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TRAVIS LANGNESS: Today, we're in the middle of off road-country,
looking at the 2019 Ram 2500.
It's brand new from the ground up,
and it's one of two new heavy-duty pickup
trucks from Ram.
But before we take a closer look and show you everything
that's new about it, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube
channel for more videos like this,
and go to Edmunds.com/RoadNoise for more.
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What we're driving today is the 2500 in the limited trim level.
That's the highest trim level you can get on the Ram.
It's got all the options you can think of,
including the optional Cummins Turbo Diesel.
It's an inline six-cylinder motor with 850-pound-feet
of torque and 370 horsepower.
Now, that is the lower of the two available ratings.
You can get that same motor in the 3500 with 1,000-pound-feet
of torque and over 400 horsepower.
With that motor, you can tow over 35,000 pounds, 35,100
to be exact.
But what we really want to find out
is if this rig can be one of the most capable trucks
on the planet while also being one of the most comfortable
and luxurious rides on the road today.
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This is the interior of the new 2500.
And on this limited trim level, things
are really swanky on the inside.
You get lots of leather, different wood grain
choices, great stitching along the dash and on the doors.
And on this trim level, you also get
the massive 12-inch touchscreen in the center.
This is something that Ram has brought up from the 1500
into the 2500 and 3500, and it is one of the best screens
anywhere out there.
Forget just in trucks, this is a super easy to use, super crisp,
great-looking screen on the center of the dash.
And if you just want to pay attention to the road,
it's nice and out of the way.
It doesn't feel monolithic or like it's
protruding from the dashboard.
And then you've got really nice high-class gauges.
These are different, of course, on each different trim level.
A good steering wheel, really comfortable seats.
The truck might be a little bouncy just
like any heavy-duty truck, but this is great for a road trip.
It's going to keep you comfortable.
Another big party piece of this Ram's interior
is the massive center console.
This is another thing that's kind
of a carryover from the 1500.
It's got a ton of space.
You can fit a 15-inch laptop.
You can slide the cup holders forward and back.
There's a wireless charging port where
you can just lean the smartphone up against it and it charges.
Two USB, two USB-C ports, then you've
got another USB port here, more storage underneath here.
It just never ends.
There's a lot of really usable space here,
and there's even more usable space in the side.
Cup holders in the door, this is one
of the most utilitarian interiors you're going to find,
and you really do need that when it comes to a heavy-duty pickup
truck.
In the center console screen, you also
get a couple of unique commands.
This truck, for example, has a bed lowering system
where you can lower the bed so you can have easier access
to load on a trailer, whether that's
on a fifth-wheel or a conventional hitch,
and you've got a 360-degree surround camera system on this.
It's like a bird's eye view that pops up here on the screen.
You've also got optional forward views for off-roading
or if you're in tight spaces.
I mean, really, this is a tech-filled center
console that you can get all sorts of different features
on in this giant pickup truck, which is a great thing to have.
Down here, kind of out of the way,
is the four-wheel drive controls.
Real simple-- two, four, and four low,
and those can be changed depending
on what truck you're in.
If you get the big Power Wagon, those
will be a little bit different.
This is a satisfying interior.
It feels sturdy, but it also feels really high-class.
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So with the Ram 2500, there are three cab options.
There's the Standard Cab, there's the Crew Cab,
and then there's this, the Mega Cab,
and mega is a great word to describe it.
It's huge back here.
I set the front seat a couple inches back
of where I would normally sit, and I have more room
than I could ever want back here.
Plus, these rear seats recline an extra 15 degrees
behind their upright position.
When you put them up right here, there's
still plenty of foot room, knee room, leg room.
And the benefit here is you've got a 60/40 split folding rear
seat.
So if you reach over here, fold this seat down,
you get a nice flat surface so you
can fit large cargo back here while you and your passenger
are up front.
The center console here is also really useful.
You've got two additional USB ports along with USB-C ports.
The outboard seats on this limited trim level are heated,
and you've got 115-volt 400-watt three-prong outlet.
This is great for the inside of a truck.
You can use your laptop, charge your tools,
and it's a really nice space even though you can still
fit a third person in the center seat here.
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A base-level Tradesman Heavy Duty is around $35,000
to start off with, while a limited trim level can get way
into the high 60s, almost $70,000.
We're driving a 2500 with the 6.7-liter Cummins Turbo Diesel,
which is a huge motor with a lot of power.
Right now, I'm going a little over 70
and it's cruising quietly.
You can hear a little bit of hum,
but there's none of that clanky diesel noise that's associated
with trucks like these.
Ram did a lot of work to make sure this was a quieter
truck than the previous model.
They've done active noise cancellation,
they've changed mounts on the chassis, made the engine
lighter as well, and they've changed the way that sound
comes into the cabin.
So they say that it's down as much as 10 decibels
on the interior of this car, which
is a 50% reduction in noise.
Now, I don't know if that's the case.
We've got to get it in-house to test that.
But any lack of noise in the interior
of a big truck like this is an improvement,
and this one is certainly quiet on the highway.
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So with the 6.7 turbo diesel, you
get the same six-speed automatic that you
got in previous models, but everything's been upgraded.
Its upgraded hardware and software.
The transmission is able to communicate
with the truck better and shift quicker when you need it too.
There's also a new available eight-speed on the base
6.4-liter engine, which replaces the 5.7-liter that was
in the 2500 before.
Can't get the 5.7 anymore.
It's just the 6.4 V8 or this 6.7 straight six from Cummins.
While 2500 and 3500 series pickup
trucks, the heavy duties, don't get rated officially
by the EPA for fuel economy, Ram has
said they've made this a more efficient truck,
and in a number of ways.
They've taken weight out of the chassis.
They've taken weight out of the engine.
They've improved the coefficient of drag
up front with the new grill and active grill shutters.
They say this is a much more efficient truck.
Now, there's no real technical way
to know that unless we did a back-to-back test,
but it's nice to know they're improving in that area
or at least saying they are.
One of the really impressive things about this truck
is we're using adaptive cruise control for most
of this stop-and-go traffic stuff
in Southern California, which is really impressive for a truck.
Just a few years ago, this kind of technology--
blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control--
it was all relegated to things like luxury vehicles.
You'd only find out on Mercedes, BMW, and Audi.
But the fact that we're driving along
in something as utilitarian as a Ram 2500
using adaptive cruise control to crawl along on the 405,
it's really impressive.
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So, the Ram has been thoroughly updated.
It is more powerful than before.
It's more comfortable than before.
It's got some of the best tech in the business.
But does it have what it takes to be the most capable
and the most luxurious vehicle on the road?
Honestly, it's a pretty good combination of both.
One of the most capable, one of the most luxurious, one
of the most well-rounded pickup trucks
ever built, especially when it comes
to the heavy-duty segment.
For more information on this truck and its competitors,
be sure to go to Edmunds.com/RoadNoise and check
out all our full reviews.
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