Snow sets course for Hemi-powered Ram Rebel 1500 crew cab
Three more inches of snow had fallen by the time I was up and around at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, weather temperature was 5 above zero, with wind speed of 3 miles per hour. I built a nice, warm fire in the small woodstove in the kitchen, and enjoyed coffee and my ipad before Jan awoke.
I was looking forward to the morning, for resting in the garage was a flame-red Ram 1500 Rebel G/T Crew Cab 4X4 and the day lent one more “go in the snow” opportunity before the pickup would go away on Thursday.
A Hemi-powered Ram is a great performer, even more so when the Hemi is paired with the etorque 48-volt mild hybrid technology that boosts horsepower from 395 to 411 and increases torque from 410 to 540 lb.-ft. This advanced system lifts tow capacity to more than 12,000 pounds; regarding fuel, the EPA estimate is raised to 18 in city and 22 highway, from 15/21 without etorque.
Having driven the Ram off-and-on for five days previously, we added another hourwednesday morning testing its snow prowess on rural roads, mostly in 4-wheel-high with its electronic-locking rear axle and skid plates.
The Ram Rebel crew cab is almost 20-feet long on wheelbase of 144.5 inches, with ground clearance of 9.1 inches and curb weight of 5,345 pounds. Its bed length is 5 ½ feet, with spray-in bedliner and a trifold tonneau cover.
Base engine for the Ram is a 305-hp V-6; production of its 1500 Ecodiesel ended last month, leaving only Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra with the light-duty diesels, as Ford F-150 had put away its small diesel some time ago. As for Ram ending its light-duty diesel, that is not to be confused with the 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel option on the Ram 2500 and 3500 trucks; it will be continued in full.
The Ram Rebel review model has a high step-in with no step rail, though its air suspension allows use of the key pod for lowering of step-in height.
Seating comfort is excellent in the Rebel’s roomy, luxurious cabin with Uconnect navigation and 12-inch touchscreen.
We got a good test of the fullspeed forward collision safety system on U.S. 34 east of the I-25 intersection, on return from a trip to Costco in Timnath on Tuesday. The car 15 yards ahead of me cut speed in half near instantly as I was accelerating the Ram; its immediate flashing of warning lights, horn-honking and braking, put me in full alert and I quickly brought speed down to safe level.
Base price on the Ram 1500
Rebel Crew Cab is $54,885; an extraordinarily lengthy list of optional equipment increased sticker price to $76,675.
Some of those, added to the aforementioned options, are head-up display, cold-air intake, leather bucket seats heated and
ventilated, Apple Carplay and Google Android Auto, heated steering wheel, remote-start, dual-pane panoramic sunroof. The Ram Rebel is built in Sterling Heights, Mich.