The Ramcharger name is back after a 30 year hiatus, and it’s here in the form of a brilliant series-hybrid pickup truck with a big battery and a big V6 gas engine. It’s called the 2025 Ram Ramcharger, and you can think of this plug-in hybrid as the missing link between the regular gas only-powered Ram 1500 and the all-electric Ram 1500 REV, blending electric might with the benefits of internal combustion. While Ram previously teased an electric truck with some sort of range extender, few expected it to be this beautifully executed, melding familiar technology with futuristic propulsion, sports car-rivaling zero-to-60 mph acceleration figures (thanks to 663 horsepower), and a claimed 690 miles of combined range — with about 145 of those being all-electric. Here’s what we know about one of the most exciting pickup truck debuts in decades.
Make no mistake, this thing is classic Chrysler, going in for the kill when other automakers are pondering the status quo, listening to the desires of America, and getting the people going — think the Hellcat engine, the minivan, the Wrangler, and the 1993 Dodge Ram. This new truck could change everything, especially because nobody else is doing what it’s doing.
A Gas V6 Engine Acts As A Generator For A Big Battery
Let’s get straight into Ram’s new hybrid pickup. Underneath the 2025 Ram Ramcharger is a massive yet somewhat modest battery pack. Don’t get me wrong, it still features a substantial 92 kWh capacity (huge for a hybrid — it’s about what you’d find in some Tesla Model S variants, and bigger than any Model 3 pack), but that’s far off of the Ram 1500 REV’s 168 kWh base pack.
Still, that’s enough juice to get you an estimated 145 miles as a pure EV alone, and it’s of course plenty of juice to dish out 7.2 kW of battery bank power for tailgates, jobsites, and emergencies. Imagine running your corded tools off of this thing. Mind you, the Ram Ramcharger only runs on a 400-volt architecture, meaning DC fast charging speeds top out at 145 kW (that’ll get you “up to” 50 miles of EV range in just 10 minutes, per Ram). That so-so charging speed may sound like a bummer, but it really isn’t, because there’s another way the Ramcharger keeps moving — just fill it up with gas.
Need to tow a questionable car across three or four states? No problem, a gasoline-powered 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 has you covered so you can yank the truck’s 14,000 pounds of towing capacity without worrying too much about range. Payload capacity clocks in at 2,625 pounds, just in case you were wondering.
Oh, and did I mention that this 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 isn’t connected to the wheels in any way? Instead, it just spins a 130kW (174 hp) generator, which can recharge the batteries or dump power to the drive motors. Basically, the Ramcharger is an enormous BMW i3, just without the carbon fiber monocoque.
The 145 mile range is a ridiculously solid figure for everyday use, but maybe not a headline number in a world of 240-mile EV trucks. Still, Ram does tout a targeted combined range of 690 miles, which should do plenty. Also excessive? Try on 663 horsepower, 615 lb.-ft. of torque, and zero-to-60 mph in 4.4 seconds. Those latter figures come courtesy of a 250 kW motor up front and a 238 kW motor out back (note the independent rear suspension replacing the solid axle found on all gas Ram 1500s to date), with the rear motor featuring a locking differential for when the going gets seriously slippery.
Stealth Wealth
Of course, most people probably won’t notice a Ramcharger on the road, chiefly because it looks extremely normal. The taillights and tailgate on higher trims are borrowed directly from the Ram 1500 REV electric pickup truck, while the front end is similar to that on high-end trims of the facelifted gasoline-powered 2025 Ram 1500. The result is a truck that looks, well, like a truck. Big grille up front, big bodysides, and little but taillights, lug nuts, and badges to mark green credentials. Even the inside is pretty normal, now that gasoline-powered Ram 1500s gain an optional 10.25-inch passenger-side screen.
Mind you, “normal” by Ram standards still means the cabin’s absolutely spectacular. With a hard push upmarket over the past few years, Ram is dominating the “Cowboy Cadillac” segment with rich materials, lush scents, and impressive tech. Seriously, the next time you’re at an auto show, poke your nose into a Ram Longhorn. It smells like a Kardashian’s walk-in closet in there.
