Ram 1500 Hemi a big civilized hauler
BLACK SPORT CREW CAB: 2015 pickup an expensive, fuel-gulping beast, but a comfortable and luxurious one
Man, am I in over my head. As you can see, my tester this week is a big truck. From stem to stern it measures some 6,030 millimetres. Put it on a scale, and you won’t get much change from 2,500 kilograms. And, if my 86-year-old dad’s creaking limbs are any indication, it’s pretty darned tall, too.
As a guy used to low, lithe sports cars punctuated only by almost as low sporty luxury sedans, it’s a bit of a shock to the system. But, surprisingly, not an unpleasant one.
Contrary to all those why-doesanyone-buy-a-pickup exposés written by cynics already determined to decry the unwarranted popularity of pickup trucks, I actually enjoyed my 1,500 kilometres in this monster truck. Oh, I might have avoided tight parking garages like the plague and I could do without the $100 fillups, thank you very much. But otherwise, I quite enjoyed my time driving above my station.
I was pleasantly surprised, for instance, how relaxing it was as a long-range cruiser. Normally, even in the most hedonistic of luxury sedans, I stop once or twice on the four-hour trek to see my parents, the ants in my pants usually getting the better of whatever hurried deadline I’m trying to beat. I’m not sure whether it was because the big Ram was so comfortable or I was just trying to see how far one can really go on one 82-litre tank of gas, but I did the entire 400+ kilometre North York-to-Kanata trial-by-traffic in one straight shot.
It’s helped by seats that initially feel too soft for long-term support yet prove quite commodious for extended trips. There’s also nothing “truckish” about the seating position, with little to distinguish the Ram from, say, a Caravan, save about a foot and a half more ground clearance. There is also, in a fully loaded Black Sport model at least, no lack of amenities, my tester getting the full UConnect experience (an excellent user interface), Alpine audio system and an ease of connectivity (Chrysler products continue to have the fastest-connecting Bluetooth systems in the business) that should be the envy of many luxury marques.
Indeed, it’s easy to assume — and it’s confirmed by the seemingly outrageous-for-a-pickup $63,990 MSRP — that the Black Sport is Ram’s S550 limousine equivalent. It’s swaddled in leather and, along with individual front seats, the rear perches are semi-bucketed as well. This Sport is meant to be a four-passenger vehicle, and only occasionally subjected to five. We’ve long known that trucks can be outfitted like a bordello’s boudoir, but the Ram 1500 Black Sport Crew Cab takes the hedonism to a new level.
The Ram’s 5.7-litre Hemi is a smooth operator as well. It’s odd to decry 395 horsepower as routine, but that’s more a sign of the times than a criticism of Chrysler’s V8. Most importantly, it’s eminently civilized, with no noise, vibration or harshness reaching the driver at any speed. Hooked up to the optional eight-speed autobox, the 1500 gets the most from its 410 poundfeet of torque, keeping the engine in the lowest and smoothest part of its power band.
Fuel economy on the highway was a not-too-bad 12.4 L/100 km (helped by an optional air suspension that lowers the 1500 to improve aerodynamics). In the city it sucked back a don’t-ask 20 litres per 100 klicks. If you’re looking for a frugal 1500, though, look no further than the new EcoDiesel V6, whose 11.5 L/100 km city and 8.4 highway ratings are almost 40 per cent better than the Hemi’s.
Not that there isn’t a little Ram truckiness along for the ride. The solid rear axle and fairly stiff suspension that help give the 1500 its 4,600-kilogram towing capacity also have it hobby-horsing over every frost crease in the highway. Braking seems high-effort compared with a typical sedan, despite the Black Sport’s twin-piston front brakes and sizable 336-millimetre rotors; having 2,443 kilograms of curb weight will always tell, I suppose. And there’s the not-small matter, as I mentioned before, that climbing into the 1500’s cabin can feel vaguely like exercise. It is similar in effort — if opposite in execution — to the exertion required to get into an ultralow sports car.
Some of the Ram’s idiosyncrasies have nothing to do with it being a truck. I can think of no other reason than price jacking for offering two automatic transmissions — the standard six-speed and an optional unit with eight gears — with the V8. It contributed to that outrageous $63,990 MSRP I mentioned previously, an amount that will buy you any number of vehicles that, for the price, offer more value.
But I should point out that you can option Ford’s F-150 and GM’s Silverado/Sierra duo to the same stratospheric MSRPs (and higher). The profit margins and price markups in all high-end pickups are typically very inflated. (Analysts estimate that 90 per cent of Ford’s worldwide profits, for instance, come from its North American truck sales).
Nonetheless, although I wouldn’t recognize a Class IV trailer hitch if I banged one with my knee and I am unlikely ever to load anything more ponderous than a hefty grocery bag into a truck bed, I can say that the modern pickup — climate-changing fuel consumption and eye-watering sticker pricing aside — is a very civilized beast of burden. I’d happily take the Ram on another long-distance cruise.