Truck or Locomotive?Whether or not you consider yourself a "truck guy or gal," you've got to love the slow growl of a Cummins turbo-diesel; it is the quintessential truck sound. In fact, the low-resonance harmonics generated by my tester
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| (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Auto123.com) |
when under load led me to believe I had the throttle of a diesel locomotive in hand. Whether I did or not, I'm certain I had its pulling power under foot. Displacing 5.9 litres (360 cu in), the big Cummins inline-6 is capable of mustering-up 610 foot-pounds of torque at only 1,600 rpm, enough grunt I suspect to pull a loaded coal train through the Rockies. How does a six-cylinder oil burner manufacture so much clout you ask? Well in this case the secret lies in a turbo-charged compression ratio of 17.2:1 combined with 4-valves per cylinder filling and evacuating the six big cylinders with remarkable efficiency. But the Cummins-equipped, 2006 Dodge RAM 2500 Mega Cab isn't all about pulling power; its massive cab size sets numerous Biggest-in-Class standards. In the parlance of Joe Friday- just the facts:
- Largest, longest cab - 4,112 litres (145.2 cubic feet), 2,821 mm long (111.1 inches)
- Largest interior cargo volume - 2,010 litres (71 cubic feet)
- Largest cargo volume behind rear seat - 215 litres (7.6 cubic feet)
- Largest flat floor load area - 2.31 square metres, 24.9 square feet
- Largest second-row leg room - 1,122 mm (44.2 inches)
- Largest rear door opening - 876 mm wide (34.5 inches), 901 mm high (35.5 inches)
- Largest rear door open angle - 88 degrees
The ultra spacious living area allows for tremendous limb extension from any of the five seating positions, at which headroom is also impressive. With so much real estate to work with, Dodge had plenty of room to insert
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| (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Auto123.com) |
large, wonderfully supportive front seats and a 60/40 split bench rear seat equipped with reclining seat backs. I can't think of any other pickup cab with 37-degrees of rear seat recline. The cab's extended length made this feature possible. From such a comfortable perch, rear seat occupants can snooze away the miles or watch an optional roof-mounted DVD entertainment system. My Laramie tester was so equipped. It was also outfitted with a navigation system, a huge center console bin and all the bells and whistles found in most luxury vehicles, including tasteful wood-like accents. Most spectacular about the interior's functionality was the ease in which the rear seat backs could be folded flat creating a cavernous chamber of cargo space, which thanks to extra wide rear doors that swing open to a hair less than 90 degrees, can be easily accessed. I've never before seen a more expansive or more functional arrangement in the cab of a workhorse pickup truck.
A less impressive aspect of the interior architecture is the long reach to the audio and HVAC controls. Redundant steering-wheel-mounted buttons
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| (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Auto123.com) |
would alleviate this matter, unfortunately my tester was devoid of such convenience which for 2007 is optional on all RAM models except the ST trim level. Although the RAM's interior finishing is attractive and business-like, it's nowhere near the upscale environment Ford has graced their F-series line of pickups with. The RAM's greater reliance on hard yet sensible interior plastics certainly doesn't impede its comfort or drive-ability. I actually found the behemoth very relaxing to drive whether in heavy traffic or on the open road. Given its heavy-duty rating, the HD 2500 RAM rides remarkably well, at least when the more softly sprung front wheels encounter bumps. The much harder RAM tail can buck pretty good when pavement gives way to potholes and washboarding. A little weight in the box would undoubtedly improve ride and handling dynamics.