While there’s no Longhorn trim on offer, the top dog Tungsten model is mighty enticing. Knurled metallic accents? Check. A sueded headliner? Check. Level 2 hands-free advanced driver assistance? Check. Glass surfaces? Check. A 23-speaker, 1,228-watt Klipsch Reference Premiere audio system. Check. Hang on, is Klipsch still owned by Voxx International? It is? Well, I guess we’ll just have to judge this system with our own ears. Still, with luxuries like these, who needs a Mercedes-Benz EQS anyway?
Alright, so reveling in luxury is a bit crass considering the cost of living crisis, so let’s walk down the range. There’s the Limited sitting second from the top, then the Laramie, then the more sensible Big Horn, then the fleet-spec Tradesman. I wouldn’t be surprised if the walk-up from Tradesman to Tungsten could swallow an entire truck, but since Ram hasn’t released pricing, we’ll just have to twiddle our thumbs.
Why It Might Be The Perfect Truck
The 2025 Ram Ramcharger offers nearly all of the upsides of an electric pickup truck with none of the downsides. Imagine driving around on electric power nearly all the time, then use the gasoline-powered generator and the robust network of gas stations to road trip and tow. You can juice up at home overnight, travel to work, then run the obligatory after-work errands, then head home on electric power alone. I bet the average person would run the truck on as an EV only for 99% of their usage.
However, if you want to go on a road trip or tow a beached whale back into the sea or just generally explore the corner cases Americans often buy vehicles for, you can because there’s a 3.6-liter V6 shoulder to lean on once you exhaust the electric range.
Hell, this thing might even get better gas mileage than a regular V6 truck, given that the generator can be run in a fixed RPM band for optimal efficiency. Oh, and the range extender could also pay dividends both ways, as a 2020 study published in the UK’s Institute of Engineering and Technology journal found that “Compared to an all-electric in the proposed SHEV configuration the battery peak-to-peak voltage and average and peak power are reduced. These contribute to an improved battery energy usage and potentially lifetime operation.”
The electric transition won’t be overnight and it definitely won’t be painless, but more plug-in series-hybrid vehicles should make the next decade easier. Ram is certainly on the pulse of now and, depending on both pricing and how the Ramcharger drives, it could have a slam-dunk on its hands.
From Badass Beginnings
We’d be remiss if we didn’t at least talk about the Ramcharger name.
For three generations (well, two in America), the Ramcharger was a Dodge. Basically, it was a cut-down pickup truck all SUV’d-up, then thrust into battle against titans like the Chevrolet K5 Blazer and Ford Bronco. Needless to say, it was awesome and is sorely missed.
The first-generation Ramcharger (pictured above) and the second-generation Ramcharger) pictured below both ruled, but their 19-year reign proved just long enough to see the dawn of the four-door SUV. Needless to say, two-door SUV sales never really recovered.
Oh, and it’s a crying shame that the U.S. never got the third-generation Mexican Ramcharger because just look at it. If this thing isn’t the most kickass use of Caravan taillights, I don’t know what is.
Let’s face it: For most Americans, the Ramcharger name has been dead for 30 years. While Ram has flirted with the Ramcharger name before, it’s usually been emblazoned on wireless charging pads rather than on the outsides of vehicles. Now, it’s back from the dead, and I have some mixed feelings about it.
It feels a bit weird for Ram to plaster the Ramcharger name on something that isn’t an SUV of some sort. Sure, Jeep cannibalization is a real concern, but this set of badges might take some getting used to. Imagine if Ford had called the F-150 Lightning the Bronco, and you may be able to see where I’m coming from. Whatever it’s called though, the 2025 Ram Ramcharger is the most exciting upcoming pickup truck because it takes electrification and puts a distinctly made-for-America twist on it.
