by Cheryl Eldridge
This week’s tester was truly a man’s or woman’s dream. Trucks define masculinity, distinction, and driving such a big muscle as the Big Horn Crew cab, it makes you feel as if you are on top of the world. My tester came in a bright white clear coated exterior with canyon brown/light frost beige interior cloth seats.
My tester is a dressed up Ram 1500 Big Horn Crew Cab 4X4 with base price of $38,250 and more than $6,000-worth of options. The bottom line on the sticker shows close to 44 grand, including almost a grand for destination charge. Seems like a big price for a pickup but it is loaded and luxurious. The base truck with V6 and no options may show a sticker price around 25 grand. The price range with all pickups these days is mighty broad depending on whether you just want a simple work truck or an urban cruiser with some machismo.
Styling gets a modest upgrade without risking the popular trucky styling from the last version of the Ram. A larger grille, LED turn signals and more modern headlight design is most noticeable. The big crosshatch grille remains unmistakably Ram as does the bulging hood and broad-shouldered fender profile.
My tester did not include running boards which are definitely needed because it’s a long step up into the cabin. Once up and into the power, 10-way, premium fabric bucket driver’s seat I find it firm and comfortable with a good driving position and lots of room. Those unfamiliar with this kind of vehicle could be overwhelmed by the size, height and commanding position up there. Adjustable pedals, and exceptional seat range will accommodate folks of many different sizes. Fit, finish and quality of materials inside are more like a mid-luxury car. As with its competitors, Ram has enhanced the center console to be essentially an office space where the guy who uses it for work can stow or spread out his computer, clipboards and everything else. He/she could even have a secretary managing things from the passenger seat if necessary.
This four-door has a generous rear seat as well – plenty to accommodate those extra crew members. The mechanisms that flip up the rear seat and fold out a little flat floor panel are easily operated with one hand – perhaps one of the easiest-to-operate systems we’ve encountered. The power sliding rear window panel is handy for ventilation when we don’t want to use the AC.
The 2014 Ram 1500 lineup sees the addition of an optional turbocharged diesel V6 engine. Meanwhile, the 4.7-liter V8 has been discontinued, and there are a few changes to trim levels.
After a significant round of improvements last year, the Ram 1500 pickup gets even better for 2014. Headlining the handful of updates this year is a new turbodiesel V6 engine. This is the only diesel engine offered in a light-duty full-size truck, and it promises impressive fuel mileage and towing capability.
One of the best things about driving the new diesel-powered 2014 Ram 1500 is that you’ll barely notice any difference compared with the gasoline-powered versions in normal driving. The cabin remains peaceful, and typical of diesels, there’s plenty of thrust for merging and passing, and it’s accessible from low rpm.
Of course, some consumers prefer the power characteristics of a traditional gasoline V8, so Ram will also continue to offer its 5.7-liter V8 engine as an optional upgrade over the base gasoline V6 engine. The torque ratings are very similar between the diesel engine and the gas V8, but the V8 has slightly higher towing capacities (depending on the cab/bed configuration you choose), and it’s actually a less expensive upgrade than the diesel. However, given that Ram expects the diesel V6 to top the base gasoline six-cylinder’s EPA fuel economy ratings, the extra up-front cost for the diesel is likely to pay for itself within a couple years.
The new engine option enhances what was already a class-leading truck. The Ram 1500 has the nicest interior of any full-size pickup. Its upgraded touchscreen interface is impressively easy to use and offers substantial technology capabilities. The 2014 Ram 1500 is a full-size pickup available in multiple body styles. The regular cab seats three and is available with either a 6-foot-4-inch or 8-foot cargo bed. The extended cab (“Quad Cab”) can seat up to six and comes only with the 6-foot-4 bed. The crew cab increases rear-seat legroom, and is available with either a 5-foot-7 or 6-foot-4 bed. There are six main trim levels: Tradesman, HFE, SLT, Sport, Laramie and Longhorn.
Many of the upper trim levels’ features are optional on the lower trims. A variety of packages (depending on trim level) are available as well. The Lone Star (Texas only) and my tester, the Big Horn (everywhere but Texas) are similar in that they bundle together a bunch of the SLT’s optional equipment along with special badging and trim. The Outdoorsman (available only on four-wheel-drive trucks) includes gray bumpers, a larger gas tank, underbody skid plates, tow hooks, all-terrain tires, a limited-slip rear differential, cloth bucket seats with console, two-tone paint and fender flares. Other notable stand-alone options include an air suspension (optional for extended and crew cab models only), integrated weatherproof bins (called RamBox) and an integrated trailer-brake controller.
Depending on the cab/bed configuration and axle ratio you choose, a properly equipped Ram 1500 V6 can tow up to 7,450 pounds, while the diesel Ram 1500 maxes out at 9,200 pounds. One with the 5.7-liter V8 can tow up to 10,450 pounds – which is less than its competitors, but not by much.
Standard safety equipment on the 2014 Ram 1500 includes four-wheel antilock disc brakes, stability control, hill start assist, trailer sway control, front seat side airbags and full-length side curtain airbags. A fully integrated trailer brake controller is optional.
A rearview camera and front/rear parking sensors are either standard or optional on all Ram 1500s. Models with Uconnect Access have an emergency telematics system that connects you with 911 operators at the touch of a button and provides stolen vehicle tracking.
The Ram 1500’s cabin is as good as it gets in the pickup segment. Even the lower trim levels boast an attractive design, with quality materials and intuitive controls that are reasonably easy to reach, while the luxurious Laramie’s wood-grain trim and leather upholstery is predictably posh. Seasoned truck owners might be thrown off at first by the rotary shift knob on the dashboard (which replaces a conventional shift lever), but it frees up useful space in the front seat, especially in Rams with a center console. The front seats themselves are soft, yet strike an adequate balance between support and comfort. The crew cab’s rear seat is very comfortable, offering loads of legroom and an agreeable seatback angle.
Two touchscreen interfaces are available (one 5 inches, the other 8.4 inches) that do a great job of controlling simple and complicated tasks. The touch buttons are large and easy to see at a glance, while physical knobs and buttons provide much appreciated redundant control. Updates to the touchscreen system have made it even easier to use and more visually pleasing than previous models. Other modern convenience features include keyless entry/ignition, adjustable pedals, Bluetooth, voice recognition, smartphone app connectivity and even WiFi hotspot capability.
The Ram provides plenty of standard and optional storage spaces. The quad cab has a clever fold-out flat floor space when you flip up the 60/40 rear seats, while the crew cab features watertight storage compartments under the rear floor as well as shallow bins under the flip-up backseat. Unique to the Ram 1500 is the optional RamBox feature, which places a pair of lockable compartments over the rear fenders inside the truck bed. With the right equipment levels, these compartments can even be locked and unlocked via remote.
Until next week, drive safe, buckle up and don’t text and drive.
