1996 Dodge Ram Wagon SLT review

1996 Dodge Ram Wagon SLT
A passenger van built to truck standards.

By Jim McCraw

Overview

The full-size Dodge Ram Wagon passenger van is among the oldest vehicles on the American car and truck market, having first hit the showrooms in time for the 1971 model year. A quarter of a century later, the Dodge full-size passenger van is still plugging away, in the same size and shape as the original 1971 model, but with about a million product improvements baked in.

Walkaround

Like the Ford and Chevrolet full-size vans, the Dodge Ram Wagon offers significantly greater passenger space, load-carrying ability and towing capacity than any front-drive minivan can manage, with a base 3.9-liter six, an optional 5.2- or a 5.9-liter V-8 engine available for serious hauling. Though no diesel is offered, Dodge does have a compressed natural gas (CNG) version of the 5.2-liter V-8 engine for specialized users.

Interior Features

The Dodge Ram Wagon is offered on two different wheelbases, a 109.6 shortie and a 127.6-inch platform, as well as a Maxi version that adds a 26-inch body extension to the long-wheelbase truck for 15-passenger hauling. Front suspension is upper- and lower- arm with coil springs, with conventional load-carrying leaf springs at the rear and stabilizer bars at both ends. While the Dodge uses welded steel unitbody construction instead of body-on-frame construction like the Ford and Chevrolet vans, it's not in any sense flimsy or weak. This is a stout, commercially oriented passenger van built to truck, rather than minivan standards.

Driving Impressions

The Ram Wagon we drove for this test was the Maxi Wagon 3500--the heaviest version available--with an extended body and seating for 15 persons (like the other full-size vans, this one has removable seats for even greater flexibility). It was powered by the Dodge 5.9-liter V-8 engine, with a 4-speed automatic overdrive transmission and the $3700 SLT package of optional equipment. Fifteen items in all, it included rear air conditioning, all the usual power assists, a premium sound system, sunscreen glass, an engine cover storage console and a handful of lesser items that taken together made the van a whole lot more hospitable. The package, plus $500 for ABS, $270 for the engine, $180 for a rear defroster and $308 for a CD player, pumped the price from $23,789 to $29,051 including destination. A big number, yes, but how much would you expect to pay for a hotel on wheels?

The 5.9-liter V-8 engine, at 235 horsepower and 325 foot-pounds of torque, pulls heavy loads without a grumble and gets you onto the Interstate quickly and safely, even though it's a bit rough and raucous. The variable-ratio power steering is a bit ropy and vague, and the ride tends to be harsh when you're driving a heavy duty van unladen. We found the ABS brakes reassuringly powerful and fade-free.

Summary

Still, the Dodge Ram Wagon has a good reputation for durability and value, one that's been earned year by year for over 25 years now, and that can't be ignored.

Source By :http://www.nctd.com