(Photo credits: Ram, Dodge)
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I like the idea of a series hybrid, but I am concerned how this truck will perform when the battery is degraded. I presume this truck depends on reserve energy in the battery (either from plugging in or charging during times of light load) to provide power to tow, haul, or drive up a hill while maintaining highway speeds. If the battery catastrophically fails (unlikely) or degrades substantially (which will happen eventually), will this truck still be a useful vehicle? If the battery fails in a parallel hybrid, you get a slow and less efficient but fully functional ICE vehicle. I am not sure that will be the case with a series hybrid, particularly one that is intended to be used for tasks that require a lot of energy like towing or hauling heavy loads. Series hybrids seem to have a lot of advantages over parallel hybrids, but series hybrids have the caveat that an expensive battery replacement will be required at some point during the life of the vehicle.
Other than that concern, this truck is extremely cool. My dream vehicle is a full-size PHEV pickup with a long EV only range, and this truck clearly fits that description. If Ram could prove this truck is still useful with a degraded battery I would buy one of these as soon as they came out.
Hopefully the Charge cycle will not vary as much with Gasoline generated power. As a kid I recall quite unhappily the whole capping a battery due to not fully discharging the RC battery, it also had an ill effect to leave them on the charger for too long, or charge them too fast. maybe idling a gasoline engine will do a decent job of keeping a steady trickle and thus lengthen the life of the battery.
I am almost more concerned with 6 + month old gasoline especially current mixes and how that effects the operation over time of the Pentastar
When I have this set up in a wrangler someday I will try to run non oxy and stabil or road trip enough to burn some gas.
I am old and remember when ICE engines would progressively worsen and struggle. Within one year they would often have fouled plugs, bad wiring, oil leaks, misfires, bad timing, leaky coolant, bad starters, worn-out points, and condenser. They got progressively worse usually before 100000 miles. Technology has growing pains.
I wouldn’t doubt the pennstar can directly power the electric motors. Sure you won’t get the full 663hp, but why would you need it
that depends on the generator connected to the motors in this case. in this scenario the only power currently comes from the electric motors anyway.
That is why I would like to know how it performs as the battery degrades. My suspicion is that performance will not change as battery capacity decreases over time. One advantage of a big battery is that it can degrade considerably (50% or more) and still store a large amount of energy. Obviously, battery degradation will reduce EV only range, but I can live with that. A catastrophic battery failure would presumably affect performance, but those failures are extremely rare.
The more I think about it, the less concerned I am. I want one of these trucks.
Sounds great! …Now if only it wasn’t built by Stellantis.
While I’m all about PHEVs, I do wish some of this battery was being doled out to say, 4 different PHEV cars instead. I just have trouble getting excited about putting all those resources into a 70k truck. In general it’s not a bad idea though, and if Stellantis can actually crank them out, they’ll be a hit.
Also, if there’s anything that we can count on, until the heat death of the universe, Chrysler will be jamming that Pentastar V6 into things.
Or four PHEV small/mid-sized trucks. This idea is perfect for me but the size is not. Now if Stellatnis puts a similar package together in a Maverick or Ranger/Colorado competitor, sign me up!
It’s a darn sight better than shoving a battery twice as large into a full EV truck that will still end up with an unusably small range. This is what electrification of full-size trucks should look like.
I can definitely agree with that.
I’m mostly pro EV, but jamming incredible loads of batteries into an F-150 so that it still can’t really tow or haul any significant distance, but now weighs a bazillion pounds so that it can really make pedestrians explode with Death Race-like gore on contact, is obviously a waste.
This is a very American solution to a very American problem. Well done, America.
Nailed it. Our giant trucks are using too much gas so we’re going to solve by combining 3/4 of a giant ICE truck plus 3/4 of a giant electric truck at 1.5x the price financed for 1.5x as many months. It’ll have 1.5x the power and go 1.5x as far.
God love us, that is indeed the most American solution imaginable. We’ve never found a problem we can’t bigger our way out of!
seriously.
