2025 Ram inline-six engines fail on fuel economy

The HO engine will cost $3,500 more than the Hemi over the same period. Keep in mind when factoring in costs that the spicy-grade Hurricane requires 91-octane fuel.

For 2025, Ram dropped its beloved 5.7-litre Hemi V8 from the full-size 1500's options list, and replaced it with a pair of twin-turbocharged Hurricane 3.0 L inline-six engines, promising progress in terms of enhanced power and performance. Unfortunately, at least one of the new forced-induction smaller-displacement engines actually achieves worse fuel economy than the old pushrod iron-block.

The new inline-six comes in two output flavours: the base plain-jane recipe delivers 420 horsepower and 469 poundfeet of torque; while the spicier high-output option offers 540 hp and 521 lb-ft of torque. For context, the decommissioned 5.7 L Hemi brought 395 hp and 410 lbft to the table.

According to the new official EPA ratings, though, the high-output Hurricane six delivers 15 mpg city, 21 mpg highway, and 17 mpg combined. In contrast, the outgoing Hemi V8 (with 4x4 drivetrain) managed 18/22/19 mpg, respectively. The standard-output Hurricane (in 4x4 trim) is rated at 17/24/19 mpg, making it better than the V8 on the highway, but worse around town. In two-wheel-drive-spec, the SO Hurricane manages 18/25/21 mpg.

Unfortunately, NRCAN ratings weren't available at the time of publication, but if you do the conversion on the EPA numbers, the HO Hurricane delivers roughly 14 L/100 km combined, while the standard engine in 4x4 guise offers 12 L/100 km, like the Hemi did.

EPA arithmetic indicates the standard-output I6 will save $2,000 in fuel costs over five years compared to the outgoing V8, despite being more powerful.

The HO engine will cost $3,500 more than the Hemi over the same period. Keep in mind when factoring in costs that the spicy-grade Hurricane requires 91-octane fuel.

Turbocharged engines often perform great on EPA tests, but see real-world results diverge significantly. Under load, turbocharging compresses the intake charge and increases the volume of air ingested by the combustion chamber. With more air, more fuel must be injected to keep the mixture stoichiometric. Unloaded, however, they will get better mileage idling and coasting.

To be fair, if you reframe the metrics, this story shouldn't be a negative one. The standard-output six-cylinder is more powerful than the 5.7 L V8 and provides more or less equal fuel economy. Meanwhile, the HO engine offers a 37-per-cent increase in horsepower while fuel economy only pays a 10-per-cent penalty.

Regardless, if you're looking for efficiency, the old 3.6 L naturally aspirated Pentastar V6 is the one to have. Equipped with a 3.21-ratio rear end, the four-wheel-drive V6 version achieves 21 mpg (11.2 L/100 km) combined, unchanged from last year.