2013 Ram 1500 – image: Chrysler Group LLC

While diesel engines in pickup trucks are nothing new, most models that come packing oil-burning engines fall into the “heavy duty” category, with commensurate price tags. If you’re the type who routinely pulls heavy loads, or racks up serious mileage in the name of work, such an expense might make sense. If you’re the average homeowner who pulls a modest boat or camper, such smoke-belching behemoths can be hard to justify.

Enter the 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, which will come to market with the same Fiat-sourced 3.0-liter turbodiesel V-6 used in the Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel. Ram says the engine is the industry’s first small displacement diesel in a half-ton pickup, and Ram brand president Fred Diaz promises the EcoDiesel pickup will deliver best-in-class fuel economy, torque and range.

Ram isn’t publishing specific numbers on output or fuel economy just yet, but we can make a few assumptions here. To deliver best-in-class fuel economy, it will have to beat the 2013 Ram 1500 HFE, which returns 21 mpg combined, 18 mpg city and 25 mpg highway. As for the output, the same engine delivers 240 horsepower and 420 pound feet of torque under the hood of the Grand Cherokee, so it’s safe to guess that output will be comparable.

The 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel will go on sale in the third quarter of 2013. Look for details and pricing to be announced ahead of the truck’s launch.