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Car and Driver

Tested: 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab Is Ahead of Its Time

From the October 2001 issue of Car and Driver. Like so many recent renewals rolling out of the DaimlerChrysler design works—perhaps we should spell that design werke?—the revitalization of the rough, tough Dodge Ram pickup represents a very tricky challenge, to wit: make it look different, as in new, without making it look too different. Aye, there's the rub. Although that butch Power Wagon look has become thoroughly familiar since its dramatic debut for the 1994 model year, it still stands out in a crowd of pickups and still polarizes the market. The '94 Ram swaggered onto center stage and promptly began selling at a rate almost triple its pre­decessor's languid pace—232,000 in its first year, about 14 percent of the full-size-­pickup market. That performance spiked to 21 percent in 1998, when the Quad Cab was added to the lineup, a share that Dodge has set as its goal for the redesigned Ram. Which meant no fooling around with the basic concept. Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver Correctly perceiving the macho mug of the 1994 original (left) as a strength, Dodge chose to accentuate the positive with it's replacement. Design vice-president Rick Aneiros cites the "horse-collar grille, dropped front fenders, and crosshair grillework" as the key elements in the Ram's unique looks, and the new truck carries them forward with subtle refinements, such as an even bigger grille. Clear-lens headlamps brighten up the front end, and so does the additional chrome slathered on most models. The Sport version, by contrast, is the easiest to identify as new, thanks to its frosted mesh grille, body-color horse collar, and 20-inch wheels. (The other Rams ride on 17-inch wheels.) HIGHS: Power Wagon persona, versatile interior storage, roomy cabin, pleasant ride quality. There are other exterior changes. The windshield rake is "faster" (60 degrees, versus 55 in the previous Ram), a change aimed at wind-noise reduction. Another Quad Cab change is easier to spot, at least for Ram cognoscenti. The previous Quad Cab had rear-hinged demi-doors in back. Now it has four standard doors with "hinges at the front, just as God intended," according to Aneiros. We admit that we were unfamiliar with this aspect of the Almighty's automotive preferences. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver Still another hard-to-see upgrade is the size of the extended cab, which has been stretched a full 3.0 inches. The cab is also a half-inch wider and slightly taller, and as you'd expect, the sum of all these increases is more interior space, extended cab or standard. The cargo box has shrunk from 78.0 to 75.0 inches, to keep overall length out of aircraft-carrier territory. Even so, the new Quad Cab measures 227.7 inches from stem to stern, 3.6 inches longer than a comparable predecessor. Aneiros says the net of the various styling upgrades is a Ram that retains its macho character but also looks "perky and alert," words that didn't spring to mind when we first beheld the new truck—and still don't. And even though cosmetics are impor­tant, the key changes lie beneath the new sheetmetal. These Rams ride an all-new ladder chassis featuring one-piece hydro­formed box-section rails that extend all the way to the rear axle, the longest in the industry, according to Dodge, and, inevitably, far stiffer than the old frame. It's also designed for crushability, with crimping in the forward rail-ends to manage impact energy. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver Chassis dimensions have expanded, too. The wheelbase has stretched from 138.7 to 140.5 inches, and the track expands slightly at both ends. Four-wheel drive continues to be available as an option, of course—an option absent on our test truck—but with either two-wheel drive or four, the new Ram rolls into the pickup wars with independent front suspension (coil springs on two-wheel-drive editions, torsion bars on four-wheelers) and power rack-and-pinion steering. The upper front control arms and knuckles are aluminum, which helps keep curb weights essentially unchanged. The brakes are discs at both ends, with huge rotors (13.2 inches in front, vented; 13.8 inches at the rear, solid)—a set of manhole covers that Dodge calls the biggest in the truck biz. However, unlike General Motors, Dodge makes four-wheel ABS a $495 option (rear ABS is standard). Similarly, the Ram's curtain-side air­bags—a pickup-truck first—are also optional, which seems out of step with Dodge's emphasis on safety. LOWS: So-so seating comfort, numb steering, very average grunt. The new 1500-series Rams (heavy-­duty 2500 and 3500 editions will be updated for the 2003 model year) offer three engine choices, two of them—a 3.7-liter SOHC V-6 (215 horsepower, 235 pound-feet of torque) and a 4.7-liter SOHC V-8 (235 hp, 295 pound-feet)—new to the family. The OHV 5.9-liter V-8 (245 hp, 335 pound-feet) carries over. The two new Magnum motors are available with either a five-speed manual (standard) or a four­-speed automatic, which features two second-gear ratios, one for ordinary accel­eration, one for giddyup. The 5.9-liter mates with an older four-speed automatic. If the 3.7- and 4.7-liter powertrains seem familiar, it's because they're straight out of the Jeep parts bin. