NEW TRUCK IS HANDSOME, RUGGED AND FUEL EFFICIENT
Smooth ride shows 3.6-litre V6 engine is more than enough to get job done
Full-size trucks represent a bit of a quandary for the three Detroit auto companies. They're top money-makers in volume and per-vehicle profit, but with ever-tightening rules for fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions, and few tiny vehicles in the lineup to offset them, these big vehicles need all the technology they can get.
In this 2020 Ram 1500 Bighorn, that's a 3.6-litre V6 engine with etorque, a mild hybrid system. It's standard on the V6 and optional on the Ram's available 5.7-L V8. The truck's third engine choice is a 3.0-L V6 diesel.
The company hasn't added a two-door Regular Cab, so the 1500 comes in Quad Cab or, as my tester, in Crew Cab. I had the Bighorn 4x4 trim level, one up from the base Tradesman, and it starts at $53,745. But of course there are always options to add, and my truck came to a hefty $64,830 before freight and taxes.
The etorque system includes a belt-driven motor-generator unit instead of an alternator, with a small battery pack mounted on the inside rear cabin. The system self-charges through regenerative braking, and doesn't get plugged in.
It operates the truck's startstop function, which shuts off the engine at idle, such as when you're stopped at a light. It starts up again when you take your foot off the brake. Because it's done with the electric motor, startup is faster and smoother than systems that use a conventional starter.
On its own, the V6 makes 305
horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque, while the etorque can add up to 90 lb-ft of fuel-free torque on acceleration. But don't start nodding to the Hellcat driver beside you when the light's turning green — the etorque power is primarily there to get you to cruising speed on as little fuel as possible. It also “fills in” the engine-speed drop when the eight-speed automatic shifts, for smoother performance.
The main difference is at the pumps. On trucks before etorque was available, the 3.6-L
was rated at a combined 12.6 L/100 km. With etorque, it's 11.1. In my week, driving it unloaded, I averaged 11.9 L/100 km.
The company has had this engine since 2011 — it's called a Pentastar in honour of the Chrysler Corporation's historic star logo — and its longevity is because it's a really decent mill. Of course, you don't get the same rapid acceleration as with the
V8, but it's more than enough to move this machine.
The Ram is among the handsomest of the truck bunch right now, and I like the Bighorn's chrome accents.
My tester didn't have the RamBox option, which installs a pair of locking storage compartments into the bed sides, but it did have the new multi-function tailgate, which unfortunately has yet to win me over. This $1,095 add-on gives you a gate that's split 60/40 into two panels. It can drop down conventionally as a single piece, or open sideways like two doors.
Ram touts it as bed access when a trailer is hooked up, but that functionality depends on the type of trailer you have, especially because you have to open the larger door before the smaller one (and remember to close them in the right order, otherwise you smash one into the other).
While I'm sure it's been tested, I can't help but wonder what will happen when loads of soil or gravel, or road salt, work their way into the mechanism. Ram also doesn't have an easy way for shorter people to climb up into that tall bed, such as GM'S brilliantly simple bumper steps. The deployable bed step otherwise bundled into my truck's option package can't be added with the two-piece gate.
Along with exterior styling, Ram offers a handsome interior. I prefer cloth seats to leather, as my tester was equipped, although such items as heated seats and steering wheel, dualzone automatic climate control, and an eight-way power driver's chair were part of an extensive (and expensive) option package.
That package also added an 8.4-inch centre touch screen in place of the base five-inch one, and I vastly preferred it to the 12-inch monster installed in the Ram Power Wagon I drove a while back. That one takes up so much space there's only room for tiny buttons or annoying icons to operate the climate systems. Here, you get beautifully big dials and buttons to get the hot or cold that's desired, with a minimum of distraction.
Work vehicles at heart, trucks occupy a unique consumer segment where there's absolutely no “best” model, as there may be with some cars. Rather, it's “best for what you need it to do.” But before you head straight for a
V8, give this V6 a test drive. It's smooth, it's efficient, and — for many drivers — it's more than enough to get the job done.