Dodge Ram Versus Dodge Sprinter
The two trucks are very different, but can handle similar jobs. With today's fuel prices, which one would you choose?
Tom Berg
Senior Equipment
SPECIFICATIONS
Truck: Dodge Ram 3500 Quad Cab, "box-off" conventional cab-chassis, GVW 11,500 lbs.
Engine: Cummins Turbodiesel I-6, 325 hp
Transmission: 4-speed automatic w/ overdrive 4th
Wheelbase: 160.5 inches
Body & payload capacity: 4,560 pounds
Towing capacity: 15,900 pounds
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Truck: Dodge Sprinter 3500 van-type cab-chassis, GVW 10,200 lbs.
Engine: Mercedes-Benz I-5 turbodiesel, 154 hp @ 3,800 rpm, 243 lbs.-ft. @1,600 to 2,400 rpm
Transmission: 5-speed automatic w/ overdrive 5th
Wheelbase: 140 inches
Body & payload capacity: 5,774 pounds
Towing capacity: 5,000 pounds
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When the Dodge boys began installing the Cummins B5.9 diesel in Ram pickups in 1988, they injected excitement into an aging body style, and that converted to attention and sales. The Cummins Turbodiesel, as they called it, had only 160 horsepower but 400 pounds-feet of torque – far stronger than competitors of the time, and enough to pull your house down, or so it seemed. It also came with big-rig appeal. Truck guys liked it so much that they formed an enthusiasts' group called the Turbo Diesel Register that distributes maintenance and hop-up information and holds regular rallies.
Today's Turbodiesel is miles better than the old one – smoother, quieter, cleaner burning and more gutsy – and is harder working and more fun to drive. It's the same size and type – an inline Six with displacement of 5.9 liters or 359 cubic inches – but has twice as many valves, electronic controls that folks didn't even dream of in the late '80s, plus high-pressure fuel injection, aftercooling and exhaust-cleaning apparatus that engineers back then wouldn't have thought possible.
The Turbodiesel now makes as much as 325 hp and 610 lbs.-ft. of torque. Two-thirds of the people who buy Ram 2500s and 3500s opt for the diesel, and will tell you that any price premium is worth it. Buyers of heavy Ford and General Motors pickups like their equally modern diesels about as much, but there's something mystical about that Cummins.
However, look where fuel prices have gone. Yes, the big-cubic-inch, 6-liter-class diesels can deliver good fuel economy. But all things considered, smaller displacement equals greater efficiency. That's why today's Dodge boys offer an alternative – the Euro-style Sprinter, manufactured in Dusseldorf, Germany, by Mercedes-Benz and assembled in Gaffney, S.C., for use here. It's designed to sip fuel on a continent where prices have been at the $4- to $5-per-gallon mark for many years, and should save money and make sense here.
The Sprinter's comparatively puny 2.7-liter (164-cubic-inch) Mercedes-Benz Turbo Diesel makes only 154 hp and 243 lbs.-ft. (both odd numbers derived from a conversion from the European measures of kiloWatts and Newton-meters). But thanks to a five-speed automatic with a lively first gear, it moves out surprisingly fast from a standstill and pulls strongly up to highway speeds. You could smoke the rear tires of a lightly loaded or empty Sprinter while blasting away from a traffic light, which is what bemused FedEx managers discovered with the Sprinter vans they're operating here and in Europe.
Does this convert to working ability? Yes, especially when set up for specific jobs, which is what Sprinter's 3500 cab-chassis version makes possible. Its hauling specifications are similar to that of a Dodge Ram 3500 with the box-off option. These two vehicles were among the many present at a recent Dodge all-models open house at DC's proving grounds near Chelsea, Mich. So I paired them up for a comparison.
It's obvious from their appearance that they are rather different in design, and they certainly drive and act differently. The Ram has a conventional hood covering the Cummins and a hump in the floor over the four-speed automatic transmission (a six-speed manual is standard). The Sprinter has a short hood and interior doghouse over the Mercedes powertrain. The engines behave differently, too. While working hard, the Sprinter's engine spins hundreds of rpm faster than the Cummins, but at cruising speed the revving difference is less.
I didn't try smoking the Sprinter's tires, but I wasn't shy about mashing the gas on the proving grounds' straightaways, and I plowed it through tight curves. The engine began running out of breath at 55 to 60 mph, but I moved it past 75 mph without a problem. I was impressed with the Sprinter's abilities in simulated urban settings, at lower speeds and over broken pavement, where it was nimble, quick and rather smooth riding.
The Ram cornered flatter and in general had a stouter feel, though it took the same stretches of broken pavement with more bouncing. Its much stronger Cummins pulled better and would push the truck as fast as any sane driver would want to go. I should note that the '06 Ram 3500 and 2500 are standard with the now-famous Hemi gasoline V-8 ("That thing's got a Hemi?"). For '06 it gets a cylinder deactivation feature, called the Multi-Displacement System, that cuts it back to four cylinders under light loads for up to 20% fuel savings. But serious buyers will pick the diesel.
If you send out crews with your trucks, a Ram two-door Regular Cab can carry three people in comfort, while the Sprinter is set up for two. This Ram was a four-door Quad Cab, so it could carry six people in addition to any cargo, and its rear seats folded down wagon-style to carry tools and other valuables instead of extra people. Each truck's body was representative of how it might be put to work. The Sprinter had a steel utility body with lots of cabinets and drawers, while the Ram had a 10-foot steel-and-wood flatbed with stake sides.
Bodies aside, gross vehicle weight ratings of the two vehicles are in the same Class 3 ballpark. In payload, both are actually 2- to 2.5-ton trucks, even though the Ram might be referred to as a "1-ton dually." Partly because of its more compact cab, the Sprinter can carry 1,200 pounds more in body and payload weight than the Ram, but can pull less than a third of the Ram's tow rating. So if you're going to load the truck only, the Sprinter has an advantage; if you're going to lug a heavily loaded trailer, then the Ram, or another big pickup, is the clear choice.
In fuel economy, Dodge cites customer experience in saying that the Sprinter can deliver 25 miles per gallon. A while ago I saw a comment on the Net from an expedited freight hauler who claimed he could carry a 1-ton pallet of cargo in his Sprinter van at 80 mph all day or night and get 26 miles per gallon. Of course, "your results may vary," as they would with a Cummins-powered Ram, which might get in the mid to high teens in mpg.
Against fuel mileage, you'd have to consider price (the two are comparable, though the Sprinter might cost less) and durability (still largely unknown for the Sprinter under American operating conditions.)
There's also driver preference and resale, and it's likely that most guys will prefer the Ram, new or used. But those who have to buy their own fuel owe it to their wallets to look seriously at the Sprinter.
