If driving a traditional cargo van makes you feel like you’re piloting a giant box on wheels you’re not alone. And if you’re suffering from some kind of big truck fetish, you may want to think about what that’s costing you long term.
Those two areas are where Ram’s Promaster City Tradesman Cargo Van shines. It drives and handles almost, dare I say it, like a sports car. Maybe not Ferrari like, but certainly Fiat-like. And it costs half of what today’s upmarket trucks cost.
Ram let us take the helm of a 2016 model for a weekend and unlike every other van I’ve ever driven, it was actually fun. With a low slung stance, power rack-and-pinon steering and a taut suspension and brakes, it was easy to whip around in congested streets and city traffic.
For a walk around look at the Ram Promaster City Tradesman, check out our video:
The City Tradesman gets its peppy attitude from a 2.4L gas engine putting out 178 horsepower and 174 foot-pounds of torque while mated to a 9 speed automatic transmission. Max towing capacity is 2,000 pounds and it can carry 1,800 pounds of payload.
Ram put a lot of cost-of-ownership engineering into this design. A big part of this is the fuel efficiency: 21 mpg city/29 mpg highway. Another cost savings: 10,000-mile oil change intervals. Sticker price for the model we tested was $25,165.
