For truck buyers whose paychecks are dependent on hauling capability, the longstanding school of thought is that diesel power is the only choice once you enter three-quarter-ton-and-up territory. After all, it’s hard to argue with the massive low-end grunt of an oil burner when you have a weighty job to do. But as with politics, access to power takes money, and putting a Cummins diesel under the hood of the Ram 2500 will set you back an additional $7995 over the cost of the standard 5.7-liter gasoline V-8.
To bridge that gap, Ram now offers the 6.4-liter Hemi in its 2500 and 3500 HD pickups. A $1495 option, this V-8 packs 410 horsepower and 429 lb-ft of twist, increases of 27 and 29 over the base 5.7-liter Hemi. And while it is certainly shy of the top-rated diesel's impressive and influential 800 lb-ft of torque, it does beat the Cummins' 370-hp rating.
Different Strokes
With the 6.4-liter Hemi engine nestled between its fenders, the Ram 2500 has an entirely different personality than does its diesel analogue. Step hard on the accelerator in the 2500 Hemi, and the run to 60 mph takes 7.9 seconds; stay in it, and the quarter-mile mark arrives in 16.1 at 88 mph. (Note: Our test truck substituted a 4.11:1 rear end for the stock 3.73:1, a $125 option.) Although that’s 0.6 second better in the 0-to-60 and quarter-mile measures than the 2012 Ram 2500 diesel we last tested, it doesn’t tell the entire story. When it comes to motivating 7039 pounds of Ram truck, the gasoline Hemi is all hands on deck, working overtime to rush through its six-speed automatic transmission. Its diesel-powered sibling, however, goes about its business with conviction, working hard but never feeling stressed or short of muscle.
Deciphering tow ratings for pickups can be a gray area—the trailering tables for Ram’s HD pickups are 23 pages long—but checking the box for the aforementioned 4.10:1 rear axle increased the tow rating of our Ram 2500 Big Horn crew-cab 4x4 test truck to 15,500 pounds from the 12,500-pound figure quoted for the standard 3.73:1 axle. Tow ratings for the standard 5.7-liter gas engine check in at 11,060 pounds for the 3.73:1 axle and 13,060 pounds for the 4.10:1. Despite having nearly double the amount of torque on tap, the Cummins diesel with six-speed automatic combo in the Ram 2500 Big Horn crew-cab 4x4 ups the max tow figure to only 17,120 pounds. In that light, the eight-grand less-expensive 6.4-liter Hemi begins to make more sense, particularly for buyers who don’t tow on a daily basis. (Curiously, selecting the popular RamBox bed storage bins lowers the tow figure by a seemingly inconsequential 140 pounds in the 6.4-liter gas trucks and 110 pounds in the diesel.) Fuel economy is an equally close race: We averaged 11 mpg in the Ram 2500 Hemi compared with 12 mpg in the 2012 Ram 2500 diesel. A 2013 Ram 3500 dualie we tested last year averaged 13 mpg.
Get Sprung
Until now, virtually every truck rated at three-quarter tons and higher employed rear leaf springs, technology almost as old as the wheel itself. Reliable and dumb-nuts simple, poor ride quality is the leaf spring’s enduring sore spot. To get a handle on it without compromising payload capability, Ram has outfitted the 2500 with a new five-link coil-spring rear suspension for 2014. We’re sure it’s a fine arrangement on its own merits, but our tester was outfitted with the also-new-for-2014 auto-leveling rear air suspension ($1595) that replaces the springs with airbags. So equipped, the 2500 Big Horn crew cab challenged our preconceived notions regarding the unladen ride quality of a heavy-duty truck. There’s no mistaking the giant Ram 2500 for a car, but the engineers have certainly taken some rough edges off the truck’s ride, particularly in regard to impact harshness. (We’ve gone on record with our appreciation of the smooth ride offered by our long-term Ram 1500 4x4’s four-corner air-spring suspension.)
Ease of maneuvering the 7039-pound Ram and reducing driver fatigue are top priorities for the truck’s hydraulic power steering, so attributes such as feedback and on-center feel are absent. Nonetheless, the big 2500 displays surprisingly good transient responses in town and tracks true on the highway, with one caveat: when the winds kick up, the truck wanders like a college dropout with a trust fund, requiring constant correction to stay on the path. Pressed hard on our 300-foot skidpad, the Ram 2500 pulled 0.70 g of lateral grip while exhibiting heavy understeer. Hauling the truck down to a stop from 70 mph consumed 202 feet, with the driver reporting no fade in repeated stops. “Pedal feel” is a relative term in the HD truck world, and the Ram 2500’s brake pedal gets the job done, but without distinction.
Cowboy Deluxe
The Big Horn trim level of our test truck sits above the Tradesman and SLT in Ram truck hierarchy. Our example included the 22Z package ($1835), with steering-wheel-mounted audio controls, underhood illumination, Big Horn badging, and a 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat. The Luxury Group package ($640) added, among other niceties, a heated steering wheel and seats, auto-dimming mirrors, and Ram’s trick, configurable seven-inch multiview screen in the instrument cluster. Checking the box for Chrysler’s familiar Uconnect system ($1005) brought an 8.4-inch touch screen, satellite radio, navigation, and multiple connectivity options.
So equipped, the 2500 crew cab’s interior is the same comfy place we’ve come to know and love in recent Ram trucks. Controls are within easy reach, storage is ample (dual glove boxes!), and dual rearview cameras (cargo view, $325, and backup, $200) made it easy to forget we were in a nearly 20-foot-long vehicle. But it was ready to work, with the Fifth-Wheel/Gooseneck Towing Prep group ($400), 220-amp alternator ($100), side steps ($600), LT275/70-18 on-/off-road tires ($200), a spray-in bedliner ($475), and finally, the Protection group ($100), which adds tow hooks and a transfer-case skid plate. By the time the Ram 2500 Big Horn cleared the ticket window, it was commanding an as-tested $52,600.
We’re impressed with how civilized the HD-truck segment has become over the past decade or so, but there’s still no getting around the fact that this 6.4-liter Hemi-powered Ram is a 3.5-ton rolling workhorse. There is a price to pay at the pump, regardless of which fossil fuel you choose to burn, and the choice between gas and diesel seems to boil down to whether you’ll haul piles of stuff most often behind or in your truck.
Specifications
Andrew Wendler brings decades of wrenching, writing, and editorial experience with numerous outlets to Car and Driver. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Car and Driver, Esquire, Forbes, Hot Rod, Motor Trend, MPH, MSN, and Popular Mechanics, among others. A Rust Belt native and tireless supporter of the region, he grew up immersed in automotive, marine, and aviation culture. A lifetime of hands-on experience and a healthy dose of skepticism provide him the tools to deliver honest and informative news, reviews, and editorial perspective. Of note, he once won a $5 bet by walking the entire length of the elevated People Mover up track that encircles downtown Detroit.
