I have never owned a diesel but I have driven gas-powered trucks my whole life and I have a lot of friends who do own diesels.  After hearing so much about how powerful the diesels are now, my wife and I decided that it is finally time to purchase a diesel.

I am not brand biased.  I feel that someone that does not like a vehicle because of name badge is just ignorant.  I want the best truck I can get.  This will change from year to year.  No one truck has been the best since the beginning.  

The following is what I have found through my own research and testing.
First, I do enjoy reading magazine test drives, however, I do not give much credit to their subjective ratings.  A lot of those guys are biased. In a magazine test, the raw numbers are all that matter.  What are the power ratings, what is the acceleration rate etc...  The rest I will find out myself.

I emailed Banks Performance and told them I am looking into purchasing a Diesel truck.  I do not care which brand; I just want to get the best truck for my money.  They called me back on the phone and told me overall, all three trucks are good however, the Ford has been having problems with their diesel.  Also, they told me if I want to modify the engine, GM and Dodge are less likely to void my warranty than Ford.

Next, we drove to three dealers to test drive the trucks. We picked the top 4x4 four-door 3/4 ton automatic truck with the most options for each. Here are our results:

Exterior styling - The Dodge and the Ford win hands down.  They look big and tough.  The Chevy just blends in with all the 'regular' trucks on the road.

Interior - The Chevy and the Ford have nice quality interiors while the Dodge looks like a lot of cheap plastic.  I feel that the previous Dodge interior was a lot better than the new one.

Comfort - The seats in the Ford and Dodge were hard.  They are designed so that your butt conforms to the seat.  The Chevy's seat was soft so that the seat will conform to your butt.

Interior Space - The Dodge felt more roomy up front and absolutely wasted the other two in the back since it was a Mega Cab.

Ride Quality - The Dodge had the stiffest ride and it had the tallest feel.  We felt like we were looking down on everyone in this truck.  The Ford was a little softer although still quite stiff and it did not feel as tall as the Dodge.  The Chevy has the softest ride and the lowest height.  This truck rode like a light duty half ton.  

Noise - here is one that may surprise a lot of people.  The Cummins was not the loudest engine.  Both the Cummins and the Duramax were very quiet.  They were almost too quiet for me. (I like the diesel sound the and the sound of a turbo.)
The Ford was too loud.  It was louder than the old engine.  Outside the truck we almost had to yell at each other to be heard.  It wasn't bad inside though.  The truck must be well insulated.

Power - The Chevy wins this hands down.  This truck really impressed me a lot.  There was no turbo lag that I could detect and it really pushed me back in the seat.
The Dodge was quite strong also with very little lag but not up to the level of the Chevy.  The Ford was by far the weakest.  It has severe lag and seemed to downshift way too easy when adding more throttle.
Price-  This surprised me.  The Dodge is the most expensive.  Dodge has always been cheaper in the past.  I don't know what happened.  The Ford came in next and the Chevy had the lowest price.  I used the build you vehicle utility on all three manufacturer's web sites to confirm this.

After all of this I have come to the conclusion that for 2006, the Chevy it the best truck you can buy.  It has the most power, the strongest transmission, best ride, and the most comfortable seats while costing the least amount of money.

My wife wants the Dodge.  She just likes the way it looks.  I agree with her on that but I think it is silly to buy a truck based only on looks. I wish these trucks were rated for fuel economy.  I have found that word of mouth means nothing.  One guy will complain that his truck gets terrible mileage while someone else with the same truck raves about how great the mileage is.  


Here are a few more things - The Chevy can tow in overdrive the Ford cannot.  I do not remember if the Dodge can.  Ford also has a history of poor transmissions in general.

I actually prefer the stiff ride in the Dodge and Ford better than the soft Chevy ride, but I feel the soft ride will be welcome on long drives with my three children.

I am curious to see how these trucks develop in the next few years.  I will not be buying a truck until my wife finishes school which will be another year and a half.  Hopefully Dodge will improve enough to justify it's price so my wife and I can both agree on a truck.

Don't just take my word for any of this.  Go out and do your own comparison. Make some phone calls and do some research before you buy. You might be surprised.  

Wow there is someone out there like me. I did the same thing as you and came up with the same results more or less. Now the new Chevy and GMC "look" better or more truck like and Dodge who was having auto trans problems have nearly copied the allison and the Ford is still likly to have problems with there international so says the 3 diesel mechanics I have spoken to, they said its basicly the same engine. I personaly can tell you if you are going to travel as my family and I do you will be happy with the Chevy. We pull a camper roughly 5000 miles each summer mostly out west in the mountains and I have literaly Tried them all and found the Chevy to be all that you said.  

Excellent post!  Thought I would add my two cents in here as well and keep this thread going.  I work for a truck rental company that rents trucks from 3/4-ton pickups up to 24' box trucks and I have put a fair amount of miles on some diesel trucks.  Unfortunately we do not carry any Dodge trucks but I've put thousands of miles on the Fords and hundreds on the Chevy's.  We do sales and marketing in the trucks and deliver other trucks to customers so we put a lot of miles on these pickup trucks.  Although I don't have any experience towing with them, so I can't compare that.

