Cargazing
By Derek Price
There was a time when picking between a light-duty and heavy-duty truck meant making big compromises in comfort.
Not any more.
A week behind the wheel of the Ram 2500 showed me exactly how comfortable a made-for-work pickup can be.
The huge, brawny Ram is built for a specific mission: towing heavy loads, carrying hefty cargo and getting to rural job sites that require some 4×4 capability.
The fact that it’s not rated for fuel economy — the federal government doesn’t require it for trucks like this — is moot. It’s designed to do a task, not save fuel.
A 6.7-liter Cummins turbo Diesel engine in my tester gulped heartily from the fuel tank, but its gluttony created 850 foot-pounds of torque. Driving it unladen all week felt like complete overkill, in a good way.
With the right equipment, a Ram 2500 can tow up to 20,000 pounds. The beefier Ram 3500 can tow a whopping 37,090 pounds, the best in its class, according to the manufacturer.
The Lone Star Silver Edition of the Ram 2500 gives off a luxury-truck vibe with chrome accents. It starts at $47,800 with four-wheel drive.
What impresses me the most about this truck isn’t just the sheer madness of what it can do, pulling loads that would destroy trucks not up to the task. It’s how insanely comfy it feels.
Maybe because my tester was equipped with an air suspension, a $1,705 optional upgrade, the Ram Heavy Duty seemed to glide over potholes and make highways feel like glass. Excellent sound insulation helped the feeling, too.
Driving the Ram 1500 and 2500 back to back, you can tell a difference. The 1500 has a squishier, silkier ride, and I’d prefer it over the 2500 if I wasn’t pulling heavy loads.
The gap between them is subtle, though. The 2500 doesn’t beat up your spine like work trucks used to do. It drives remarkably similar to a half-ton truck and is quiet enough that I might mistake it for a luxury car if I was blindfolded. It’s remarkable.
The Crew Cab layout in Ram’s Heavy Duty trucks lives up to its name with plenty of leg, hip and shoulder room.
For 2022, an all-new UConnect 5 system comes standard on Big Horn trims and above. Ram says it has three times as much memory as the previous system and performs four times faster, and it worked flawlessly in my tester.
My tester also came outfitted in a new-for-2022 trim, the Lone Star Silver Edition with lots of chrome trim on the outside and black accents inside.
It’s not a luxury truck, per se, with cloth seats and a starting price of $47,800 in the 4×4 version. It gives off a luxury vibe, though, with all the shiny bling outside and a very well-equipped cabin.
An extensive list of options — about $28,000 worth, enough to buy a nice new car on its own — made my test truck feel as swanky as you can get without springing for fancy leather.
For people who need a truck to do a job and don’t want to sacrifice comfort, it’s worth every penny.
At A Glance
What was tested? 2022 Ram 2500 Lone Star Silver Crew Cab ($47,800). Options: Premium paint ($200), premium cloth seats ($295), customer preferred package 2HY ($2,520), towing technology group B ($2,355), premium lighting group ($795), gooseneck towing prep group ($545), Lone Star Silver Edition ($1,995), bed utility group ($845), Level B equipment group ($4,265), 220-amp alternator ($145), trim-fold tonneau cover ($695), anti-spin differential ($495), 6.7-liter Cummins turbo Diesel engine ($9,400), rear wheelhouse liners ($195), Alpine audio ($595), air suspension ($1,705), trailer surround-view camera system ($995). Price as tested: $75,840
Wheelbase: 149 in.
Length: 238.8 in.
Width: 83.5 in.
Height: 80.2 in.
Engine: 6.7-liter Cummins six-cylinder turbo diesel (370 hp, 850 lbs.-ft.)
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
EPA fuel economy: Not rated
RATINGS
Style: 7
Performance: 9
Price: 6
Handling: 6
Ride: 8
Comfort: 9
Quality: 9
Overall: 8
Why buy it?
It’s a smooth, quiet, comfortable way to do heavy-duty work.