I’m guessing the problem statement is “how can you use the most resources possible in a vehicle that will generally be used as a basic light passenger vehicle but may occasionally be used to tow a trailer for recreation? Bonus points if it weighs so much that is is classified as a commercial class 2 vehicle”
All pickups are class 2 trucks man
fair enough, guess I should have put class 2B-3, 8500-10,000+ lb GVWR commercial vehicle
THIS IS ELECTRIFYING NEWS. It’s what I’ve been asking for and what I really think is most needed in the market. Electric for all my in-town use. High payload and towing for pulling my camper. Those are closer to 3/4 ton truck numbers for payload and towing. They are certainly on the very high end of a 1/2 ton and that was what I was most surprised by. The ability to boondock using the battery from the truck should be amazing. This should have great stability as a tow vehicle too, with all the extra battery weight down low. It should get 80-90 miles of electric towing and then you can recharge at the campground if you have electric hookups, so it should even cut your gas use while towing considerably.
The name is perfect. I have a 2021 RAM 1500 as a tow vehicle and DD right now that I planned to drive for 10 years, but this might make me switch in a few years.
GM had the identical Voltec powertrain just SITTING there since 2012 and didn’t do this. That’s a crime against humanity.
Legit comment. I would’ve threw money at anyone giving me just 60 miles of range with the engine backup. My commute is 43 miles mostly highway and I drive a Volt. When I get to work I charge and do the same when I get home. Color me interested in this even with me having a “reserved” Silverado EV.
Ugh. I could write a book. Imagine, just for a second if, instead of all the money GM put into the ELR, they had made a PHEV 2nd gen Equinox? Don’t get me wrong, I love the ELR, but, it ended up being kind of a waste. And then, yeah, going on from that to PHEV other stuff, like the Malibu (which the 3rd gen Malibu hybrid basically runs a Voltec powertrain just with a hybrid sized battery) and Traverse. And then just completely discarding the hybrid transmission that was in the trucks, rather than steadily improving it.
Yeah. GM is going to GM, and constantly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory every chance they get. It’s so frustrating to watch, their electric rollout is going so poorly, and they really have nothing to fall back on.
not to mention the CT6 PHEV that nobody knew existed. that one was RWD, too.
My parents have a CT6 PHEV and it’s amazing. It was really cheap at the time they bought it because no-one knew what it was. It was like $42k with 7,000 miles on it as a certified pre-owned 1 year old car.
$42K is not “really cheap.”
It’s relative, but it is when the car was $76,000 new. That’s a 45% drop on a one year old car, and it was way cheaper than any other standard used CT6 at the time, and with the certified pre-owned, they were actually getting a longer warranty than a new one.
I had no idea it existed until I read your comment. WTF GM??
60-100K? It’s nice that it exists but you pay out the nose for it so, as a rich person’s toy, this isn’t really “game-changing”…. Is it?
I mean, that’s not much more than what regular trucks cost so, yes?
Full size pickups sell across such a massive price range that you kind of have to be specific when making comparisons, but I agree with you both. All trucks cost an arm and a leg these days, and if Stellantis intends to make money on these they’ll still cost an arm and a leg….plus ten or fifteen grand.
The cost of the option over the base powertrain will be what is worth noting, not a “Everything costs more because of inflation, trucks are now a rich man’s toy” whining.
Haha yep and I put my guess right there in my comment. When this thing finally debuts after 3 years of delays we’ll see how close I was!
Why the Pentastar instead of the Hurricane? What’s the long lattitudianal tank sitting in front of the motor? Coolant tank?
The electric motor can only generate about 170hp so there’s no need for a more powerful gas engine.
It’s the same as GM’s voltec system where the gas engine doesn’t generate the full power need and relies on the battery to fill the gaps.
The upside is efficiency. The downside is that, if you forget to put it into tow/haul mode, it isn’t going to go very fast with a trailer
A V6 is only 3 cylinders deep. An I6 is 6 cylinders deep. You need room for the hybrid bits.
I thought the hybrid bits go in the transmission tunnel in place of a transmission.
If you look at the pics, it appears to be all the generator bits are in a “bellhousing” bolted to the back of the engine. They don’t go back anywhere near as a transmission would though.
