Consumer Reports, the recognized judge of most everything, has bestowed the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel with the honour of being the top half-ton pickup truck. The popular Ram 1500 EcoDiesel beat out rivals from Ford, GM, Nissan and Toyota in the full size-light-duty pickup truck category.

The diesel-powered half-ton 1500 scored well for it's fuel economy of 27 mpg, and for it's "whisper quiet" interior.

In a statement, Jake Fisher, director of automotive testing for Consumer Reports said: "These are about the same fuel-economy numbers that we typically see in a midsized SUV." He added: "Ram is currently the only truck to offer turbo-diesel technology. It will be interesting to see what impact it will have on the half-ton truck market."

The 3.0-litre turbodiesel Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is a hot seller, since hitting showrooms earlier this year. Chrysler Group says that these trucks sit on dealer lots an average of 13 days, selling about 6 times faster than gasoline powered Ram 1500s.

The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel earned a score of 82 in road testing, one point higher than the gasoline powered Ram tested by Consumer Reports a year ago. This is the second consecutive year that the magazine has recommended the Ram 1500 over others in the half-ton segment.

This back to back selection by the magazine "is evidence the Ram Truck team is not going to stand still. We’re committed to continuous improvement in all aspects of quality and performance in our products and the Ram is no exception," said Doug Betts, Chrysler’s senior vice president for quality in a statement.

Consumers often trust vehicle opinions offered by Consumer Reports, partly due to the fact that the magazine purchases it's test vehicles from dealerships, and does not receive them from manufacturers.

By Linda Aylesworth - autoExpert.ca