RAM 1500 2018 Review

The RAM 1500 has arrived under the umbrella of official full-volume importer RAM Trucks Australia to compete in the fast-growing premium ute sub-segment.

But the DS-series RAM 1500 model we’re looking at here first went on sale in the US in 2009, meaning its core engineering and design is close to a decade old.

An all-new upper-spec DT-series MY19 RAM 1500 went on sale in the US earlier this year in North America, where it is sold alongside the DS, but it won’t arrive in Australia until 2020.

As we outlined here, the Aussie-market RAM 1500 comes in entry-level $79,950 (drive-away) Express form and in the premium $99,950 (plus on-road costs) Laramie spec tested here.

The 1500 is termed a ‘light-duty’ truck by RAM, with its closely related 2500 and 3500 siblings labelled ‘heavy-duty’. The 1500 is shorter, lower and lighter than its big diesel brothers. It’s much cheaper too; the next RAM up from the 1500, the RAM 2500 Laramie, starts at $164,990 (plus on-road costs).

While the steering is different (rack and pinion in the 1500; recirculating ball in 2500 and 3500), the firewall, wipers and dash are the same. The 1500 takes two days (300 man-hours) to convert in Melbourne and the waiting time for a new 1500 order, if not a colour/option already in stock, can take up to three months.

RAM Trucks Australia is aiming to take 10 per cent of the target market (premium utes priced over $57,000). It wants to sell 2100 RAM 1500s in its first year on sale, with 65 per cent going to the entry-level Express. By its third year on the market, RAM plans to sell 4500 units of the petrol and upcoming diesel 1500 a year.

It’s no surprise then that the 1500 is going to be RAM’s volume-seller: it’ll account for 85 per cent of RAM sales, with the 2500 accounting for 10 per cent and the 3500 five per cent.

A VM Motori 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 (as used in the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Maserati Levante) is due here by year’s end in the upper-spec RAM 1500 Laramie only. The diesel will use the same driveline as the Laramie petrol (eight-speed auto, full-time/part-time transfer case), except that it’ll come with the shorter 3.92:1-ratio diffs only.

While the Express and Laramie share the same 5.7-litre V8 engine (with 291kW of power at 5600rpm and 556Nm of torque at 3950rpm) and eight-speed auto transmission, from there they diverge.

The Express gets a part-time dual-range 4WD system while the Laramie has a full-time/part-time dual-range transfer case.

The Express and Laramie have 3.92:1 diff ratios as standard, but as a no-cost option, Laramie buyers can select fuel-saving 3.21:1 diff ratios.

Taking the taller diffs saves at the bowser (average fuel consumption drops from 12.2L/100km to 9.9L/100km) but also reduces towing capacity from a headline-grabbing 4500kg to a mid-size ute-matching 3500kg (Gross Combined Mass is also reduced, to 6261kg instead of 7237kg).

Perhaps more than most utes, the RAM 1500’s towing and payload capacities aren’t nearly what they’re cracked up to be.

To not exceed the maximum GCM (the maximum permitted weight for vehicle and trailer) while taking full advantage of the 4500kg tow-capacity models, payload is limited to just 87kg (Laramie) and 132kg (Express).

With the Laramie as tested here, with the 3.21:1-ratio diffs (and using all of its 3500kg maximum towing capacity), you’d have a payload of only 111kg.

However, in some cases even just the driver will tip the scales into the red. While RAM 1500 kerb weights includes a full tank of fuel (98 litres for Laramie and an impressive 121 litres for Express), unlike other manufacturers it does not include a nominal weight for the driver.

That means you have to subtract the driver’s weight from the payload figures above before considering any other payload.

So, for example, if you plan to tow a full 4500kg in a Laramie and you weigh 100kg, you’d better start dieting now because your RAM/trailer combo will be 13kg over legal weight.

It all starts to get a bit headache-inducing, but even if you reduce the amount you tow so you can improve payload, you’re potentially still in trouble with the RAM’s relatively low payload maximum (800kg for Laramie, 845kg for Express).

That’s because around 10 per cent of the trailer’s weight becomes vehicle payload once the trailer is hitched up (that is, the weight of the trailer on the towball). A 3500kg trailer would therefore impose about 350kg of that on the towball, meaning you have 450kg of payload capacity in the Laramie (800kg minus 350kg).

At least the RAM 1500 comes with a towbar, electric brake controller and tow/haul mode (which sharpens up engine and transmission response for towing) as standard, so it’s all good to go hauling.

For peace of mind, trailer sway control is also part of the RAM 1500’s safety suite. Other safety gear on the RAM includes a suite of front and side airbags, anti-lock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and traction/stability control, but no autonomous emergency braking (AEB). The 1500 has not been ANCAP crash-tested and, given its relatively low volume, is unlikely to be.

While the 1500 competes on price with premium versions of medium-size utes such as the Ford Ranger, Mercedes-Benz X-Class and Volkswagen Amarok, it is categorised as a large ute.

And large it is, consuming close to six metres in length and just over two metres in width. That’s about 100mm wider and half a metre longer than most competitors.

Highlighting how big it is was parking the 1500 at Bathurst Regional Airport at the launch. The 1500 was too long to fit in the spaces marked out.