Trucks in question (the way my company orders them):

Ford F-250 XLT 4x4 Crew Cab Short Bed w/ Power Stroke 06's-07's

Chevy 2500HD 4x4 Crew Cab Regular Bed w/ Duramax 06's-07's

We have and have had about 30-40 of the Powerstrokes and currently have about 8-10 of the Chevy's.  We have engineering firms, hot shot delivery companies, etc. renting these trucks.  Some people tow, some don't.  It's safe to say the average truck gets 2000-3000 miles put on it a month.

Problems:  We have had about 2-3 of the Power Strokes with injector failure and maybe 1-2 more that had check engine lights.  All of these occurred between the 7500-15000 mile mark and were covered by warranty.  Not too bad for out of 30-40 trucks.  So far we have not had any problems with the 8-10 Chevy's.  (All of these trucks are between 8000 - 12,000 miles right now).  Again, we haven't had the Chevy's in our fleet for as long (considering we've already sold some of the fords since they hit their life cycle with us) but all in all we haven't had too many problems with either truck.

I'll save some time and say that I agree with just about everything put in the first post except for the ride quality part.  And again, a lot of this is personal preference but I do not like the ride in the Chevy.  The best word I can use for it is that the truck feels like it's "bucking" and these are even on Louisiana roads (highways too) which are pretty crappy to begin with.  It just feels like a very jerky ride.  Now the seats are comfortable, don't get me wrong, I like them better than the ford (ford seats are a little hard but I bet the lariat's are nice), but the ride just doesn't float my boat.  (and I drive a chevy avalanche which is a very smooth ride compared to the 2500)  The F-250 feels much smoother almost as good as a 1/2 ton which is impressive for such a big truck.  Not sure if the Chevy's small tires (boy are they crappy) or the angle that the truck is (front goes down) at has anything to do with it, but just thoughts.  Everything else I would agree with on Power (Chevy has more and much less turbo lag), Interior (Ford is much roomier, Chevy is basically a 1/2 ton on inside, and Noise (Chevy is VERY quiet), personally I don't mind the loud Ford.  And every customer we've had says they both can pull like a sonb*tch!  So really it comes down to personal preference in the end.  Hope this helps.  Anyone else have similar experience with the ride quality in a Chevy??  I have heard it gets better when it's towing something.  

Now I am a chevy guy, I've been in them All.  The chevy is the best, now thats not because im a chevy guy thats just the truth.  I work on a farm and the number one problem with the ride quality is in the field.  My boss has an 04 cummins.  You can not keep buckets of feed from tipping in that truck. Every bump is extreamly over felt, if I may. I have a 96 GMC.  I have never tipped a bucket in my truck.  And being mine, I drive it harder, faster, dumber, etc... I haven't really been around fords because nobody has them where I live.  As far as power in the diesels, I have two buddies who have had and still have performance enhanced diesel trucks. One was A dodge. An 05 cummins with injectors and chipsand anything else. He took me for a ride and well, It was crazy. Loads of torque and HP. But I'll have to say, My other buddies truck, I belive was a little stronger. It's an 05 chevy duramax/allison, with only a 5 stage edge and a cool air intake. That truck will blow you and the dodge away.  Somethin about it, probably dont believe a word I'm sayin but it is what it is.  

Hey this is supposed to be an unbiased post!  The reason the chevy is smoother in the field is because it has IFS unlike the Ford or Dodge which have a straight axle-which happens to be stronger but stiffer. Thats the reason it is smoother only one side is moving with the "bump" not the whole axle. Now I will say Ford and Dodge are pretty rough-Ford more so than Dodge. I belive if a truck does what you want it to then it is the truck for you, maybe not for someone else. Decent post otherwise.  

I agree with the ape I prefer my Chevy for travel on the road for ride and comfort but I work with a friend to help him out on my days off and he drives an F250. This is in Lebonon Virginia and alot of the places we go would be considered off roading to city people I have to say it feels rough and we get thrown around some but it also feels strong like it cant be broken so I say that truck does what he wants and mine does what I want. He jokes with me and says we can take your Chevy to church but we will take my Ford to work.  

It is true that a solid axle is stronger than an IFS, however, the only time that extra strength would be needed is under extreme off roading on very rough terrain.
I personally do not think these 6-7 thousand pound four door trucks belong on serious trails anyway.  
I only want the 4x4 so I have the extra traction when I need it.  The GM IFS should be more than strong enough for anything most people will use the truck for.  
spotted ape - when I tested the trucks, the Dodge was rougher than the Ford.
It's kind of funny to me talking about modern trucks having a 'rough ride'.  My '87 suburban 1/2 ton 4x4 has a rougher ride than the new 3/4 ton Dodge and Ford 4x4s.
My friend's wife complains about the rough ride of his 2002 F250 4x4 Diesel.  I told him to let me give her a ride in my suburban or even better my 1983 3/4 ton.  She won't think the Ford is so bad.

The ride quality has improved a lot over the years in all of the trucks.

