Very few people take the time to observe the CO emissions2new vehicles on the market. But when we stop to analyze it all, reality hits us in the face like a slap in the face. At the end of the day, we realize what the real greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters are on our roads. If it’s full-size pickup trucks and SUVs that top the list of the most polluting vehicles, there is one model that triumphs: the Ram 1500 TRX.
According to 2023 Fuel Consumption Guide from Natural Resources Canada, the Ram 1500 TRX, a high-performance version of an already gluttonous pickup, has an average of 465 grams of CO2 per kilometer. These emissions also reflect its combined fuel consumption (average city and highway), which is displayed at 19.8 litres/100 kilometres. Remember that the Ram 1500 TRX is a vehicle that requires premium gasoline (octane level 91 or higher).
By comparison, a hybrid Hyundai Elantra, a thermal car that emits the least GHGs on the market in 2023, only spits out 110 grams of CO2 per kilometer. That’s more than 4 times less than the Ram pickup powered by a Hellcat engine. In other words, for every kilometer that a Ram TRX has traveled, it will have expelled the equivalent of what an Elantra hybrid emits over 4.2 kilometres. Over a distance of 50,000 kilometers, the big TRX will have emitted 23,250,000 grams (or 23 tonnes) of CO2 compared to 5,500,000 grams (5.5 tonnes) for the Elantra hybrid.
Of course, the data from Natural Resources Canada does not illustrate the GHG emissions of work vans of the type heavy-duty, because they reside in another category. The TRX is nevertheless followed by other major CO emitters2such as the Ford F-150 Raptor R (460 grams of CO2/km), the Cadillac Escalade-V (435 grams of CO2/km), the Dodge Durango Hellcat (410 grams of CO2/km) and the BMW X5 and X6 M Competition (364 grams of CO2/km).
It is also quite alarming to note that these vehicles emit more GHGs than most full-size pickup trucks which, comparing their figures to those of the TRX, are doing quite well. In this category, the worst after a TRX and a Raptor R is the regular Ford F-150 Raptor. It stands at 370 grams. By comparison, a regular Ford F-150 with EcoBoost engine emits only 252 grams of CO2/km, while a Ram 1500 equipped with eTorque technology comes in at 253 grams of CO2/km.
