There’s a really old joke, one from the period of vaudeville slapstick, that goes: my car doesn’t need a horn – it says Dodge right on the front.
Well, if you can’t Dodge it, Ram it.
Certainly Dodge has taken the full-size pickup truck market head-on with the new Ram. The Ford F-150 still soldiers on as Canada’s perennial favourite pickup truck, but the Ram is catching up fast.
Part of what’s driving sales is as old as that joke. People like pickup trucks not because they’re useful and practical vehicles needed for work or towing, but because they’re also a lot like those old passenger cars of yore.
Back in the day, cars were big and cheerful and comfort-oriented first. These days, plenty of vehicles are compromised by cramped styling or too-stiff sporty suspensions.
But pickup trucks are as popular as country music. Yes, I understand that you may not enjoy country music. It’s still popular though.
To get a better sense of why the Ram is such a popular choice these days, I took it up and out of the city on a long-distance drive up to Northern British Columbia. Happily, it turns out moose can read bumper script too.
Design
For the modern pickup, your face is your belt buckle. Sure, it’d be easy to get away with something a little more shy and retiring in the name of aerodynamics, but not for the Ram, which has to wear its badge loud and proud.
Go for one of the sportier variants, and you get a huge matte-black grille in the shape of Burt Reynolds’ moustache. Opt for one of the more conventional models and you get lots of chrome instead. Both feature the word Ram in huge script.
As blunt as it looks, the Ram is pretty clever behind its bluff face. There’s plenty of aerodynamic enhancements to keep drag relatively low, and LED headlights and taillights for clearer views at night.
The wheels are, of course, huge these days, ranging right up to 20 inches on the higher-end models. Any would-be cowboy needs big boots.
Environment
Pickup trucks are expensive, and there’s no place they surprise more than when you climb inside. It’s entirely possible to be staring down a price tag of more than $60,000, and still be getting cloth seats.
Having said that, there aren’t many vehicles that can touch a full-size pickup truck for room. The Ram has a slightly more raked windshield this year as part of its aerodynamics package, but its cabin remains absolutely cavernous.
Rear legroom is particularly vast, leading in the segment. It’s very comfortable for rear-seat passengers, or fold up the seat bottoms to accommodate coolers and extra luggage for the camping trip.
Up front, the central cubby is big enough to swallow a couple of laptops for today’s modern contractor, and all kinds of other supplies. There are pockets and storage spaces all through the interior, and the seats are supportive for long-distance driving.
Best of all, even when equipped with cloth seats, the Ram doesn’t look like a work truck, it looks like a rival to the luxury brands. The materials used are both rugged but high quality, and the displays are high-resolution and easy to use.
In short, there’s nothing in the cab of the Ram to turn you off using a pickup truck in your everyday life. And then there’s how it drives.
Performance
You might expect the Ram to be a bit of a simpleton under that big hood, but you’d be wrong. Yes, there’s a 5.7-litre, iron-block, pushrod V-8 on offer, but it’s proven technology that makes plenty of power.
Better yet is the variant I sampled, the new V-6 equipped with the eTorque mild hybrid. This relatively simple 48-Volt hybrid system uses a belt-drive to transfer extra electric power from what’s essentially a heavy-duty alternator and starter combo.
This adds 90 foot-pounds of torque from essentially zero r.p.m. to the V-6’s down-low grunt. The 3.6-litre six-cylinder makes 305 horsepower and 269 foot-pounds of torque. The transmission is an eight-speed automatic, and proper 4x4 low-range gearbox is an option.
The full four-door, 4x4 Ram is a heavy hitter at approximately 2,500 kilograms, but with the extra electric low-end power, it gets up and moves with alacrity. You wouldn’t really wish for more V-8 passing power, unless you were towing something heavy. Even better, that hybrid system is an option on the V-8 as well.
The ride is flat-out excellent. Every so often you can catch the Ram out on an uneven bit of pavement that shakes the body-on-frame construction, but for the most part, it’s far more comfortable than any full-size pickup has a right to be.
The handling is also better than you’d expect from any pickup truck. Over a solid 3,000 kilometres of winding B.C. roads, the Ram was planted through all weather conditions, and didn’t wear out the driver.
Really, the only two drawbacks are the overall cost of the pickup, and the fuel consumption. And even that last bit is not particularly pickup-truck-like.
Features
The basic Ram starts at $32,485, and comes with steel wheels and just the essentials. My tester rang the bell at $68,540 after freight, as a Big Horn model with extra power outlets, the V-6 eTorque, and the four-corner air suspension.
Fuel economy results are good for the V-6. Official figures are 11.9 litres/100 kilometres in the city and 9.4 l/100 km on the highway. Particularly in long-distance highway driving, the Ram is surprisingly reasonable to operate.
Green light
Full-size comfort and capability; surprisingly capable on-road performance; nicely finished interior.
Stop sign
Not the easiest thing to park; price tag adds up.
The checkered flag
A full-sized pickup truck with better road manners than ever.
Competitor
Ford F-150 ($26,837): Canada’s favourite for a reason, the F-150 is available in any number of powertrains and trims, from stripped-out work truck to luxury tow vehicle. The Ecoboost engines provide V-8 punch with V-6 economy.
However, the Ram’s just a little nicer inside, being the refreshed model, and has a roomier, more upscale interior. Don’t expect Ford to sit on their laurels for long, though.
mcaleeronwheels@gmail.com
