Drive in the United States these days and despite all of the talk re the future of motoring, electric vehicles and the environment, V8-powered trucks or super-sized utes are the vehicle of choice – the top three sellers in America are trucks, Ford’s F150 the market leader followed by Chevrolet’s Silverado with Fiat Chryslers’ RAM third, RAM increasing sales there by 14 percent in the last quarter.  In Australia, the smaller RAM 1500 Crew Cab is enjoying considerable growth – the 5.7-litre V8 petrol powered model recently joined by a 3-0-litre ECO diesel – also with 8-speed automatic and I’ve just spent some time behind the wheel – the diesel with a 3,500kg braked towing capacity pumps out 569 Nm of torque from 2000 revs. Visually big, bold and imposing yet amazingly agile with a laconic performance that makes it sweet to drive – more comfortable in fact with a better ride than many sophisticated sedans. The electric rack and pinion power steering well calibrated making handling a breeze – it’s loaded with electronic safety features, plus for towing, adds trailer sway control and ready alert braking plus hill start assist and stability control. The RAM 1500 ECO diesel is not cheap – $10,000 dearer to the equivalent 5.7-litre petrol at $109,950. It may be big and bold and eat utes as they say for breakfast but the RAM 1500 is just so usable, aided by parking sensors front and back plus a rear back up camera. Only minus, an awkward foot operated park brake. 

I’m David Berthon

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