Boy, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has been one busy auto group this year. 2018 has seen a lot of changes for vehicles under the FCA umbrella, starting with their new Global Medium Engine, a 2.0-liter turbocharged I4 engine that showed up in the 2018 Jeep® Wrangler JL during the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show, and again in the 2019 Ram 1500 during the 2018 Detroit Auto Show. Then, to improve their engines, FCA invented a new aluminum alloy for their cylinder heads. Their latest achievement is landing on the WardsAuto “10 Best Engines List” with their already award-winning Pentastar V6 engine, now with eTorque.
That’s right, the same mild-hybrid system that showed up in the 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL and the 2019 Ram 1500 has won FCA a place on WardsAuto “10 Best Engines List”. When eTorque first showed up in the Jeep Wrangler JL, it was only a tease of hybrid functions coming to the off-road automaker, including auto stop/start, electric power assist, extended fuel shut-off, transmission shift management, intelligent battery charging, and regenerative braking. Later, when eTorque popped up on the 2019 Ram 1500, we saw even more potential.
The 2019 Ram 1500 lineup comes standard with a 305hp 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine, able to generate 269 lb-ft of torque, and comes standard with the eTorque mild-hybrid system. Able to generate an additional 90 lb-ft of torque within 400 milliseconds, drivers get 90 lb-ft of torque from a cold start and can ramp up to over 300 lb-ft of torque for a tough job. There’s a lot of potential.