V6 on the new Ram

[Marios1120]

What is everyone’s thoughts on the V6 engine in the Ram 1500? Those who have it how is it? Reason I ask is the dealer has a Big Horn Night Edition I’m interested in but it has the V6. Cannot test drive it yet because it’s still in ship mode. Thanks everyone.

 

[Scrambler]

I just purchased a 2019 Ram Limited with the gasoline V6 about 2 weeks ago (1,000 miles) and I am happy with it in almost every way. The engine runs very smooth and quiet and delivers power smoothly as the 8 speed automatic goes thru the gears. I'd recommend it over the 9-11 mpg HEMI as reported on this forum and if I ordered a new one, I'd definitely buy it again.
In my case I don't tow anything heavy so I figured I didn't need a V8. It has plenty of power for scooting thru intersections and freeway on ramps. Averaging about 18 MPG (3.21 posi rear end) with it but have not taken an extended trip with it yet. On this forum, 24 mpg on an extended road trip was reported. The only knock I have on it is the muffler or exhaust noise which in my opinion is louder than it should be or needs to be. However, getting up to speed is the only time the loudness really stands out. At cruising and highway speed it isn't really noticeable. If they could figure out a way to quiet it down, I'd be completely satisfied with it. hope this helps.

 

[Mr. Hindsight]

I got the Hemi but think the v6 would’ve suited my needs just fine. I wish I would’ve at least test drove it tho. The thing that really stopped me from it was my ‘17 Charger had the 8 speed replaced at 6,700 miles and it had the 3.6 and I just didn’t want that combo again although the Ram 8 speed is prolly beefier. Plus I’ve always wanted a Hemi if I ever got a Ram and also, the insurance was cheaper for the v8 compared to the v6. Gas mileage does suck with the Hemi but it doesn’t help that my drive to work is 6 miles with 5 red lights and 2 stop signs but the sound of the Hemi makes up for that lol. Good luck with ur choice.

 

[SpikeMike]

I have a '19 RAM 1500 Lone Star with the 3.6L V6 and etorque. I chose this because I drive a lot of miles. (25,000 miles since I got this in November 2018) I've hauled quite a lot in it and towed our 4000 lb boat and trailer just fine. I love the truck. It has enough power for me.

Having said that, the gas mileage is not as advertised. The sticker says 20 city / 25 hwy / 22 combined. I drive almost all freeway and I hover at 20. I use the cruise control most of the time at about 70. If I had to buy a truck today, I would buy one with the hemi. Since the gas mileage isn't great, I might as well have the power when I want it.

 

[SpeedyV]

I just purchased a 2019 Ram Limited with the gasoline V6 about 2 weeks ago (1,000 miles) and I am happy with it in almost every way. The engine runs very smooth and quiet and delivers power smoothly as the 8 speed automatic goes thru the gears. I'd recommend it over the 9-11 mpg HEMI as reported on this forum and if I ordered a new one, I'd definitely buy it again.
In my case I don't tow anything heavy so I figured I didn't need a V8. It has plenty of power for scooting thru intersections and freeway on ramps. Averaging about 18 MPG (3.21 posi rear end) with it but have not taken an extended trip with it yet. On this forum, 24 mpg on an extended road trip was reported. The only knock I have on it is the muffler or exhaust noise which in my opinion is louder than it should be or needs to be. However, getting up to speed is the only time the loudness really stands out. At cruising and highway speed it isn't really noticeable. If they could figure out a way to quiet it down, I'd be completely satisfied with it. hope this helps.

Just to add a bit of balance here...the average HEMI owner is seeing 15-20 mpg, and sometimes more on the highway, aside from Rebels. I have a loaded Longhorn (the heaviest truck reported on this forum for quite some time) with 3.92 gearing, and you can see my lifetime average (mostly in the city) in my signature.

The V6 gets better economy...just not that much more. And there’s a big trade off when it comes to power, should the purchaser need to tow.

 

[derp]

Just to add a bit of balance here...the average HEMI owner is seeing 15-20 mpg, and sometimes more on the highway, aside from Rebels. I have a loaded Longhorn (the heaviest truck reported on this forum for quite some time) with 3.92 gearing, and you can see my lifetime average (mostly in the city) in my signature.

The V6 gets better economy...just not that much more. And there’s a big trade off when it comes to power, should the purchaser need to tow.

Due to my truck being in the shop for warranty repair, I have had the joy of direct, same day comparison several times between the v6/v8.

The v6 will take whatever you throw at the fuel fill short of diesel. The v8 wants 89 or better non e85.
The v8 is effortless in passing and traffic merging. The 6 is basically like driving the minivan I had before it. it can be done with planning and a heavy foot, and it is certainly no joy.
The v6 is a fuel sipper for sure. much like a minivan in that regard as well. the hemi needle moves when I think about driving.
engine noise from the 6 is higher on highway than the hemi, but also possible that my hemi's ANC is masking that where the dealer loaner does not have that.

