Back in 2014, automotive site bought a 2014 EcoDiesel to document its performance and livability over 50,084 miles. They liked the truck, but more interestingly, they got some great insights on its real-world fuel economy in all kinds of conditions.

A 2014 Ram EcoDiesel is mechanically identical to a 2016 model you’d find at a dealership today. The 3.0-liter VM Motori engine is rated to 240 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque, and the truck can tow more than 9,000 pounds in some configurations.

The particular Ram EcoDiesel Dan Edmunds and his crew adopted had 4WD and a 3.55 rear axle ratio. Edmunds said the truck did at least 9,307 miles, or 19 percent of their test, towing a 6,000-plus pound trailer.

Here’s of exactly how much fuel the truck used while they had it:

22 Combined (19 City/27 Highway)

21.8 (4.6 gallons per 100 miles)

22.9 (4.4 gallons per 100 miles)

18.1 (5.5 gallons per 100 miles)

27.9 (20.7 when towing)

17.4 (15.1 when towing)

700.2 miles

50,084 miles

On top of the price of diesel itself, Edmunds said his team went through 46.3 gallons ($246.99 worth) of —that blue stuff you have to drop into a separate tank on modern “clean” diesel vehicles.

Edmunds’ review of the vehicle is resoundingly positive especially when it comes to economy; “Our staffers drove it more than 400 miles on a tank of fuel 68 times; 500 miles or more 32 times; and at least 600 miles on eight occasions. We even squeezed 700.2 miles out of it once,” he writes. That range was achieved with the truck’s standard 26-gallon diesel tank.

The main takeaway here is that after 50,000 hard miles, a good portion of that towing approximately the truck’s own weight again, the Ram EcoDiesel still managed to just about hit its EPA estimate for combined driving fuel economy.

Taking towing out of the equation, and they even eeked past the EPA number on their best day. Either the long-term test drivers at Edmunds.com do a lot of light-footed downhill driving, or the Ram EcoDiesel is the real deal.

Interestingly, they’re also long-term testing a Ford F-150 2.7 EcoBoost right now, which they say “currently lags behind its EPA rating by three full MPG.” Can’t wait to hear how that one performs, especially since I’ve seen some excellent economy performance from the Ford myself.

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