Ramcharger has always been a truck so I have no problem with the name. It makes much more sense than calling the Ford Mach E a Mustang. The Ramcharger is handsome and except for the eye watering pricing that’s sure to come, I like everything about it.
I LOVE SERIES HYBRIDS
Amen… now we just need more cars instead of these huge-ass trucks!
I believe they’re targeting a starting price in the $60Kish range for a base trim/config.
This will likely sell well. Wouldn’t surprise me if a loaded one was near $100K.
Man, a $100,000 1500-class pickup truck. In 2000 I bought a ’98 F-150 for $8000!
Isn’t this just ridiculously complex? Three motors, two different motor types and a 92 kWh battery pack? More complexity means more things that could and will go wrong and how well does this fit with the image of a trustworthy workhorse?
I dunno. I mean, there’s no transmission to fail, no transfer case, no driveshafts. The engine isn’t changing RPMs all the time (and may rarely need to run, really).
It may very well be a stout workhorse, not unlike the BMW i3 ReX.
Yeah, this is pretty much a jumbo size Chevy Volt in Truckasaurus form.
But I think Volt’s ICE can drive the drivetrain.. this can’t.
OK, so I meant in that it’s a serial hybrid. You’re right in that the obvious difference here is there’s no combo transaxle that lets the ICE power the wheels on its own. So I guess it’s more like a diesel-electric locomotive?
This is the combination I’ve been waiting for… its been proven in locomotives, bulldozers, mining trucks etc for years now and someone has finally put it in a usable consumer sized form
First Gen Volt was series hybrid where the engine couldn’t drive power train. Second Gen they put a clutch pack in to allow direct drive but only in very limited circumstances
Both have the same Achilles Heel. First Gen Volts will sometimes cut your power in half if you, say, drove around the parking lot at Kent State looking for a spot for too long. The Ramcharger will do the same if you haul a trailer and forget to put it in tow/haul mode and drain the battery
I would bet the truck will be smart enough to identify towing/hauling conditions based on other factors than the operator pressing a button. The newest work truck I use, 2023 F250XL, automatically identifies a trailer once the lights are plugged in.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Yes, that’s good point, and maybe it is a really good solution. I’d still be worried about the complexity of the electronics and the hw and sw integration, but maybe its manageable and not worse than other modern ICE powered car..
I am not a Dodge fan, but this is a very clever solution, and you are right, they removed a lot of moving components which would otherwise have made this far too complex. Well done Dodge.
Oh hell yes. PHEV trucks. About time.
Historically, the PHEVs with the best staying power are those with the most battery range. EREVs, if you will. 145 miles and 145kW charging are absolutely not overkill, they will make a big difference in fuel consumption.
The one thing that concerns me is the 170hp generator. For reference, the Honda Clarity’s genset is 103hp, and that can feel underpowered while climbing mountains on an empty battery, so I think 170hp might be a noticeable bottleneck while towing.
No doubt, BUT, with the battery full charged and the generator running, it’s likely that it’ll take quite a bit of distance before the battery is fully drained given the delta between the average power needed over a given distance and 170 horsepower.
If you think it’ll be fine, I’ll take your word over mine.
The Volt does the same. It uses the battery to fill the gaps. The only time it becomes an issue is if you drain the battery. The Ramcharger will have a tow/haul mode that should leave a large battery buffer (maybe the whole battery?) so that you have enough juice to make it up a mountain pass with a trailer without the 170hp being an issue
That said, some poor SOB is going to forget to put it into.tow/haul and have their power cut while the engine charges the battery at some point.
Thats a mistake you make exactly once
This has the ability of a huge buffer with the large battery. We are also in a time where the truck should be able to predict a buffer needed using the GPS position, destination, and current vehicle performance. I’m sure it will have a “hold mode” of some kind. My Volt had that in 2014. My 330e lets me set the battery hold in 10 percent increments for a lot of control.
This looks great. I can definitely see this outselling the EV by a lot.
Always depending on the price.. and of course “market adjustments”
And the production mix they decide on
50% top trim, 49.9% mid, 0.1% base
Yeah unfortunately it’ll probably be priced close to 70k I’d guess. Plus dealer markup and that’s about 80k.