 

[DraKhen99]

I have no experience with the V6, but I *do* have experience with "Transport Mode" or whatever they call it, which sounds like the issue preventing you from test driving. 30 seconds of Googling will give you step-by-step instructions on how to get the truck out of transport mode... I did this with a 2019 Limited I wanted to test drive, but was in this mode.

The salesman had no issue with me getting it out of transport mode, and once done, we drove it right back to the dealer, so I got my test drive. I ended up buying my Limited (a different one) 5 months later at the same dealer... their attitude was part of why I wanted to buy there.

Point is, ask the dealership to let you take it out of transport mode and go on your test drive. Then you'll know if the V6 will work for you.

-John

 

[silver billet]

... I'd recommend it over the 9-11 mpg HEMI as reported on this forum...

...on this forum, 24 mpg on an extended road trip was reported....

In my regular day to day driving, mostly rural, with eco mode disabled I get 11 - 12 L/100 KM (18 to 19 mpg). On a 3 hour road trip, using eco mode and staying at about 60 to 65 mph, I hit 9.7 L/100 km (24 mpg), and it had just dropped to 9.7 when my exit showed up, so it could have gone even further down yet. I don't remember what octane it was, might have been 89.

That's with a hemi.

Seems like the biggest variable with a hemi is how you drive. The 9 MPG guys (I haven't seen any on this forum) are more than likely driving 5 minute road trips through a city or hitting stop lights etc.

 

[eyeguy]

I have a 2017 laramie with 3.6 and now a 2020 laramie with 5.7 no etorque. I would say ave mpg is 4 better on the 3.6. Pulled a 2000 lb trailer down interstate at 75 with 3.6 and it just stays in 7th most of the time but pulls it well with 14-15 mpg. V6 8 speed is different than the 5.7 8 speed tras. My 5.7 8 speed is a little less quirky but both seem to work fine. Think you could be happy with either. Miss seeing 20 plus on ave mpg.

 

[SpeedyV]

While @the wanderer's stats are pretty impressive, I thought the OP might find the aggregated stats from Fuelly to be interesting.

V6 eTorque: Just 2 2019 Ram 1500 V6 eTorque trucks are reporting 19.37 mpg over 26K miles. There are zero 2020s reporting on Fuelly.

V8 eTorque: 146 2019 Ram 1500 HEMI eTorque trucks (two categories) are reporting 15.79 mpg over 993K miles. There are only 3 2020s reporting on Fuelly.

V8 non-eTorque: 401 2019 Ram 1500 HEMI trucks are reporting 15.24 mpg over 3.3M miles. There are only 4 2020s reporting on Fuelly.

What does this mean? If we go by the 2019 numbers, the V6 eTorque averages 22.7% better fuel economy (3.58 mpg) better than the HEMI eTorque, and the HEMI eTorque averages 3.6% better fuel economy than the regular HEMI (0.55 mpg).

Disclaimer: There are too few V6 eTorque trucks (and too few 2020 trucks of any kind) to be statistically significant. The few 2020s that are reporting are showing a marked improvement in fuel economy, but we need to see more members reporting.

 

[GreatWhite]

I have the non etorque hemi with 35's, the mopar 2" lift, and 3.92 gearing. With winter fuel, I'm seeing on average 16.7mpg. During the summer, I routinely saw 18.5, and when the wind was just right... I even saw it break 19.

My old 3.5l EcoBoost with a leveling kit and 33's got 15.5 -16Mpg. I'm a happy camper. I'd recommend the hemi if your expecting to tow anything.

 

[silver billet]

While @the wanderer's stats are pretty impressive, I thought the OP might find the aggregated stats from Fuelly to be interesting.

V6 eTorque: Just 2 2019 Ram 1500 V6 eTorque trucks are reporting 19.37 mpg over 26K miles. There are zero 2020s reporting on Fuelly.

V8 eTorque: 146 2019 Ram 1500 HEMI eTorque trucks (two categories) are reporting 15.79 mpg over 993K miles. There are only 3 2020s reporting on Fuelly.

V8 non-eTorque: 401 2019 Ram 1500 HEMI trucks are reporting 15.24 mpg over 3.3M miles. There are only 4 2020s reporting on Fuelly.

What does this mean? If we go by the 2019 numbers, the V6 eTorque averages 22.7% better fuel economy (3.58 mpg) better than the HEMI eTorque, and the HEMI eTorque averages 3.6% better fuel economy than the regular HEMI (0.55 mpg).

