.

So far I'm not all that impressed with the fuel economy, but I'm hoping it improves as the engine breaks in. I'm only at ~1000 miles right now.

ETA: I'm a pretty conservative driver, the only times I ever stomp on the gas pedal are when I'm merging onto a busy high speed road, which happens at most twice a day. The rest of the time I'm definitely much closer to the little old granny end of the spectrum, so the low mileage isn't from me being an aggressive driver.
 
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Predfan

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Thats really disheartening it seems like both the v8s and the v6 are severly underperforming ram needs to address this
 

4sallypat

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Thats really disheartening it seems like both the v8s and the v6 are severly underperforming ram needs to address this
Yes that is a huge issue for RAM.
The Rebel trim is very over rated and gets a lot less MPG due to the oversized tires, lift, and weight.
Should be interesting to see how RAM address MPG on both their Hemi & Pentastar engines....
 

Maineiac

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I’ll agree that there’s not a huge difference between the fuel economy of the V6 and V8 at the speeds I operate at.

I have noticed that when I drive between 55-65 on a 2 lane highway my instant economy does read 24 or better but the interstate speed limits are 70 and most people realistically drive 75+.

I’m betting those 24 highway MPGs are based off a slower speed in ideal conditions. I’ve never had a vehicle get what the EPA sticker says in the real world.
 

taumaz

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I have been getting getting 20 to 21 mpg on mostly hwy (with heavy traffic included) on my 3.6l bighorn 4x4 crew cab. Right now the temps are around 0 celsius, i expect the mpg to increase with warmer weather.

I am coming from a 2017 with a hemi and can confidently say the 3.6l gets better economy, but not by much. My 2017 hemi would get 18mpg under similar conditions. BUT.... u also have to factor in the cost of 89 or 91 octane vs 87. In my area going from 87 to 89 (recomended for hemi) is about .15 cents per liter, roughly +15%.

So add the two of those together and it can add up.
 

4sallypat

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I have been getting getting 20 to 21 mpg on mostly hwy (with heavy traffic included) on my 3.6l bighorn 4x4 crew cab. Right now the temps are around 0 celsius, i expect the mpg to increase with warmer weather.

I am coming from a 2017 with a hemi and can confidently say the 3.6l gets better economy, but not by much. My 2017 hemi would get 18mpg under similar conditions. BUT.... u also have to factor in the cost of 89 or 91 octane vs 87. In my area going from 87 to 89 (recomended for hemi) is about .15 cents per liter, roughly +15%.

So add the two of those together and it can add up.

Interesting data point!

Instead of waiting on the 3.6L Rebel, I am thinking of just getting the Hemi w/ eTorque to compensate for the slight difference.
For me, it's mostly urban driving where the eTorque will help with the start/stop and bumper to bumper driving....
 

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