A scenic drive, regardless of the terrain, comes easy for the 2013 Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4-by-4.
Ride and handling are the best around for the Ram, since Dodge three years ago replaced the pickup’s leaf springs with a multi-link coil-spring rear suspension.
The Quad Cab has a 140-inch wheelbase; every inch of that could be measured several times on maneuvering the sharp twists and bends and short turns up and over Guanella Pass last weekend. That extended wheelbase, though, permits four-door seating and a very accommodating 6-foot-4 bed length.
The aspen gold colors were outstanding against a dusting of snow on Mount Bierstadt and we (Jan, Ruth and I) stopped at one point to watch three bighorn sheep high up on a rocky ledge. The high seating positions and a surround of deep glass lend good vision opportunities.
Guanella Pass is a 22-mile drive from Georgetown on I-70 to Grant on U.S. 285. The road from Georgetown to the top of the pass has been resurfaced and paved, and supported with lots of retaining walls and guardrails. The road goes much rougher on the Park County side to Grant, adding to the suspension test for the Ram.
The ’13 Ram goes on sale this month.
The climb was a breeze for the smooth underhood combination of the 395-horsepower, 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine and 6-speed automatic transmission. Electric power steering adds to the smoothness, although the steering effort occasionally seems a bit light.
An optional powertrain, the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 and an 8-speed automatic transmission, will give the new Ram a best-in-class fuel mileage reading of up to 25 miles per gallon.
With the Hemi in command, we averaged 18.3 mpg for the drive to Georgetown, up and over the pass to Grant and back to Denver and Greeley. For the entire week, the Ram averaged 17.2. The 5.7 V-8 in recent years has been geared higher; it kicks down into the lower gears only with definite intention of the driver, and, in cruising the highway, is capable of running on four cylinders.
The Ram cabin is quiet, with lots of storage space. An open storage box sits above the closed glove compartment, a drawer slides out beneath the center stack, and the large drop-down compartment between the front seatbacks has three built-in cupholders. Get used to this amount of storage space and it would be difficult to go back to a sedan where items slide all over the center console, sliding off at many turns.
Seventy-five percent of 2012 Ram 1500 buyers are male. The Dodge Ram’s popularity soared in 1994 when the redesign featured the big-rig look with massive grille. For 2013, the grille is an inch taller. Push a button on the key fob, it not only locks the doors, it also locks the tailgate.
The model of Quad Cab 4-by-4 I drove was the Express. From its base price of $30,630, it climbed to $36,215 with the addition of 20-by-8-inch aluminum wheels and P275/50R20 all-season tires, trailer brake control, remote keyless entry, anti-spin differential rear axle, dual rear exhaust with bright tips, 32-gallon fuel tank, 5-inch touch-screen display, Uconnect voice command with Bluetooth and satellite radio.
A shift-on-the-fly transfer case is controlled from a switch on the dash. It is equipped with four-wheel antilock disc brakes, cruise control, automatic headlamps, air conditioning, power windows/lock/mirrors and trip computer.
The Ram 1500 is built at Warren, Mich., where more than 12.5 million Dodge trucks have been put together since 1938.
Notes from e-mail
Q: Bud, the driver-assist system on the Subaru Legacy featured in last week’s Saturday Drive really bothers me. More manufacturers are doing things along the line all the time. The cars nowadays are getting smarter than a lot of drivers on the road. People will come to rely on this kind of system to take care of the actual act of driving and they won’t pay attention to what they are doing. That means they will have more time for texting or playing video games, since the car will take care of the acceleration and brake application when needed. Wait until one of these driver-assist systems fails to work and there is a bad collision; guess who the non-attentive driver will sue. Be safe and pay attention, everybody. – J.S.
A: You and I agree, John, on the importance of driving safety. We disagree on the merit of the new driver-assist system. Driver inattentiveness has always been a safety problem. The system which slows down your car on approaching another from the rear, alerts the driver when angling toward the edge of the road, and applies the brakes in an emergency adds safety not only for the driver, but for other motorists. A highway safety campaign is needed to stress serious attitude by drivers, young and old.
Saturday Drive can also be viewed online at DenverPost.com/Autos. Bud Wells can be reached via e-mail at bwells@denverpost.com.