Disclaimer: There are too few V6 eTorque trucks (and too few 2020 trucks of any kind) to be statistically significant. The few 2020s that are reporting are showing a marked improvement in fuel economy, but we need to see more members reporting.

Those stats are interesting, I admit I'm on the high side of MPG, that's because I'm doing mostly rural and basically lot of driving in 7th and 8th gear which is basically the sweet spot for the truck; fast enough to use the second overdrive, slow enough that it keeps the RPM's down. I just wanted some balance against the claims of only 9 mpg (which is on the exact other end of the scale).

But I've posted my numbers here more than once, and I always like to mention that my Jeep GC had the same v6 pentastar and managed 9.3 l/100 km, which is just over 25 mpg, on the exact same highway run (though a few years ago). That's with a lighter jeep as well. I had the jeep for over 5 years and knew exactly what the computer calculated on average, my truck I've had for 8 months and I'm just a hair worse off. Winter months with no freeway driving, bit of remote start and idling, my jeep would sit around 13 l/100 km, my truck is currently at 13.2. That's basically the difference between the two in my usage.

So for my driving usage (rural/overdrive), the numbers in my case between the v6 and the hemi are miniscule. The more city driving or agressive your style is, the more the v6 will do better than the hemi.

Either that or my hemi is busted and firing on < 8 cylinders

 

[ram0686]

I have the non etorque hemi with 35's, the mopar 2" lift, and 3.92 gearing. With winter fuel, I'm seeing on average 16.7mpg. During the summer, I routinely saw 18.5, and when the wind was just right... I even saw it break 19.

My old 3.5l EcoBoost with a leveling kit and 33's got 15.5 -16Mpg. I'm a happy camper. I'd recommend the hemi if your expecting to tow anything.

same numbers here.

 

[maddog49]

I have the same truck (heavy) with the v8 non etorque and basically average around 17.5 with mixed driving. Vs the 20 the v6 gets average it costs about $25 more a month to drive the v8 year round. For $300 a year on a $65k truck (and the engine is what $1000 extra?) and insurance I want the extra power and fun. But the great thing is we all have choices.

What mileage does the v6 get at a steady 80mph on flat highway?

 

[Scrambler]

Great info presented by all here on this forum and this particular subject. Thanks for the balancing statements as we are all consumers and the info we share makes us all better consumers as well as happier buyers when we lay out large sums of money for our trucks. I agree that the V6 versus V8 MPG numbers are pretty damn close. It really comes down to your personal preferences as well as choosing the appropriate engine and rear end gearing combination that fits the bulk of what you use your truck for. Compared to the 2017 Silverado I traded in, I can't say enough positives about the my Ram Limited! The driving experience along with the technology of the Level 1 equipment group make me a very happy owner.

 

[SD Rebel]

The Pentastar V6 is a very good motor and will fulfill most of your needs, plus it does get better mileage.

However, if it isn't that much more efficient compared to a similar spec Hemi. The 11 mpg Hemi's are usually Rebels with 33" tires and mandatory 3.92 rear axle.

If you get a street tire equipped Hemi with 3.21 rear axle, you could get a close enough mpg to the V6 where it isn't worth the difference to you.

 

[Wylisc]

I just bought a v6 Laramie with 3.21 gears and after 1.2k miles I'm averaging about 20mpg driving normally back and forth to work which is mostly back roads with a few lights.

I never really planned on towing at all and never anything super heavy so the extra power for the v8 hemi just didn't appeal to me as much as the gas savings did.

As for over taking people on the highway I haven't had any trouble and it's a breeze to get to 90+ pretty quickly to pass someone.

 

[dumbo62]

What is everyone’s thoughts on the V6 engine in the Ram 1500? Those who have it how is it? Reason I ask is the dealer has a Big Horn Night Edition I’m interested in but it has the V6. Cannot test drive it yet because it’s still in ship mode. Thanks everyone.

I recently purchased a new 2019 Limited with the V6 and drove it between Oklahoma City (where I purchased it new with 29 miles) to Sacramento and my average since new was 22.2 mpg. My highest calculated mileage was 24.5 and my lowest was 17.6. I just drove to Reno with a full load of people and luggage to Reno and back (crossing high Sierra pass). About 80% highway and 20% city and got 20.7 mpg calculated. Prior to that I had a half tank used which was mostly ( 80%) city driving where I got my worst calculated mileage of 16.7).

 

[HeliPilot]

Just posted this in a similar thread but wanted to post here as well. This is my truck at 78mph with adaptive cruise set, Hemi non-etorque.

 

[derp]

Just posted this in a similar thread but wanted to post here as well. This is my truck at 78mph with adaptive cruise set, Hemi non-etorque.

View attachment 42934

Mmmmm. 3.21 i envy you as i roll 3.92.

3.92 is fast as hell, but say goodbye to the fuel while you do it.