Confident When Wet - 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Confident When Wet - 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Long-Term Road Test

When rain falls and the streets get wet, the 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel delivers confident braking and an assured ride.

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emajor

Point taken about the lousy drivers emerging on rainy days, but I don't see anything about the Ram that makes it any more confident than other vehicles in wet conditions. Sure, at 6000 pounds it will win most collisions, but that's about where it ends. I think a lot of the confidence comes from the sheer size of the vehicle and the sense of isolation and distance from the outside world. That won't stop the light back end from swinging out when it loses traction, and it won't stop it from rolling over once it goes laterally onto the shoulder. False confidence probably explains why I see a lot of full-size pickups and SUVs on their roofs around here when it snows.

jstrauch81

emajor said:

Point taken about the lousy drivers emerging on rainy days, but I don't see anything about the Ram that makes it any more confident than other vehicles in wet conditions. Sure, at 6000 pounds it will win most collisions, but that's about where it ends. I think a lot of the confidence comes from the sheer size of the vehicle and the sense of isolation and distance from the outside world. That won't stop the light back end from swinging out when it loses traction, and it won't stop it from rolling over once it goes laterally onto the shoulder. False confidence probably explains why I see a lot of full-size pickups and SUVs on their roofs around here when it snows.

Completely agree with you, simply relying on the "lug nut rule" to display wet weather confidence fails.

quadricycle

Sometimes, usually when talking about local traffic conditions, the Edmunds blog reads like this to me:

Dear Reader, don't ever come to California.
Best,
Edmunds Staff

I also have to agree with other commenters about the false confidence big vehicles can give you. First of all, you don't "win" in any collision, ever. Yes, you do have a vehicle that has more mass, but that'll only help in certain scenarios. On the other hand, that truck frame isn't doing you any favors in energy absorption and you've got a high rollover risk. Good luck trying to do any evasive maneuvers in that behemoth by the way.

We had a pretty horrific accident rather recently in my town. An older pickup had a head-on collision with a new pickup at ~40mph each. Everybody involved, the lady in the older pickup and a couple with a child in the newer one, died of internal injuries. The trucks didn't even look that bad. Lots of mass and hard, stout vehicles don't do anybody any favors in an accident...

pip2

emajor said:

That won't stop the light back end from swinging out when it loses traction, and it won't stop it from rolling over once it goes laterally onto the shoulder.

The rear end is far from light on this truck. With 52/48 weight distribution it is carrying nearly 3,000 pounds on the rear axle. That is an entire Honda Civic, so being tail happy isn't because it is a truck….it is because of the 420/lb of torque at a low RPM.