2009 Dodge Ram 1500
by Jim Prueter -12/2008

We drive the all-new Dodge Ram

Last April we got our first look at the completely redesigned Dodge Ram pickup and came away very impressed with the top-of-the-line Laramie. We didn’t get a chance to spend any time behind the wheel of the pre-production prototype, and therefore couldn’t share a driving impression.

This week, we tested a fully-loaded high-end Laramie crew-cab four-wheel-drive, powered by a new 5.7-liter Hemi that ups the horsepower 13 percent to 390. Dodge says 50 percent of Ram sales will be the crew cab and 65 percent will be powered by the Hemi.

Our Hemi-powered Laramie has a fuel economy rating of 13 miles per gallon in the city and 18 highway. That’s, in part, because it is the only full-size pickup on the market that has a cylinder-deactivation system that cuts out four of the eight cylinders during highway cruising to increase fuel economy. The big truck never feels short of power and you don’t feel the switch from eight to four cylinders. A small “fuel saver” readout near the speedometer is the only telltale indicator. Still, we averaged just 12.2 mpg during our weeklong test in a mix of city and highway driving.

Dodge has promised a turbodiesel and a gas-electric dual-mode hybrid for 2010 models. The same hybrid system was used in the discontinued Durango and Chrysler Aspen SUVs and was achieving around 20 mpg in city driving.

With the newest Ram, Dodge went all out, putting the previous generation as far from one’s memory as possible. Mission accomplished. Kudos to the designers at Dodge for fixing what no one would argue was the worst interior in the business.

The new Ram interior in our Laramie is nothing short of gorgeous and wouldn’t look out of place in most luxury sedans. The design is well planned, executed and crafted. Gone are the acres of hard plastic, replaced with soft-touch material and convincing wood trim. The material across the front and top of the dash is actually stitched, not molded to look like it is.

Gone, too, are the white-faced gauges, replaced by a five-gauge cluster that looks cool and is easy to read. Our shift lever was on the column (but it’s also available on the center console) and we almost never got it in the right gear when shifting out of park. Annoyingly, it doesn’t have an auto stop at “D.”

The seats are thick, nicely bolstered and extremely comfortable. The rear seat has an exceptional amount of legroom, mainly because Dodge shortened the eight-foot cargo bed to five-feet seven-inches, using the extra room for inside the cab. But unlike Toyota Tundra, the rear seat doesn’t slide nor does the seat-back angle adjust.

The biggest surprise with the new Ram is the car-like ride, thanks to the new five-link, coil-spring suspension on the rear, replacing the traditional leaf-spring arrangement found on the previous Ram and on all other trucks. No other truck offers a ride as smooth and comfortable. Truck bounce is gone. Handling is improved and the steering is more precise. The competition will say the new suspension hurts the payload and towing capacity but we say, not enough to make much difference. We’ll take the better ride over load capacity.

Other things we liked about the new Ram: RamBox, the ingenious use of the truck’s outer cargo-bed walls as lighted and locking bins on either side, large enough to hold golf clubs, tools, camping equipment or up to 120 cans of soda and ice on each side. Dual floor bins under the rear carpeted floor mat each hold another 10 cans with ice. The center console will hold a laptop. The power sliding rear window. Plastic bed dividers that fit in slots along the side rails to keep items in place. Cool new backup camera, remote start, optional wireless internet link, rear-seat TV for the kids, dual exhaust pipes carved into the rear bumper, a heated steering wheel.

A few things we didn’t like: Radio controls are maddening to figure out and use. Slam, slam and slam the doors again to get them to shut tightly.

Make no mistake, the new Ram is a big truck and the new massive hood and wide interior can make driving a bit intimidating. But it drives smaller than it looks, maneuvers easily, and handles twisty roads and quick cornering with confidence. Still, parking is a pull up, stop, back up and pull forward exercise.

For those who like driving trucks or need it for the worksite (but not necessarily with the biggest load capacity) the new Ram is hard to beat. We put 800 miles on the Ram during our weeklong test and never once got tired of getting behind the wheel.