RAM 1500 Laramie 5.7 V8 2018 review

1-RAM-1500-Laramie-5.7-V8-2018-FD-front Sheer size and thirsty V8 will likely make it a rare sight on UK roads, but the American pick-up isn't without charm An enormous pick-up truck is about as American as apple pie, and the recipe has to be just as traditional. While Europe has been down-sizing its pick-up trucks and their engines, in America your truck still isn’t considered the gen-u-ine article unless it’s got a sizeable V8 upfront. This, then, is the new 2019 RAM pick-up which, true to the recipe, harbours a 5.7-litre Hemi V8. What the American consumer probably couldn’t care less about, however, is weight loss, and the RAM has undergone quite the diet. It’s shed 225lbs (102kg) thanks to changes to the chassis and body work, with 100lbs (45kg) coming from the use of high-strength steel in the ladder chassis frame alone. It does still weigh 2404kg as a crew cab, but for a pick-up as traditional as the RAM any weight saving should be considered progress. The enormous petrol Hemi produces 390hp and 410lb ft, and is paired to a TorqueFlight eight-speed torque converter automatic with a low-range gearbox. Suspension is coil springs front and rear, or you can choose the optional air suspension. The RAM is not short on trim levels and options either, with five different possibilities from the UK model’s range-topping Limited down through macho-sounding Longhorn, Rebel, Laramie and Bighorn editions. 

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