The best oil-burning powerplants ever mounted between the frame rails of modern pickup trucks are being compiled into a comprehensive list.

Silky Terrier Dog Breed Playing Aro... Silky Terrier Dog Breed Playing Around

Even though it comes from a Cummins family tree, the Chrysler 3.0L EcoDiesel engine is made by VM Motori and is little but formidable. It makes this list because of the instant impact it had on the 12-ton truck category due to the Italian company’s cooperation with Fiat/Chrysler. 

The EcoDiesel, which first appeared on the market in 2014, is now only available in the 1500 Series Ram and Jeep Grand Cherokee. In addition to producing 240 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque (which is actually greater than Chrysler’s venerable 5.7L “Hemi” engine), the industry’s sole light-duty diesel engine is also the most fuel-efficient (achieving 28 miles per gallon on the highway) in the full-size pickup market.

It’s time to make a bold statement. The 5.9L, 12-valve Cummins engine is without a doubt the powerplant that gave birth to the modern-day turbodiesel pickup movement. When compared to Dodge’s big-block V-8 gasoline engine, the “6BT” engine proved to be the most effective alternative because it could produce incredible torque while also achieving significantly better fuel mileage, which was extremely important in a light-duty pickup before the “6BT” engine made its public debut in an August 1988 Dodge Ram pickup,” according to the article.

Powered by Bosch’s VE44 rotary fuel-injection pump, the first generation of 5.9L turbodiesels (models from 1989 to 1993) produced 160 horsepower and 400 lb.-ft. of torque. Hard-core Cummins enthusiasts refer to these engines as “First Gen.” The “Second Generation” engines (1994-1998) are actually preferred by hot-rodders because they are equipped with the preferred Bosch P-7100 injection pump (“P-pump”), which allows them to produce power and torque that is significantly greater than the factory-rated 245hp/505 lb-ft of the ’98 6BTs with only minor modifications.