I think the ecodiesel is rated for less than 8k towing capacity but it does beat the others on fuel economy by large numbers. 5 mpg from several reports that I have read.
The ecodiesel isn't really for max towing with a 1/2 ton, you would have to get a gasser for that (from the Dodge lineup).
I expect Ford to go the same route- shooting for maximum fuel economy rather than maximum towing capacity. For Ford that's the 3.5 ecoboost.
I once again would prefer that they go with a larger diesel, such as the 4.4 and set it at 320/560 to beat the Nissan/Cummins. Give it a true 12k towing capacity with the payload to match. The current 6.7 is so far above that at 440/925 I doubt Ford would lose many sales- and if they did they would still be buying a Ford.

The ecoboost is a great little engine but fuel economy while towing is not its thing. I was getting 6.5-7.5 mpg pulling my 10k fiver.

If I decide to get out of the farming business in 5 years or so I can sell the heavy equipment and cattle trailers and trade the fifth wheel for a travel trailer. At that point hopefully we will have 1/2 tons with diesels from all of the automakers.

 

EcoDiesel is rated to tow 9200lbs.

 

A nice review of the Range Rover diesel while towing

Can the 2016 Range Rover Sport Diesel Be Most Efficient on the Extreme Ike Gauntlet? - The Fast Lane Truck

 

I believe that's for a 2wd, which me and about 90% of everybody else wouldn't have.

 

Yeah your right. 2wd is 9200 and the 4x4 is 7200lbs.

 

A 2000 LB difference between 4x4 and 4x2? That seems a bit high but I don't have time to research, heading out to work soon.

My 2011 ecoboost 4x4 with 3.31 axles is rated to pull 9200 and with my old P235 tires, I was routinely getting 23-24 MPG's at high rates of speed on the freeway.

Let's see, the diesel will cost about 2x what the 3.5L ecoboost option will cost, it may achieve 4-5 MPG's better and will cost more to maintain and, it'll be less capable. Not seeing the advantages for the everyday user.

Now, take my son for instance: He works for Ecolab and he drives about 50K miles a year and they get him a new lease vehicle every 100K miles. In that case, I can clearly see the advantages.

 

I do a lot of city and some highway driving. Trip I took the last day was 329 miles one way. With her Mountaineer, I was getting 16.6 going down doing 60-65 (it was single digits and headwind), but on the way back I got 18.6mpg. We try to make this trip once or twice a year. Now it would be nice to get mid 20s mpg on this kind of trip. Some years we might go further south and its a 578-592 mile trip one way, still would be nice to go one way on a half tank to 3/4 of a tank of fuel, vs having to fill up every so often. 22.5 gallons of gas doesn't get you far, and I'd be opting for the 36 gallon tank anyway, to have a cushion just in case.

So I'm debating between the 2.7L, the 5.0L and the 3.0L to see what I could do mpg wise with my normal runabouts and long distance trips. Towing a 15' fiberglass boat 200 miles both ways some weekends and getting decent mileage would be nice.

 

To remember when we compare with the coming F-150 diesel which will have the same dieselmill. F-150 is 440 lbs lighter than the Range Rover and has a 10 speed gearbox thats more economical. Expect +30 mpg

 

I wonder if they will incorporate stop/start into the diesel? My initial thought is that it would be bad for a compression ignition engine.

 

auto stop/start is standard across the lineup

 

I'm excited for these new trucks.

 

Nothing a tuner can't fix. Constantly starting and stopping a diesel will really wear out that starter. I'd hope it's just on the gas engines and not the oil burner. Regardless if it is an extra heavy duty starter, that just increases the cost of it even more.

 

What does fuel type have anything to do with the stresses of auto start/stop?

Heavy diesels have been doing a form of this for over fifteen years. Detroit Diesel called it "Optimized Idle". The driver sets a temperature in the sleeper, and the engine starts and stops as needed to control temperature. These engines routinely see over a million miles, and I can't recall having a starter replaced in the years I was in the industry.

There is SO MUCH mythology out there with regards to diesel engines out there, and it's possibly worst with diesel pickup owners.

 

Working in a large diesel fleet, we shut our engines off every stop, winter, summer, does not matter, we replace starters, not all the time, the turbos don't fail too often, mostly the variable venturi and variable vane features in the turbos that fail, the impellers and shaft are usually intact and serviceable, series sixty were almost indestructible.

 

Doubtful actually....
The amount of energy taken to start a diesel is much higher than that of a gasser. This is the one key reason that diesels have not permeated the hybrid segment of the automotive and light truck market.
My $.05 worth anyways..