Do Diesel Pickups Make Financial Sense?

Automotive research firm Vincentric has released its latest study, this time focused on whether a diesel engine for vehicles makes monetary sense.

Of the 419 models available in the U.S. with a diesel engine option, Vincentric found just 76 had a lower cost of ownership than their gasoline counterparts. Vincentric’s statistical analysis assumed the vehicle was owned for five years and was driven 15,000 miles annually. It then used eight cost factors — depreciation, taxes and fees, financing, fuel, insurance, maintenance, opportunity cost and repairs — to measure total cost of ownership.

The study divided 2018 diesel vehicles into four categories: passenger cars (23 diesels), SUVs/crossovers (22), pickup trucks (324) and vans (50). Of these four categories, vans — compact, full-size, passenger and cargo — equipped with diesel engines stood out in the study as strong values. Buying the diesel engine made financial sense in 49 of the 50 models. As you might expect, these evaluations are dependent on the cost of the diesel engines along with maintenance costs over five years. According to Vincentric, diesel van engines cost an extra $1,700 compared to gas options, and they cost an extra $540 annually in maintenance fees over gasoline engines.

Before we get to how pickups performed in this study, here are the top three performers in the non-pickup categories.

Passenger Cars

• Jaguar XE 20d R-Sport
• BMW 328i xDrive
• Jaguar XF 20d R-Sport

SUVs/Crossovers

• BMW X5 XDrive35d
• Land Rover Discover SE
• Land Rover Range Rover Sport SE

Vans

• Chevrolet Express G3500 cargo short wheelbase
• GMC Savana 3500 cargo SWB
• GMC Savana G3500 wagon SWB

As to pickups, not a single truck met the study criteria for being cost effective when equipped with a diesel engine. Today’s high fuel costs combined with price premiums for diesel engines and heavy-duty transmission options meant Vincentric did not find a diesel pickup configuration that had a lower total cost of ownership than the gas version. However, we do have Vincentric’s list of the top 10 pickups that almost make monetary sense as diesels when compared to their gas counterparts. We should note that there several averages built into a study like this and if diesel fuel prices drop, gasoline prices rise or diesel engine prices come down, the list could be dramatically different.

We also should note that, on average, the cost of diesel fuel across the nation is less than gasoline, so it’s the cost of purchasing the diesel engine and the higher maintenance expenses that keep diesel pickups from making monetary sense. If studies like this covered a time-span of 10 or 20 years (meaning 150,000 or 300,000 miles on the odometer), diesel options would far outweigh their gasoline counterparts in terms of savings.

Here are the 10 pickups for which diesel engines come close to matching the costs of gas engines, according to Vincentric.

Pickup: Diesel Cost/Gas Cost

1. Ram 3500 Laramie Longhorn crew cab 4×4 long wheelbase: $66,310/$65,399
2. Ram 3500 Laramie Mega Cab 4×4: $61,636/$60,465
3. Ram 3500 SLT Mega Cab 4×4: $60,214/$58,756
4. Ram 3500 Tradesman crew cab 4×4 SWB: $54,202/$52,741
5. Ram 2500 Laramie Longhorn crew cab 4×4 LWB: $63,858/$62,140
6. Ram 2500 Laramie crew cab 4×4 SWB: $59,383/$57,638
7. Nissan Titan XD SV crew cab 4×4: $48,869/$47,060
8. Ram 2500 SLT crew cab 4×4 LWB: $56,826/$54,858
9. Ram 2500 Tradesman crew cab 4×4 LWB: $52,921/$50,936
10. Ford F-350 XLT SuperCab 4×4 LWB single rear wheel: $61,456/$59,447

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