The New Ram Rebel

Sport truck a deal even a Yankee could love

 A base 4x4 Raptor starts at $51,080. Add in some nice-to have power options, leather seating and an anti-slip rear end and you're quickly at $62,800.  
A base 4x4 Raptor starts at $51,080. Add in some nice-to have power options, leather seating and an anti-slip rear end and you're quickly at $62,800.  

With all the fussin' and fuedin' going on in politics, this may sound strange to say, but Ram put together a solid sport truck with the Rebel. 

Looking to horn in on a market brought to life by Ford's high-tech, racing-inspired Raptor, Ram engineers rummaged through the parts bins and created a nifty boy toy that doesn't so much compete with the Ford as create its own niche. 

Can the Rebel go door-to-door with a twin-turbo Raptor with a 10-speed transmission and high-tech suspension down the length of the Baja 1,000 (in which an off-the-shelf Raptor won its class, then drove itself home)?  

More importantly, is this the platform one would pick to go off-road racing? Let me give a detailed, technical answer. 

No. 

The Rebel is essentially a nicely equipped Ram 1500 that has been raised for improved off-road approach, departure and break over angles. Bilstein shocks front and rear and 33-inch Toyo Open Country all-terrain tires on 17-inch wheels create all-terrain competence, as well crisp driving dynamics on tarmac. A softer rear sway bar mellows out the ride 

Ram could build a 100 mph off-road Raptor rival. A Raptor TRX Concept with a 575-hp Hemi, eight-speed transmission, and severe-duty axles and suspension was introduced nearly a year ago at the State Fair of Texas. Ram product development has since been put on indefinite hold by parent Fiat Chrysler America, so the TRX remains a concept. 

Which does not detract from the Rebel, which is a top contender for best truck value ever. It can handle just about any off-road challenge it encounters on Saturday and Sunday, and then turn around and reliably serve as an agile, quick and comfortable daily driver Monday through Friday. 

If it sounds like we liked this truck, we did. It was superbly competent wallowing through mud holes, (we had to give it whirl), quiet and smooth out on the interstate, and skated through Texarkana's only roundabout like a tall, but well-planted sports sedan. (Oh, yes, we now include the roundabout in every test regimen). 

photo

rick mcfarland

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/RICK MCFARLAND --01/27/14-- Beth Coleman uses her hands to shape a block of clay as the hands of Sue Gossett, both of Little Rock, can be seen bottom and in a mirror doing the same in their Begining Throwing and Independent Study pottery class at the Arkansas Arts Center Museum School in Little Rock Monday.

Though Ford has recently shot ahead of the pack, Ram trucks remain a superb example of where truck technology stood at the turn of the century. With multi-link rear ends, they are the best riding trucks on the road. Ram was the forerunner of comfortable cabins and, though the competition is starting to catch up, it has yet to be surpassed. 

Boy Wonder and I were enraptured with Raptor, so let's put the two trucks in the scales of justice: Want a clever truck that is amazingly fun and can turn heads at the health club? Ahhh, leaning Raptor.  

Want something tough enough to feed cattle in the winter, navigate the deer lease in the fall, haul everyone to the ball parks in spring and go crawl Rocky Mountain trails in the summer? Ahhhh, pretty even but, wait, it also costs significantly less money? Bam! Now we're talking Rebel. 

A base 4x4 Raptor starts at $51,080. Add in some nice-to have power options, leather seating and an anti-slip rear end, and you're quickly at $62,800.  

That leaves out-which we never would Ford's technology group ($1,950), which includes life-saving driver-assist safety features like adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist and blind-spot monitoring, which aren't available at any price on Ram Trucks. Also not available are Ford's 360-view camera system and trailer-backing assist. 

A base Rebel starts close to $45,000, and that gets you a 5.7-L Hemi but the truck is 2-wheel drive, which doesn't make a great deal of sense for a sport truck. To compare apples-to-apples, let's start with a 4x4 Rebel at $47,195. 

A luxury group power, folding mirrors, lots more lights, including in the bed and engine bay adds $695. Skid plates ($225), trailer towing gear ($460), spray-in bedliner ($495), Ram's nifty Tonneau-cover ($500), side steps ($425), and a set of locking fender boxes and cargo management system ($1,295) give us an extremely well optioned truck at $52,880. 

Of course, you won't pay anywhere near that.  

At the tail end of what has been a slow year for the entire industry, Dodge dealers have in their hip pockets more cash and goodies than anyone to move pickups. At the moment, there are no specific incentives on Rebel, but Ram is offering up to 20 percent ($11,468) off select 1500 models, such as the Texas-only Big Horn Crew Cab and Lone Star Crew Cab. 

Use your truck for work? Ram will give you $500 or $1,000 to add equipment or company graphics. Oil changes? Free for two years on gas engines, four on diesel. Oh, and the dealer has some ground to give on price, too. 

Plus, Ram is offering great interest rates and leasing deals. 

Ford, reaping the rewards of heavy investments in technology, such as weight-saving military-grade aluminum bodies, is not offering nearly the incentives as the other guys. On the other hand, the 2018 F-150 is in the supply line, so this is a pretty good time to look for a deal on a Ford pickup, too. 

We are also Ram fans because the company seems to lead the pack in common-sense engineering. Things that need to be serviced are put on top of the engine or near the front of the compartment, with nuts and screws placed in accessible locations.

Bottom line: A Raptor it isn't, but Ram's Rebel is a solid truck and a good deal. If you're going to a protest march, ride with a buddy. This truck's too nice to get banged up.

 

 

Upcoming Events