Topic: First Drive: 2013 Ram 1500

[Autos_Editor]

The changes to the refreshed -- and significantly improved -- 2013 Ram 1500 go well below the surface, says Grant Yoxon.

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[Whofan]

Not a big Dodge fan, but I really like what I'm reading about this 1500.

Comes December, I think this one might be on the number 1 list to check out.  300hp on a V6, that's all I need, not planing to tow anything really and perfect for the family with the Crew cab.

my 2¢'s anyway

[OliverD]

Will the Pentastar be available with the crew cab though?

Some of the things Chrysler is doing under Fiat are quite impressive, and this is a very comprehensive mid cycle upgrade for the Ram 1500. It will be interesting to see how much of this carries over to next year's 2500/3500 models.

20% better fuel economy for the Hemi sounds like a very nice improvement. Hopefully that is reflected in real world numbers as well.

On another forum people were saying that truck buyers don't care about fuel consumption. That may be true to some extent but the reality is that automakers are engineering these improvements as much for their CAFE numbers as they are for consumers.

[redman]

"On another forum people were saying that truck buyers don't care about fuel consumption. That may be true to some extent but the reality is that automakers are engineering these improvements as much for their CAFE numbers as they are for consumers."

I agree simple because it use to be one or the other, power or fuel economy. Given the option of power and fuel economy, the consumer will easily shift. This vehicle is really starting to look like a viable option for me over a CUV/SUV.

[Fobroader]

While all the interior refinements are great and all, the thought of Chrysler and a very complicated 8 speed tranny scares the crap out of me. Plus, V6+Crew Cab+4x4=one gutless vehicle. 269 lb-ft of torque and 5300lbs of towing.......why bother, there are SUVs that can tow more, thats pathetic, why buy a truck? Im sorry, a V6 in a 2wd, stripper deluxe regular cab, short box with a manual tranny, sure, fleet vehicle, but unless they strap that V6 with a turbo or 2, perhaps a blower, thats not going to do at all in the most popular trucks, the crew cabs.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Dad pulled a 28ft 5th wheel with his 200hp 5.7L manual tranny Chev. My 1986 F150 4x4 had 150hp. I wasn't drag racing, I was hauling nets and O2 bottles, no real issues at the time. Now we need 300-400hp MINIMUM!

How on earth did we manage?

[Fobroader]

Dad pulled a 28ft 5th wheel with his 200hp 5.7L manual tranny Chev. My 1986 F150 4x4 had 150hp. I wasn't drag racing, I was hauling nets and O2 bottles, no real issues at the time. Now we need 300-400hp MINIMUM!

How on earth did we manage?

Trucks were a lot lighter and there was nothing better available on the market back then. 5000lbs isnt that much of load, but I bet you at almost maximum GVWR you would be hating life with this V6. My issue isnt the hp, its the torque, or lack there of, for a truck, nowhere near enough.

[nsmyhte]

Dad pulled a 28ft 5th wheel with his 200hp 5.7L manual tranny Chev. My 1986 F150 4x4 had 150hp. I wasn't drag racing, I was hauling nets and O2 bottles, no real issues at the time. Now we need 300-400hp MINIMUM!

How on earth did we manage?

Yes, but those trucks have the most important thing for towing/hauling: low end torque.  Chrysler's 3.6 V6 is pretty gutless in the torque department. 

[Sir Osis of Liver]

We had a 7.3L Powerstroke 4wd dually with a 12 ft flatbed. Tare weight was ~6000lbs. There are F150s now that are not far off.

That's the thing. Weight is way up, power is way up, fuel consumption is likely not much worse. I'd like to know what the fuel ecomomy would be for a modern version of that 150hp F150 would be.

[Fobroader]

We had a 7.3L Powerstroke 4wd dually with a 12 ft flatbed. Tare weight was ~6000lbs. There are F150s now that are not far off.

That's the thing. Weight is way up, power is way up, fuel consumption is likely not much worse. I'd like to know what the fuel ecomomy would be for a modern version of that 150hp F150 would be.

A 150 Hp F150 would have to have a small 4 cylinder, nobody makes a V6 or V8 with that little power anymore. The thing is, the torque of your 150 hp F150 was probaby at a lower RPM than this new V6 Ram. What did you F150 have for an engine 4.9L I6???

[Sir Osis of Liver]

How many air bags did your old trucks have?  Shoulder belts?  Power windows / locks?  6 speed transmission?  Fully boxed frame?  ABS?  Interior carpet?  All of these add weight.

Yup. They sure do. No getting around some of that like the crash standards and safety stuff. I could do well without power locks and windows, nav, tonnes of sound insulation and the rest of that kind of crap.

The old F150 frame was pretty flexible, but it's a truck. It's not like I was tracking it and strafing apexes.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

We had a 7.3L Powerstroke 4wd dually with a 12 ft flatbed. Tare weight was ~6000lbs. There are F150s now that are not far off.

That's the thing. Weight is way up, power is way up, fuel consumption is likely not much worse. I'd like to know what the fuel ecomomy would be for a modern version of that 150hp F150 would be.