Oh I need this so bad. Would be a perfect vehicle for towing heavy caravan and commuting here in the Northern Europe. Now I had to do with Touareg TDi, which is great for towing, but bit thirsty for commuting.
This would be the perfect vehicle for me.
I currently have a Tacoma but with the addition of a 3rd dependent it’s too small.
I haul and tow stuff often so I need something capable of towing 5,000lbs+
I drive a lot for work, usually 2,500 miles per month, and I have to drive in all types of weather in rural areas….
So right now… fit 3 kids in the back? Yes. Can tow? Yes. More efficient to max out my mileage reimbursement? Yes. AWD/4wd? Yes also.
It’s basically the perfect single car solution that meets all my needs.
The most interesting thing by far about this setup is the size of the battery. That’s a pretty huge jump from the tiny batteries common in other plug-ins. Won’t that make this crazy expensive? I totally get the appeal of that much electric range but doesn’t this give you, like, all of the cost of an ICE with almost all of the cost of an EV added on top? I would think a battery about half this size would be a better balance of value vs performance but who knows. I need to see some pricing.
Seconding that, it looks awesome, but I can’t imagine it’s not incredibly expensive
I would be willing to bet they need the big battery to pass the SAE towing tests. You have to be able to haul your rated capacity up a long incline, and it may suck down the entire 145 miles of battery capacity to do that. On the plus side, coming down the other side it should recharge a lot of that.
Looks cool, the wt spec goes hard. The new hurricane trucks are exciting too. 540hp with a good transmission. That same engine, with less power and more weight to haul, in the grand wagoneer does 60 in 4.4. I’d have to imagine the new ram shaves a tenth or two off that. I am curious as to how much the ram charger weighs…
” ..that’ll get you “up to” 50 miles of EV range in just 10 seconds”
That should be ten minutes ,right?
I am honestly amazed this setup isn’t already common in a road vehicle. ICE/Electric propulsion has been used for a really long time in old submarines and modern trains and ships so it makes a ton of sense to use a similar configuration in a car or truck. Trust Dodge to stroll into the market and just unzip. I was on the list for a Lightning, but bailed due to Ford shenanigans. I am on the list for an EV Silverado, but looks like Chevy is going to play the same games so we will see. If Dodge can keep their heads out of the beancounter’s bungholes and give us a reasonably affordable version then this will probably move to #1 on my EV list. More so if they can shove this system into something smaller than the USS Ranger.
The Volt did it for years but never sold in large numbers. Bob Lutz thought they should have put that power train in the Silverado and I agree
GM also did a piss poor job of marketing it, to the point where it seemed like a lot of their own people didn’t really know how the Voltec powertrain worked
Bob Lutz kind of tried too, with the VIA Vtrux.
I’ve thought the same but trains and subs are very different cars and trucks. Or are they? power needs are power needs. This sounds like the perfect platform for a camper.
Trains don’t have a battery. It’s generator (or alternator) to motor controller, to motor.(Until very recently; they’re playing with the idea)
Diesel-electric subs used to charge enormous lead-acid battery banks and run on those when submerged. The motors would run directly from the generators while surfaced. I don’t think they could use the batteries to supplement the generators while surfaced. It seems like a bad idea when your best survival tool is to submerge and hide.
I agree that this could be a brilliant camper platform! They should offer a 30A RV outlet in the bed.
Union Pacific (among others) are doing more than just playing around with the idea these days. I get what you mean, though…
https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/up-announces-purchase-of-10-flxdrive-battery-electric-locomotives/
Probably just a semantics thing on my part. By “playing around” I meant small-quantity pilot programs and prototypes. Makes sense to get things working well in small quantities before rolling out in volume.
This is how “PHEVs” should be built. However I do notice a lack of other cab and bed configurations even though the picture of the frame with the battery pack has nothing intruding into the cab that would necessitate having a big rear seat to hide a battery under.
Also what charging socket does it use? I wouldn’t want to buy one with CCS when the second model year one will come with NACS.
