Ram: 1500 EcoDiesel Gets Green Light

There’s no denying that Ram’s latest half-ton offering, the refreshed 1500, is a handsome brute. However, it lacks something inherent in its predecessors — namely, a diesel option.

While the 3.0L EcoDiesel plant is still available in the 1500 Classic, Ram curiously omitted the beefy engine in the new model. That oversight will finally be corrected this year.

According to Autoblog, Ram will be bringing back the turbodiesel V6 later this year. In an interview with FCA’s head of Ram division, Jim Morrison, it was determined that the new 1500 will follow in the footsteps of the previous generations with a diesel mill… though not necessarily the same engine that powered its predecessors.

Instead, the refreshed Ram will get the same turbodiesel plant as the new Jeep Gladiator, which is set to debut in 2020. If this is true, then the diesel-flavored Ram will also make 260hp and about 442 lb-ft of torque, unless FCA applies a bit of tuning to make it more competitive in the crowded half-ton segment.

For comparison, the current 3.0L EcoDiesel pushes out 240 horses and 420 lb-ft of torque, mated to a ZF Torqueflite 8HP80 transmission. Morrison declined to comment whether the next-gen EcoDiesel will benefit from the eTorque mild hybrid assist system offered in the Pentastar V6 and Hemi V8 gas engines.

Some other tidbits uncovered by the Autoblog guys:

• Ram has no plans to enter the midsize pickup truck segment at the moment
• A regular cab version of the redesigned 1500 isn’t coming anytime soon, relegating it to the Classic version.