A 150 Hp F150 would have to have a small 4 cylinder, nobody makes a V6 or V8 with that little power anymore. The thing is, the torque of your 150 hp F150 was probaby at a lower RPM than this new V6 Ram. What did you F150 have for an engine 4.9L I6???

5.0L V8 and 4 speed auto. I actually just looked it up. One source is saying 185 hp at 3,800 rpm with 270 ft.-lb. of torque at 2,400 rpm. I guess my memory isn't that good.

Pentastar is 305 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque by way of reference.

[Vanstar]

We had a 7.3L Powerstroke 4wd dually with a 12 ft flatbed. Tare weight was ~6000lbs. There are F150s now that are not far off.

That's the thing. Weight is way up, power is way up, fuel consumption is likely not much worse. I'd like to know what the fuel ecomomy would be for a modern version of that 150hp F150 would be.

A 150 Hp F150 would have to have a small 4 cylinder, nobody makes a V6 or V8 with that little power anymore. The thing is, the torque of your 150 hp F150 was probaby at a lower RPM than this new V6 Ram. What did you F150 have for an engine 4.9L I6???

The gargantuan physical proportions, little of it used for payload, also adds a fair bit of size, too. 

[Fobroader]

We had a 7.3L Powerstroke 4wd dually with a 12 ft flatbed. Tare weight was ~6000lbs. There are F150s now that are not far off.

That's the thing. Weight is way up, power is way up, fuel consumption is likely not much worse. I'd like to know what the fuel ecomomy would be for a modern version of that 150hp F150 would be.

A 150 Hp F150 would have to have a small 4 cylinder, nobody makes a V6 or V8 with that little power anymore. The thing is, the torque of your 150 hp F150 was probaby at a lower RPM than this new V6 Ram. What did you F150 have for an engine 4.9L I6???

The gargantuan physical proportions, little of it used for payload, also adds a fair bit of size, too.

how many sheets of 4x8' plywood can you get into your smart car?? How many bags of concrete will your Prius haul? What kind of 5th wheel hitch do you have for your Leaf? How does your Volt do pulling 8000lbs worth of trailer over Rogers Pass??

[Sir Osis of Liver]

how many sheets of 4x8' plywood can you get into your smart car?? How many bags of concrete will your Prius haul? What kind of 5th wheel hitch do you have for your Leaf? How does your Volt do pulling 8000lbs worth of trailer over Rogers Pass??

Most of the trucks in my neighbourhood have crew cabs and 5.5' beds and the paint isn't scuffed in the receiver hitches. They're not hauling much more than my OB.

[Fobroader]

how many sheets of 4x8' plywood can you get into your smart car?? How many bags of concrete will your Prius haul? What kind of 5th wheel hitch do you have for your Leaf? How does your Volt do pulling 8000lbs worth of trailer over Rogers Pass??

Most of the trucks in my neighbourhood have crew cabs and 5.5' beds and the paint isn't scuffed in the receiver hitches. They're not hauling much more than my OB.

I can haul your OB with my 3/4 ton and have scratches, dents and rust in the bed to prove that I used the bloody thing......I know what youre saying, Ive seen enough trucks without a spec of dust on the frame and a scratch in the box.

[Ex-airbalancer]

how many sheets of 4x8' plywood can you get into your smart car?? How many bags of concrete will your Prius haul? What kind of 5th wheel hitch do you have for your Leaf? How does your Volt do pulling 8000lbs worth of trailer over Rogers Pass??

Most of the trucks in my neighbourhood have crew cabs and 5.5' beds and the paint isn't scuffed in the receiver hitches. They're not hauling much more than my OB.

My Pruis can fit a 6 ft ladder inside and kept nice and dry, cannot do that with 5'5" box

[Oldsguy]

A lot of people, for some reason, seem to want a body-on-frame, RWD, V-8 powered blunt instrument to drive themselves to the mall. Since Detroit no longer makes cars like that, they resort to pickups with crew cabs for when they have to take the kiddies somewhere. The beds only get used when they go to Costco.

[Whofan]

What AP said 

as for needing a pick up truck... not really, BUT the practicality, the extra space and cargo, suits well we our needs and /w no need to tow anything, so the TQ on the V6 is not a major issue, but that's where test drives comes in and you get a feel of the vehicle, if the ass dyno says that it sucks in power, then you move on to the next one.

all I have seen about the new Ram in on the screen, so one I get to drive a real one, then I'll have a better inform opinion, maybe the new F150 might be better after all.

and to compare to older trucks, is not fair, different reality and a life time ago.

[Northernridge]

I like the new Dodge – am intrigued by the real coil suspension as a ride improvement over leafs. I would give up some tow/haul capacity for ride improvement.

As for using trucks as a truck. I fall into that segment, the only time my Sierra moves is to tow, haul or drive off-road. This is my first base-model truck, I use to feel bad abusing my leather-clad loaded pickups. No more, I view my truck as a tool only and I dig it more as a result.

But I don't negative judge people who buy trucks as their daily driver...don't even know what all the fuss is about. Canada is a big country with big roads, drive what you want. Improved fuel economy and emission restrictions are catching up to trucks.