The pay-off from being a size above its competitors comes with interior dimensions – the RAM 1500 is much more spacious. With front seats powered back, three tall adult passengers can comfortably sit in the 70/30-split rear bench seat.

The rear seat bases fold up and fold-out sections then present a flat load space.

The tray is also — relatively — jumbo in size, measuring about 1712mm long and 1687mm wide (and 1295mm between the wheel-arches). These figures are between 150mm to 200mm more generous than the mid-size utes.

It’s only in tray depth, where the RAM (at 509mm) is short of the leaders among medium dual-cabs (Amarok and Ranger, which both have 530mm-deep trays).

There’s an abundance of cup-holders and storage bins and neat rubberised clips to store mobile phones on the centre console. The 1500 has dual USB charge ports and can switch between Android Auto and Apple CarPlay mirroring on the 8.4-inch Uconnect 4C Nav touch-screen if you have two such phones connected.

The controls and instruments don’t present any issues except for the foot-operated parking brake, which like the RAM 2500/3500 is placed on the right side of the driver’s footwell and is awkward to engage.

With Falcon and Commodore V8 utes gone, the RAM 1500 remains the only new V8 petrol ute available at around $100K or less. So unlike its competitors, there’s no rattly diesel sound track in the cabin – you’ll get some wind rustle during highway cruising but otherwise it’s very quiet.

When you need to wake up the engine (which happens often) you’re rewarded by a delicious V8 wail seeping into the cabin all the way to its 5500rpm shift point.

The V8 gets the 2600kg RAM moving at about the same rate of acceleration as an Amarok V6 TDI — so it’s quick for the class and certainly has more zing than any of the four-cylinder turbo-diesel utes.

Torque for the 16-valve OHV iron-block V8 peaks at a fairly high 3950rpm and it feels it; anything approaching an incline and the eight-speed auto smoothly drops a gear or three to get revs up to at least the mid-3000rpm level (if not hill-climbing it sits at about 1400rpm in top at 100km/h with the Laramie’s 3.21 gears and 600rpm higher with 3.92 gears).

You’ll want to have a big budget for fuel if you clock up the kays. Despite its fuel-saving cylinder deactivation and claimed average of just under 10L/100km, the big V8 averaged 14.8L/100km on our drive, according to the trip computer. This was over about 200km of loping along at 100km/h on secondary, mostly tarmac roads.

After around 10km of slow, off-road driving, that average soon climbed to 18.3L/100km.

The dampers seem to lack initial compliance as there was a jittery feel in the 1500 while driving on lumpy roads. We encountered only a few corrugations on the launch drive and the RAM skipped sideways over them. I suspect that was not an exception and the too-tied-down suspension was the culprit.

Perhaps this would be resolved with some more payload on board – although we were three-up and carrying around 100kg of camera gear.

The RAM’s suspension was by no means bad; with more substantial undulations the RAM gets into its stride, soaking up the bumps and settling quickly; it lacks the soft front suspension that a few of the utes are blighted with, and is nothing like the sloppy and soft yank barges of the past.

The electric power-assisted rack and pinion steering (it’s the same left-hand drive rack, only it’s flipped over for the RHD conversion) is precise for a ute and free from kick-back. At 12.1m, turning circle isn’t bad for a lanky ute like this.

The off-road section of the launch was more a roam around some hilly paddocks and a water crossing thrown in later, but it did give some indication of the 1500’s off-road worth.

While it has a fairly useful traction control when you’ve got a wheel off the deck it doesn’t have a rear diff lock (unlike most of the upper-spec mid-size utes), just a limited-slip diff. Wheel travel too wasn’t outstanding with its independent front and live rear axle suspension.

Although the minimum ground clearance is 230mm (at the rear diff) it appears as if the front bumper is lower than that and would likely be the point where the RAM would get caught up.

The RAM’s 15.2-degree approach and 23.7-degree departure angles are about average for a ute, but its ramp-over angle is pretty shallow for the class at 17.1 degrees. That big, tall bonnet isn’t the easiest to see over when picking a line on a tight track either.

With the RAM’s air intake in the right inner guard, water crossings should not be a problem, but for steep tracks low-range reduction is not outstanding.

With its free-revving V8 and 32.5:1 overall gear reduction in low-first, the 1500 will run away on a steep hill. While the RAM only has a simple PRND gear selector dial on the dash, you can hold gears when off-roading using push buttons on the steering wheel.

The RAM 1500 is a bit of a mixed bag. I can’t deny they got me when they said “petrol V8”, which as you’d hope sounds sensational, and the 1500 can be pushed along quickly for such a big lump.

The RAM looks great too; despite being an older design, it has presence and no small amount of bling with the chrome-look grille and chromed 20-inch wheels. It’s a very comfortable and (despite its size) easy-to-drive ute as well.

Having everything you need to get towing is a bonus, and the headline towing ability is attractive and better than any mid-size ute – although, as we found, it’s not as great as it first seems.

Having no safety rating and a lack of safety features such as AEB may turn some away and the RAM 1500’s size and fuel thirst in the city — and jittery ride on bumpy roads — are other negatives.

How much does the 2018 RAM 1500 Laramie cost?
Price: $99,950 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 5.7-litre V8 petrol
Output: 291kW/556Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 230g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: N/A