It’s more HP, Torque, Range, and “Truck” than I need but I like it a good deal.
This is how the Jeep 4XEs should be built as well.
Stellantis claims to be switching to NACS entirely in 2025, so I would assume this is likely that and not CCS, although we may see launch trucks with CCS and second model years move to NACS, but that seems like a large waste of engineering resources. And if that is in fact the case, this thing will be an insanely good cross country truck compared to any current or future BEV only truck
Realistically, most of these will be charged 90% at home or office. If you are road-tripping or hauling, you are mostly depending on the gas generator. On a long strenuous trip you might deplete the battery and need a top-up but otherwise it will be charge when convenient or not at all.
I don’t think the plug type matters. Fast charging is expensive, so you won’t save money by charging at level 3 stations. I’m not sure any PHEV really needs fast charging capabilities, much less a vehicle with a 100+ mile electric only range. I suspect the overwhelming majority of drivers will literally never fast charge this vehicle.
Of course it depends on your area, in mine running my PHEV on public charger electrons is more expensive than running it on gas and I live in an area with some of the most expensive gas in the US and about average electric rates. So yeah no reason to fast charge.
Hope they have something with a smaller engine/battery/power output. Don’t need Hellcat level of power for a truck.
Since all the power/torque comes from the electric motors and battery, they only need to have an engine in there capable of generating enough electricity to keep ahead of the power needs once the batteries are drained, so I would think a smaller engine configured specifically for generation would work too. Maybe that’s what they did and the V6 was as small as they could go, but I am betting they couldn’t bring themselves to advertise a 4 banger in this pipe swinger.
The engine/generator will only do 170hp. For large power needs, they’ll have a tow/haul mode that leaves a large battery buffer to fill in any gaps so it’s not an issue.
The first Gen Volt did the same thing
The Pentastar V6 is quite torquey by nature and fuel mapping can enhance that. So it’s not likely to have any problems putting some muscle to high generator current loads. The article doesn’t say anything about it, but I’d suspect that this version of the Pentastar is a non-VVT version because it’s not going to be revving high, but rather delivering all its grunt at low-to-mid RPM ranges.
I don’t follow all the details of Chrysler products, but maybe some versions of Jeeps and Chargers and Challengers have gotten the 3.6 with the performance fuel mapping of some sort, but unfortunately a lot of them are sold in milder tune so people’s opinions of the engine are going to be varied. Having a Dodge Caravan R/T in the garage means I’ve experienced what that engine can do when unleashed. It will have zero problems spinning a generator. (Our R/T Caravan also has an “Eco” button on the dash which engages what we affectionately call “Boring Mode”. It changes the fuel map to max economy, and it goes from ludicrous sleeper mode to soccer-mom minivan mode at the push of a button. Needless to say, that button is never pushed except maybe in winter on uphill surfaces where traction control isn’t exactly helpful but just reduced torque and power is an advantage to stay just under the traction limit.)
Absolutely. I’d love this with a 50kWh battery, rear drive, and a 4-cyl for the range extender. A lot cheaper, usefully more efficient (for both mpg and kWh/mi), and it would have a colossal payload. Could still do 90% of my driving on electric, and when I did need to tow long distances, could just start off with a full battery and command the engine to be on the whole time (I don’t do much mountain climbing). Could you imagine the payload? It’d be over 3,500 pounds! Even if the AWD and V6 stayed, a smaller battery would still make a lighter, cheaper, even more capable truck that could still do almost all the daily needs, for probably $7k-$8k less.
Thrilled that they’re putting something like the Ramcharger out there – hopefully some even more rational options will follow.
Chances a system like this makes it into the next Dodge Charger?
I’d guess low, because that platform has apparently been designed for the Hurricane instead of the Pentastar, and the all-electric version will probably be enough to hit their CAFE target without a hybrid option, but, it would be pretty sweet nonetheless
Who knew MOPAR had all the EV names they needed in the catalog already? Between this and Charger it’s like they’re made for electrification.
10/10 name reuse