Ram Renaissance Continues: 2014 Ram 1500 to Showcase Diesel Power

Light-duty pickup customers, your long wait is finally over: The 2014 Ram 1500 will offer a robust and efficient V6 turbodiesel engine when it goes on sale in the third quarter of this year, and that low-emissions powerplant will be mated to the TorqueFlite 8 eight-speed automatic transmission—another Ram-only advantage in the full-size pickup segment.

The brand didn’t provide much in the way of specifics about the new diesel engine, but since it will certainly be the same unit offered in the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ram owners can likely expect a similar output of 240 hp and a whopping 420 lb.-ft. of torque. Now, 240 horses isn’t exactly exceptional in a full-size pickup, but that kind of twisting power certainly is; in fact, it’s the same amount of class-leading torque that can be found in the 2013 Ford F-150 with its EcoBoost engine. But while the Blue Oval’s engine only delivers 22 mpg on the highway, the Ram’s diesel is expected to improve efficiency performance even beyond its already best-in-segment mark of 25 mpg highway.

“Truck owners have been emphatically asking for it, and Ram will be the only manufacturer to offer a diesel powertrain in the half-ton segment with the 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel,” said Fred Diaz, president and CEO of both the Ram Truck Brand and Chrysler de Mexico. “The half-ton truck market is incredibly competitive, and although we’re honored the Ram 1500 has received a number of prestigious awards, we cannot rest on what we have accomplished, we must keep pushing.”