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver One of the major goals of the Ram ren­ovation was improved ride quality, some­thing the new truck seems to deliver, although not all of us agreed on this. Increased agility was another important dynamic target, and we'd score the Ram's responses as above average, though not by much. This still feels like a big pickup truck to us, and we also think its reflexes are somewhat muted by excessive power­-steering assist, making the benefits of a rack-and-pinion system seem wasted. We're lukewarm regarding straight­-ahead performance, too. The 4.7-liter V-8 (standard in Quad Cabs) gets the Ram off the line briskly but begins running out of wind as the needle (fluorescent orange) creeps across the (fashionably white) face of the speedometer. It took 8.8 seconds for that needle to advance to 60 mph—­respectable for this class—but forward progress beyond 60 was deliberate. On the other hand, the Ram's braking power is good by pickup standards (70 mph to standstill in 197 feet, with moderate fade), its straight-line stability is excellent, and its all-around composure is tough to fault. View Photos Aaron Kiley | Car and Driver The element that impresses us most, however, is the Ram's revised interior. Materials are improved, there are more clever storage touches than you'd find in a bluewater sailboat, the foot pedals are power-adjustable, the vast center con­sole—big enough for a laptop—now includes a power point for said laptop, the windows roll all the way down, and there's room for three adults in back. We could wish for better front seats, but the Quad Cab's interior otherwise stacks up as tops. Dodge expects the base 2002 standard-cab Ram to start at $18,865, and a rear­-drive Quad Cab to start at $22,865. Ford's F-150 SuperCrew, the only other true four­-door short-box full-size pickup, starts at $27,630. So the price seems right. But does the new Ram overshadow its competitors? Until we assemble a quartet of these big boys—Chevy, Dodge, Ford, and Toyota­—for a head-to-head showdown, we think it's too close to call. VERDICT: Although it's a kinder, gentler Ram, the jury is still deliberating. Counterpoints This is a successful crossover of a sport-ute (the cab, with its four doors, and lots of space) and a pickup truck (the bed is shorter, but it's big enough for almost any job). It still rides like a pickup—jittery over uneven pavement, bouncy over railroad tracks, and just fine over smooth asphalt. It has a smooth V-8 that could use more power, but no old-fashioned-pickup engine noise. The leather quality seems second rate, and there's the usual portion of irritat­ingly cheap plastic. But if a crossover is what you want and you could get a four-wheel driver for $25, I'd say get in line. P.S. My two cents says the front-end styling is appallingly ugly. —Steve Spence I often need a truck to support a long hobby list, but I do not enjoy driving them. I won't say I like driving this Ram either, but it doesn't feel like a penalty box. Among the big three—Ford, Chevy, and Dodge—this Ram is the best at hiding its size. Like the Intrepid sedan, a big car that feels surpris­ingly small, I wasn't constantly reminded of this beast's size as I am with the Chevy. That's a huge plus when you're driving a truck because you have to. Still, I don't see this pickup as suddenly the winner of the big-rig competition. It's a good truck, and it has equaled or perhaps inched past the Ford and Chevy in many areas, but it's no revolution. —Larry Webster Imagine the bickering over the gamble to dump the Ram's big-selling extended cab with its two small pseudo doors in favor of the new four-full-door design. Chevrolet also offers buyers a heavy-duty crew-cab Sil­verado in half-ton guise but expects to sell only one for every 15 extended cabs sold. Maybe the Dodge boys know a secret; the Ram's four door handles are certainly more practical (even minus the three inches lopped off the cargo box to make it happen). But to these eyes they look incomplete without some kind of highway-department insignia. Extended cabs impart some style to working trucks that crew cabs just can't match. —Aaron Robinson Specifications Specifications 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab SLT Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 6-passenger, 4-door pickup PRICE Base/As Tested: $24,705/$28,775 Options: automatic transmission, $975; cassette and CD-player, $875; leather seats, $875; trailer hitch, $4 65; anti-lock brakes, $495; bed liner, $245; sliding rear window, $140 ENGINE SOHC 16-valve V-8, iron and aluminum heads, port fuel injection Displacement: 287 in3, 4701 cm3 Power: 235 hp @ 4800 rpm Torque: 295 lb-ft @ 3200 rpm TRANSMISSION 4-speed automatic CHASSIS Suspension, F/R: control arms/live axle Brakes, F/R: 13.2-in vented disc/13.8-in disc Tires: Goodyear Wrangler SR-A P265/70SR-17 DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 140.5 in Length: 227.7 in Width: 79.9 in Height: 74.7 in Passenger Volume, F/R: 65/56 ft3 Cargo Volume: 59 ft3 Curb Weight: 5182 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 8.8 sec 1/4-Mile: 16.8 sec @ 80 mph 100 mph: 31.3 sec Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 9.2 sec Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 4.8 sec Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 6.3 sec Top Speed (gov ltd): 110 mph Braking, 70–0 mph: 197 ft Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.71 g C/D FUEL ECONOMY Observed: 14 mpg EPA FUEL ECONOMY City/Highway: 14/19 mpg C/D TESTING EXPLAINED Reviewed by Tony Swan Tony was smart, well read, funny, irascible, cantankerous, opinionated, friendly, difficult, charming, honest, and eminently interesting to be around. He loved cars, car people, and words... but most of all, he loved racing. The Car and Driver writer, editor, and racer passed away in 2018 at age 78. Remembering Tony