With specifications for the 2019 Ford F-150 Power Stroke diesel already out, and the details on the 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel and Chevy Silverado Duramax (and its GMC Sierra twin) trickling out, we felt it was a good time to start comparing the full-size trucks' light-duty diesels. Bear in mind, we've only driven one of these new diesel trucks, so we'll be sticking to numbers for now. Some numbers haven't been announced yet, either, but stay tuned, because we'll be updating this post with additional specifications as they become available. And if you want to compare any other versions of these trucks with other vehicles, be sure to check out our comparison tool. Now let's start comparing, starting with our big chart of numbers below.
As we can plainly see, these trucks are quite closely matched. Each one has six cylinders, a displacement of 3.0 liters and a turbocharger to boost it. The output of each is somewhat close, too. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is the torque king at 480 pound-feet, 20 more than the GM trucks and 40 more than the Ford. The GM trucks win on power, though, with 277 ponies, 17 more than the Ram, and 27 more than the Ford. GM does report that you get their trucks' peak 460 pound-feet of torque from 1,500 rpm to 3,000 rpm, whereas the others only report peak torque at a particular point in the rev band, but all of these trucks should have wide, flat torque curves as you would expect from modern turbodiesels.
As we can plainly see, these trucks are quite closely matched. Each one has six cylinders, a displacement of 3.0 liters and a turbocharger to boost it. The output of each is somewhat close, too. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is the torque king at 480 pound-feet, 20 more than the GM trucks and 40 more than the Ford. The GM trucks win on power, though, with 277 ponies, 17 more than the Ram, and 27 more than the Ford. GM does report that you get their trucks' peak 460 pound-feet of torque from 1,500 rpm to 3,000 rpm, whereas the others only report peak torque at a particular point in the rev band, but all of these trucks should have wide, flat torque curves as you would expect from modern turbodiesels.
Engine output is only one part of the truck performance equation. We also have towing and payload capacity, as well as fuel economy. With towing, the Ram 1500 is the current leader with a maximum capacity of 12,560 pounds. That tops the Ford F-150's 11,400-pound tow rating by well over 1,000 pounds. The F-150 can carry 2,020 pounds in its bed, but we don't know yet whether that's better or worse than the Ram or the GM trucks. We also don't have numbers for the GM trucks' towing capacities.
As for fuel economy, the Ford F-150 manages a thoroughly impressive 22 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway with two-wheel drive. Choosing four-wheel drive drops those numbers to 20 and 25 respectively. The fuel economy numbers for the Ram, Chevy and GMC haven't been revealed yet, but for some comparison, we can look at the old Ram EcoDiesel. That truck's best fuel economy was 20 in the city and 27 on the highway with two-wheel drive. We expect the new model will do better, but we can't say whether it will quite beat out the Ford's high numbers.
Just as the engines are closely matched among these trucks, the drivetrains are, too. The GM trucks and the Ford both use a 10-speed automatic transmission sending power to either the rear wheels or all four. Ram hasn't announced its transmission for the diesel yet, but since the old diesel used an eight-speed unit and the gas engines all use eight-speed transmissions, the new diesel will probably have eight cogs. Whatever the transmission is, it will have the buyer's choice of two-wheel or four-wheel drive.
Where these trucks may differ the most is in pricing and availability. The Ram's EcoDiesel will be the most widely available engine, since it can be paired with any trim level from the bare-bones Tradesman to the stylish Rebel. It can even be had in the 2019 Ram 1500 Classic, the previous-generation truck that is still in production. The Silverado and Sierra have slightly more restrictive offerings, keeping the diesel engine for Silverado LT and higher, excluding the WT and Custom, and the Sierra SLE and higher, excluding the base trim. The Ford F-150 diesel engine is restricted to XLT, Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum, leaving out XL and Limited. As for availability at dealers, the Ford F-150 Power Stroke is available right now, while Ram and GM diesel trucks are coming later this year.
As for pricing, Chevy Silverado is the leader for now, since Ram pricing hasn't been announced. The cheapest diesel Silverado is an LT starting at $42,385. Right behind it is the Sierra SLE diesel at $43,285. The F-150 is the most expensive with a starting price of $46,255, a result of requiring certain options to have the diesel on the XLT trim. There's a good chance the Ram 1500 will end up being the cheapest, though, since the diesel engine will be available on the lowest Tradesman trim, something the other companies don't do.
Update: Text regarding torque figures has been updated for clarity.
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