I wonder if or when Ford and Dodge will Convert to IFS?  I wonder if GM and Ford are going to come out with their own version of the Mega Cab?  

It's all opinion mostley but ford has already said that they dont plan on an IFS in thier HD trucks. And the only reason Dodge came out with the mega-cab is becuase thier cabs were already smaller than anyone elses. The frame was a foot shorter now it is a foot longer.  

I'd like to start by saying excellent thread with no bashing going on. I'm a GM guy personally but would like to say I agree that every person is different and so are these trucks. Everyone has his/her own preference and that is ultimatley what it comes down to. And just to add something: the Ford or Dodge would make better plow vehicles with their solid front axles vs the IFS in the GM's.  

Here I am the bum saying he doesn't really like the Chevy's ride and it's looking like I'll have an oppurtunity to buy a used 07 Duramax at the end of March?!  It's just gonna be a deal I can't pass up.  I'll keep you guys informed!  

Hi I Am In The Market For A New Diesel Truck Its Going To Be My First And I Am Rying To Pick Bettween Gmc 2500hd And A Ford F-250 Desides Prefrence What Are Some Things You Could Tell Me About How These Work, Like Pros And Cons Of The Engines And The Trans..i Heard The The
Powerstrokes Have Trns Problems. This Will Be My Daily Driver And I Wont Be Doing All Kinds Of Pulling And puling..the Most I Will Be Doing To
The Truck As In Mods..would Be Some Rims And Tires, Exhaust, And A 4 Inch Lift. Im Not Going Crazy On This But Thats What Im For Sure Doing.I Looked At Adding A Programer And Increase The Horse Power And Torque Would This Break Anything. I Know One Guy That Bought A Brand New Dodge
And Put A Chip In It And He Floored It And Blew His Trans Out. I Dont Want To Worry About Anything Like That. What Would I Have To Do To The Truck If I did add all that stuff.  

So far, i haven't read anything about SOUND on any forum!!!........All these engines are great and will do more than what 90% of the people bought them to do.  AS for Sound,  An inline 6 just sounds better!!!  It's what you think of when you hear the word Diesel!!  The V8's just sound wierd to me and don't have a very good exhaust tone!!  My Cummins has a turbo back 4" Volant exhaust and it sounds so much better than any PS or DMAX that I've ever heard!!!

Who's with me on this???

INLINE 6's  just Sound AWESOME!!!

All three Trucks are awesome, But the Dodge looks and sounds better to me!  

Hey everyone!!!  This is not a new concept, but if we all just ignore anyone who curses, talks major hurtful trash, and just plain does not deserve a response, THEY'LL GET BORED AND GO AWAY!!!

Who's with me????? Spread the word on each thread.....Either way, We ALL know that they would not act like that or say that kinda stuff to our faces!!  

Any way, I may agg people on a bit, but its only in clean fun.....I did get a bit out of hand once with BBF, BadAss, and DCDAVIS (OR WHAT EVER)but It's not worth it.......Our time is to valueable to waste replying to them......If they wonna clean up and start posting like mature adults then maybe we'll let them back in...

Anybody else agree??????????  

i agree , just ignore their dumb comments but if they actually make a appropriate comment then id say it is ok to reply  

I WORK FOR A CHEVROLET SERVICE DEPARTMENT I STARTED AT 17 I STARTED IN 1992. I DRIVE A DODGE RAM 3500 MEGA CAB MY FATHER IN LAW HAS A FORD F3500. MY TRUCK HAS 36000 MILES AND HAS NOT BEEN BACK TO THE DEALER FOR ANYTHING. I ALSO TOW A 35' FIFTH WHEEL FREQUENTLY NEVER HAVE A PROBELM WITH TRUCK ALWAYS WITH TRAILOR. I ALSO HAD A 2001 THAT HAD 70,000 MILES ABOUT 20'000 MILES OF TOWING ABOUT 15,000 POUNDS NEVER A PROBLEM BUT NOW I HAVE KIDS AND NEEDED MORE THAN A QUAD CAB.
THE 28 MILES I DRIVE TO WORK I GET ABOUT 20 MPH IF I GO ON A LONG TRIP I CAN GET UP TO ABOUT 24 MPG WITH CALIFORNIA FUEL.  BEING A SERVICE WRIGHTER AT A CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP NOT ONE PERSON HAS REPORTED THAT EVEN WITH AFTERMARKET MODIFICATIONS. I ALSO SEE PEOPLE SWEARING ON THE DURAMAX BUT IF YOU WERE IN MY POSITION AND SEE ALL THE INJECTOR PROBLEMS AND STEERING AND SUSPENTION PROBLEMS YOU WOULD THINK TWICE. YES MY TRUCK RIDES ROUGH BUT I GREW UP DRIVING A 70'S 4X4. MY TRUCK FEELS MORE LIKE A TRUCK AND NOT A CAR.  I WONT EVEN TALK ABOUT MY FATHER IN LAWS FORD.  I DO LIKE THE POWER OR THE DURAMAX BUT I WOULD MUCH RATHER BE ON THE ROAD THAN IN THE SERVICE DEPT.