we're here in Bullhead City right on a
Nevada Arizona border where we're
conducting our 2017 three-quarter-ton
premium truck challenge this is one
we've been wanting to do for a long time
yes we've taken these vehicles to the
track driven them in the real world and
seeing how they've performed of steep
grades not just uphill but also to see
how they perform pulling a load down the
hill we had an expert group of truckers
that let us know what they liked and
didn't like about each of these vehicles
here's what they had to say first up the
Chevy Silverado 2500 Midnight editions
these 71 I got to say I think the Chevy
looks badass that blacked-out trim with
the z71 off-road package really is a
fantastic combination a couple things I
don't like about the Chevy the feeding
position is really low and the steering
wheel isn't exactly in front of the
driver it's off centered a little bit on
all the GM trucks this is a problem now
what I like about this truck in this
segment is that GM has put a lot of
energy and technology into the hood not
just the engine but the actual hood this
is a big breather and that's why we're
seeing big power but inside huge
problems we need to upgrade this
interior in this segment the bar is much
higher than we're seeing right now and
come on an exhaust brake with a diesel
engine that you have to reach for that
should be very easy right at hand come
on we can do better than that
the Chevy has the most attitude out of
the whole group both in how it looks and
how it drives that massive hood scoop
the big meaty tires and the blackout
package with the midnight package is a
very commanding presence on the road
when you see this thing in rear view
mirror it definitely stands out I don't
particularly care for the noise that the
mud tires are making compared to the
competitors they have a very definite
wine at highway speeds the other thing
on the Silverado as it has a high hood
scoop which is great for helping that
engine build a little bit more power and
breathe better the downside of that is
it blocks some of your frontal
next up the Ford f250 Super Duty King
Ranch Forge King Ranch has about every
creature comfort you can think of but
one that I love for long-distance towing
is the seat massager both for the
passenger's seat and for the driver's
seat the other thing I like about it
from a contractor and workman's
standpoint is it has a whole array of
already pre-wired overhead switches for
auxiliary lighting the f250 360-degree
camera is great for a truck this size
it's not the only truck to have this
feature but it definitely does it better
than the Nissan you have the cameras
give it a top-down view of the truck so
you can see the corners and the display
is such higher quality than the Nissan
and the screen itself is bigger and you
just get a much better idea of what's
around the truck I have to hand it to
Ford they've done a lot of research and
provided a lot of great features for
people in this segment inside completely
flat floor in the rear passenger area
that means you can stuff a lot of cargo
in back and they also have some
integrated little cubbies underneath the
seats if you need to store individual
things or you even just have awkward
cargo that you need to store in a
lockable area in the bed tie-downs at
the top with locks and at the bottom
that's eight different tie-downs for any
kind of load you could be carrying I
thought that the Ford Super Duty is a
really nice truck I really appreciate
the visibility and the thing it's got
these cutouts on the lower windows on
the side sill that make it really easy
to see the mirrors that make it easy to
see the trailer and now the Nissan Titan
XD Platinum Reserve the Nissan Titan is
kind of a newcomer on the block and it's
got some good points got some bad points
I think it's really comfortable it's got
a really excellent highway ride you
don't feel like you're riding in any
kind of a larger Super Duty heavy duty
truck on the other hand I'm not exactly
sure what this vehicle is I mean we've
got a heavy duty we've got a heavy duty
we have a super duty and we kind of have
a howdy Duty not really sure what is
supposed to compare with the big problem
is towing the powertrain really isn't
suited for towing the same kind of loads
of these other trucks I've got a lot of
slap it's got a lot of
and if it was really marketed as a less
expensive alternative to a heavy-duty
truck that would be okay but it costs
almost as much as the rest of these
heavy-duty trucks so that makes her the
competitor there's a lot to love about
this vehicle not the least of which is a
very well done interior in fact in the
back seat it's got all the storage
capacity and hidden cubbies and and
configurability that any of the other
competitors do but there is no exhaust
break in this vehicle why have a
powerful diesel engine let alone a
Cummins engine under the hood if you
can't manually turn on your exhaust
razor the Nissan is an underperformer
here and not just by a little by a lot
it's significantly down in the power
department which you see in the specs
but you also feel it on the road the
acceleration just isn't there that
confidence while hauling payload just
isn't there compared with the other
truly heavy-duty trucks and finally the
RAM 2500 laramie longhorn what I do
really like about this particular
version is the off-road suspension
really mellows out the ride quality of
this truck is the first time I've driven
this off-road package on a three-quarter
ton and it definitely rides much
smoother and less harsh than without
this package the Ram long horn is a
great package for someone wants the big
rig sound and that's one of the things I
really loved about it you hit the
exhaust brake and it sounds like a big
rig to other items I like is the foot
pedal adjustment it's on the left side
of the steering column makes it easy to
get comfortable I also like the position
of the brake controller it's up high on
the right hand side what's not to love
here two heavy-duty live axles and
Bill's team shot love this
floor-by-floor package love the fact
that it rides so well even though it's a
big heavy truck with monster payload and
monster towing ability but it's the
little things that drive me nuts about
this vehicle like the fact that there's
no telescoping steering wheel yes it has
pedals that can go away or closer to me
but I've got to have some kind of
adjustability for a vehicle at this
price tag
there's a number of things I like about
the RAM I like the way it sounds that
Cummins engine is both powerful and
sounds like a great big diesel truck
should the interior I think is the
nicest one here as well a little bit
cowboy kitschy for me it's a little too
Cracker Barrel on the inside but the
materials are fantastic the fit and
finish is fantastic it's well screwed
together
you