H pickup truck to buy
chanically identical GMC Sierra, the General Motors entries have sometimes outsold the Ford.
But for reasons that escape me, GM maintains a separate brand identity for GMC, which eliminates its option for bestseller bragging rights.
We went the other way from EcoBoost for fuel savings with the GM truck and drove a 6.6-litre Duramax turbo-diesel V8.
There’s enough torque here to shove small buildings around; maybe some of those horsey people are hauling Clydesdales. Fuel consumption will be some 30 per cent better than a comparable gasoline engine.
However, with the various mandatory options necessary with the heavier engine, the diesel option will raise the MSRP by more than $10,000. So the payback calculation will be even harder to justify than Ford’s EcoBoost. Chevy, of course, offers a wide range of alternative powertrains, too.
To me, the Chevy feels a bit older than the Ford, but its dynamics aren’t bad. Whether you’re a horsey type or not, you’ll want to give it a look. DODGE RAM $26,770-$48,865 Well, actually, it should be ‘Chrysler Ram,’ because the truck side of Chrysler’s business recently became its own brand, separate from Dodge.
It seems it’ll take a while for their interior designers to grasp this — the middle of the dashboard is the only place you’ll actually see the word Dodge on this truck.
Acouple of years ago, Ram switched to a coil spring rear axle. Everyone knows a coil-spring axle rides better than a leaf spring, which all the other major pickup players use.
The only place I’ve tested a Ram back-to-back with a traditionally leaf-sprung Ford was at a Ford preview, at Ford’s proving grounds, and the Ford felt better. You don’t think that was a set-up, do you?
Whatever, the Ram certainly rides well, and in the 4-by-4 models we had for each brand, I’d say the Ram had the edge on that count.
Its 5.7-litre hemi V8 gives 383 horsepower worth of fast, and cylinder deactivation (it runs on four cylinders when you’re loafing about) lets it eke a bit more distance out of a tank of gasoline. It actually gives the Ram decent real-world highway fuel consumption.
It is a commanding presence in anyone else’s rear-view mirror, and from the driver’s seat too (“As a matter of fact, I do own the damned road . . . ”), emphasized by the bulbous hood.
Among the neat features on our Ram was the Ram Box, a pair of lockable compartments in the sides of the pick-up box. You can put tools in there and know they’re safe.
Despite its in-your-face-and-rearview-mirror stance, the Ram felt a little old-fashioned inside. Perhaps it was the fake wood trim ?