[jfettig]

After five months and 8,000 miles I thought I would give my own short review of what I have experienced with my Pentastar v6. Most of my use is daily driving, but I also do a fair amount where it needs to have decent power and capability. I have the 1500 CC outdoorsman 4x4, 3.55 gears, 5'7" box, 17 " wheels with HD rear coil springs. I was looking for a truck that would be good for daily driving (90%) with decent gas mileage, but also decent for hauling a boat or camper, four wheeler, wood, dirt etc. in the back at other times. most of what I throw in the box would be less than a thousand pounds. the 1500 with Pentastar/8 sp transmission seemed to fit the bill.

This is what I have experienced:

• Daily MPG - 40 mile commute each day, varies between 18 and 19 mpg (hand calculated) on rolling hills that are mostly 55 mph roads in Northern Michigan. - EVIC varies between 19 and 20 mpg. Very few stretches of road in this region are flat.
• Power is good and a feels better than the 10 yr. old Z71 I traded in that had a 5.3 v8 with 3.73 gears. 8 speed tranny probably helps. it's not going to throw you back in the seat if you step on it at 55 mph, but it is a long way from slow.
• Inside the cab is great, 8.4a Uconnect is very good.
• Crew cab has a lot of room for the three kids in the back.
• Towing (rated for 7,150 LB) a 3,000 Lb. boat is no problem. pulling a 6,500 lb.(loaded) camper with three young kids and my wife is ok, but you know the truck is working and you would need a good amount of room if trying to pass someone. Can drive 55 - 60 comfortably though. For weekend camping within a hundred miles of home, it has been fine. Steep hills while towing it will run 4000 rpm and there is not a whole lot of power left but I don't have to keep it at 55 on those hills.
• Towing mpg - my last camping trip was about 160 miles round trip - EVIC said I averaged 12.1 mpg so actual was probably closer to 11.
• On a few longer trips of 400 to 500 miles with mostly 55 mph highways, I have averaged about 21 mpg hand calculated which is about .5 mpg higher than the EVIC showed and opposite of my everyday driving where the EVIC has been .5 to 1 mpg higher than hand calculated.
• Highway/Expressway driving mpg (70 mph speed limit in MI translates to 75 to 80 mph for many) is only about 16 mpg. Between 55 and 65 mph, the EVIC will show my current mpg ranging between 24 to 27 mpg. Above that though, the EVIC mpg starts dropping quickly and at 79 mph where I would usually be at when on the express way, the EVIC stays around 17 mpg. When I drove a full tank of gas on Expressway going to Ohio in the high 70 mph range, I hand calculated that tank of gas at 16.1 mpg.

As of now, I would definitely buy this truck/engine combo again. It has plenty of power for most of my driving conditions and has adequate power when I am hauling or towing.

 

[14Hemi]

I'm glad to hear the V6 is working out for you.
I am disappointed to hear the highway mpg's are that low, I thought it would have fared better. I haven't done any highway trips in my truck yet, but a 2wd QC hemi I rented got 21.6 mpg from NH to CT and back, which is anything but flat.

Have you had any maintenance issues with it or has it held up well. Thanks for a good evaluation.

 

[92896]

After five months and 8,000 miles I thought I would give my own short review of what I have experienced with my Pentastar v6.

Nice review, thanks for this. I ordered the same truck with the diesel about three weeks ago. You've verified most of what I have read about the truck and the transmission.

 

[jfettig]

I was kind of surprised at the highway numbers too. Being a 4x4 hurts the numbers some and I believe the outdoorsman sits an inch higher than the other trim levels, but I don't know how much that would impact mpg at higher speeds.

I have not had any mechanical issues with the engine or anything else on the truck to this point.

 

[finn5033]

I have the exact same truck and am doing much better with the highway mpg. I have stock size 20" A/T tires on mine. I drive 75 miles round trip to work every day and 75% of that is highway with a 70mph speed limit. I have almost 11,000 miles on my truck now and currently sit at 22.3mpg avg for the life of my truck. I see 22-25 mpg with the cruise at 74mpg. Now wind can have a big effect and knock me down a bit. My EVIC is never more than .5mpg off from my hand calculations.

 

[rob932]

The OP's mpg's are really low. I have the same truck with 20" wheels and I've never gotten below 18.5 mpg hand calculated. I get about 18mpg going 79mph and 22mpg at 71mph.

The V6 and 8 speed is an amazing combo and really is fast for a giant 5,500lbs truck. I can only imagine how fast the Hemi is, it would be very hard to lay off the gas.

 

[Arkansas bigdog]

I have the same engine with qc & 6'4 bed with 3:21 rear. I wanted this setup because, with the neutral button it is towable. Also because it is the ( probably ) lightest full size truck. Weighs in at 5060 with the bed lid, steps, etc. and half full of fuel. Mileage has been near 20 city driving. Last time with some highway driving it was 21.1 checked with a pencil.
We will do a test run towing it to Kansas and back next month. Middle of Sept. we take off for Mexico towing it behind the motor home to our destination in San Felipe, Mexico. Once there it will be our daily driver for the winter.
It has been exactly what we need, but I didn't know that untill the sales man steered us to it. With 5000 miles, no problems except the stinky coolant which we have an appointment for next Tuesday for that fix.

 

[count2]

The OP's mpg's are really low. I have the same truck with 20" wheels and I've never gotten below 18.5 mpg hand calculated. I get about 18mpg going 79mph and 22mpg at 71mph.

This is about what I see as well. 20" wheels and 3.55.

 

[jfettig]

I have the exact same truck and am doing much better with the highway mpg. I have stock size 20" A/T tires on mine. I drive 75 miles round trip to work every day and 75% of that is highway with a 70mph speed limit. I have almost 11,000 miles on my truck now and currently sit at 22.3mpg avg for the life of my truck. I see 22-25 mpg with the cruise at 74mpg. Now wind can have a big effect and knock me down a bit. My EVIC is never more than .5mpg off from my hand calculations.

I think all the hills I go up and down are a lot of why my mpg is lower than a lot of others I see on the forum. The transmission usually shifts down a couple gears before I reach the top. For the highway, not sure what it is with me or my truck, but once I get on an expressway, the EVIC goes way down. My old z71 would barely hit 14 mpg though, so I have bee pretty happy being in the 18 - 19 range.

 

[count2]

It's pretty hilly where I am too. I will say that often in the hills my transmission is in 7th gear instead of 8th, and when this is the case the MPG suffers a lot.

 

[Hemi HFE]

nice write-up and review. Rep points for ya

I also live in north Michigan.. not too much flat UP here, lotsa shifting from the 8-spd.

high-speed mileage:
pushing a giant brick down the highway at 78 mph takes a lot of energy...
the advantage in efficiency the V6 has is smaller at these high (er) loads,
so mpg is closer to that of a V8.

the Pentastar is awesome, but not quite magic...

 

[finn5033]

I think all the hills I go up and down are a lot of why my mpg is lower than a lot of others I see on the forum. The transmission usually shifts down a couple gears before I reach the top. For the highway, not sure what it is with me or my truck, but once I get on an expressway, the EVIC goes way down. My old z71 would barely hit 14 mpg though, so I have bee pretty happy being in the 18 - 19 range.

That makes sense, my commute is pretty flat. I have had trips where I've gone on some very hilly back roads with 55mph speed limits and gotten only 16-17mpg. Over all I am very impressed with the pentastar. I also came from a silverado. With that 8 speed tranny I don't feel I've lost any power going from the V8 to the V6. Best mpg I ever got for a tank of gas in my silverado was 18mpg. I now get 21-22mpg on my tanks of gas with my pentastar.