Page 56 - Motor Trend (January 2020)

TOTY
Finalists
PRO 29 mpg highway • Air suspension • Barn-door tailgate option CON Laggy throttle • Heavy, slow steering • Squishy brakes
Ram 1500
ar lovers new to trucks won the best-truck Calipers
unabashedly love the Ram last year. But for 2020, we’re
C 1500. Its coil- or air-sprung zooming past such niceties and
suspension delivers the truck laser-focusing on the new 3.0-liter
world’s most carlike ride. Plus turbodiesel V-6 EcoDiesel engine.
there’s the luxe interior and the Unfortunately for Ram, Chevy and
giant center screen that gives the GMC also returned for a second
Tesla a run for its money. swing at TOTY with Silverado and
Driving this year’s Rebel Sierra 1500 models sporting a new
reminded us vividly of why Ram 3.0-liter turbodiesel I-6.
On objective performance
grounds, the GM Duramax
outpaces the Ram’s EcoDiesel,
whether unladen, carrying 1,000
pounds of payload, or towing a
7,500-pound trailer.
In air-hauling mode, the GMC
Sierra AT4 zips to 60 mph and
through the quarter mile 0.6
second ahead of the similar Ram
Rebel. That’s too great a differen- Walton faulted the Ram’s “poor
tial to be chalked up to the GMC’s
advantages in curb weight (108
SPECS 2020 1500 Rebel 4x4 EcoDiesel (CrewCab)
Base Price/As Tested $52,735/$63,510
Power (SAE net) 260 hp @ 3,600 rpm
Torque (SAE net) 480 lb-ft @ 1,600 rpm
Accel, 0-60 mph 8.1 sec
Accel, 0-60 mph (loaded) 9.7 sec*
Accel, 0-60 mph (towing) 19.8 sec**
Quarter Mile 16.1 sec @ 83.7 mph
Quarter Mile (loaded) 17.2 sec @ 78.8 mph*
Quarter Mile (towing) 21.8 sec @ 62.5 mph**
Braking, 60-0 mph 129 ft
Braking, 60-0 mph (loaded) 129 ft*
Double Lane Change Time 3.8 sec
Davis Dam Frustration 23.6 sec @ 1,653 ft***
Cruise Control 65-mph Overrun 2.9 mph
EPA City/Hwy/Comb 21/29/24 mpg
Vehicle Layout Front-engine, 4WD, 5-pass, 4-door truck Engine/Transmission 3.0L turbodiesel DOHC 24-valve V-6/8-speed automatic
Curb Weight (F/R Dist) 5,769 lb (57/43%) Wheelbase 144.6 in Length x Width x Height 232.9 x 82.1 x 75.8-79.6 in Energy Consumption, City/Hwy 180/130
kW-hr/100 miles CO2 Emissions, Comb 0.93 lb/mile
* 1,500-lb payload | ** 7,500-lb trailer | *** 35-55-mph uphill acceleration with 7,750-lb trailer
56 MOTORTREND.COM JANUARY 2020
pounds) or power (10 hp) because
the Ram holds its own 20-lb-ft
torque advantage. Credit GM’s
savvy 10-speed automatic for
out-shifting FCA’s eight-speed.
The performance discrepancy
grows as the load increases: The
Ram is 1.0 second slower to 60
with 1,000 pounds in the bed, and
it’s 1.8 seconds slower towing the
7,500-pound trailer.
The Ram did scoot through
our emergency lane-change
maneuver more quickly than the
knobbier-tired GMC (3.8 seconds
to 4.1), but a lighter rear-drive
Chevy RST Duramax on street tires
was quicker still (3.7 seconds).
Our on-road assessments
added nuance to the hard facts.
light throttle response at low rpm.
Isn’t that where diesels excel?”
Evans said, “Power delivery feels
less linear than the in the Sierra.”
Seabaugh forgave the Ram’s
relative sloth, countering that it
still “rides nicer, handles better,
and is quieter and more luxurious,
and ultimately a better Swiss
Army knife.” On our drive loops,
Walton noted that the Ram got
“a bit floaty in the curves,” adding
that the steering’s weight felt
“good and hefty, but with a slow
ratio that needs a lot of dial to
negotiate a curve in the road.”
Off-road, Seabaugh granted
an edge to the Sierra AT4’s
“engine and transmission for its
immediacy and precision” but
credited the Rebel’s manual rear
differential lock for delivering
“much more traction than the
auto diff in the GMC.”
Evans agreed that the Ram’s
locking rear diff and adjust-
able air suspension more than
compensated for the advantage
in grip afforded by the GMC’s
Wrangler DuraTrac tires. But he
lamented how the Ram’s “lazier
throttle makes the truck surge
more than the AT4,” and several of
us noted that the Ram’s plush ride
disappears at off-road height.
When towing 7,500 pounds,
Walton sensed more vertical ride
motion and fore/aft lash from the
trailer on the Davis Dam than he
did in the AT4. And keeping his
foot pinned to the floor following
our “frustration test,” he noted
that the Ram topped out at 62
mph on the grade, while the GMC
achieved 70 mph. Evans appre-
ciated the Ram’s mini spotter
mirrors, but Walton missed having
proper trailer mirrors for moni-
toring his rig.
So although we still love most
everything about the Ram 1500,
in its diesel guise it makes a less
compelling case. Frank Markus