mmarshall

No, it isn't the new Silverado...not even close. IMO, this has to be the most awkward-looking new 2020 truck on the American market (technically, a full-size commercial van)....the Ram Promaster. I'm not knocking its capabilities or versatility. It can obviously haul around a great deal, and is quite popular with a number of businesses as a result...I see a lot of them in my area. But OMG, that front end.............

Older versions had a small ram-symbol on the front end...the latest ones spell it out with a larger Ram logo.

In Europe, a Fiat version, called the Ducato, including a full-electric, is sold.


https://www.ramtrucks.com/ram-promaster.html

Och

iTrader: (3)

Mike, this thing has been out for a while, at least 3-4 years. In the past Dodge used to sell a Dodge Ram Van which was based on the Dodge Ram pick-up chassis. Then, during their partnership with Daimler, Dodge used to sell a Dodge badged version of the MB Sprinter in the US, and a few years they started selling the Pro Master. On top of being ugly, I believe it is also FWD, which is absolutely unacceptable for a heavy duty vehicle.

mmarshall

Yes, I know....I mentioned the slightly older versions with the smaller logo on the grille. (still ugly LOL)


Yes, I remember the Sprinter and the older Dodge models. They wouldn't win any beauty-contests, but are not in the same league as this ugly-stick.

Yes, it it FWD/unibody, so one cannot expect it to manage the kind of loads that you could with a Cummins-diesel Ram 3500 and dualie-rear wheels. But it apparantly does quite well for the type of hauling for which it is designed....note its popularity with business.

Och

iTrader: (3)

I don't know how well it does or how long it lasts, but somehow I think it's cheaper than its competition, and likely won't last as long.

I just sold my old MB Sprinter earlier this week, and the guy who bought it from me arranged a pre-purchase inspection at a local Sprinter specialist shop, where the mechanic said they constantly see Sprinters with 500k to a million miles. As I was there, there was another Sprinter in there with 650k on the clock. Good luck getting that out of a Chrysler/Fiat product.

mmarshall

It's true that, all else equal, one will probably get more miles out of a Sprinter....and I hope you had good luck with yours. But that wasn't really the purpose of the thread....I opened it primarily to discuss vehicle-looks on a subjective basis.

sdls

Oooh that Promaster is just a pile of hot garbage.
It is truly nothing compared to the majesty of the Sprinter.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Since this thread is about vans, the title's been changed.

JDR76

I think it looks better than that weird full size Nissan van, whatever it’s called.

mmarshall

OK, but I only used the term "truck" because, legally, vans are classified as such.

mmarshall

You mean the Nissan NV? It is ungainly tall (my guess is you have to be careful cornering it, with its high center of gravity), but I don't see it as all that terribly ugly.

https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/c.../nv-cargo.html

JDR76

Yes, that’s the one. The NV.

Just awful.

Toys4RJill

I have to admit...these are pretty bad looking trucks..

SW17LS

Nobody buys a work van for its looks lol

Och

iTrader: (3)

Most of these vans have a selection of roof heights, for instance the Nissan has a standard and a high roof, the Sprinter has a standard and a high roof as well as two wheel bases + extended length. With the Nissan, extended roof option is obviously an afterthought, so it looks horrible, but to give Nissan credit at least they use full height rear and side doors with the extended roof. For instance the Ford E series van, and its GM and Dodge competitors for decades offered extended roofs with standard size rear doors in the US.

Frankly, American vans were utter garbage for decades. It's only after MB started selling the Sprinter in the US under Dodge brand, and later under their of MB brand, Ford got their act together and replaced the E series van with the new Transit van which is light years ahead of the E series and actually gives the Sprinter a run for the money. GMC still sells the awful old school Express van, and since Chrysler and Daimler went separate ways and Chrysler is now owned by Fiat they now sell the rebadged Fiat Ducato van badged as Ram Promaster instead of the rebadged Sprinter.

The one thing that I could never understand with Ford - they always had the Transit in Europe and the Econoline in the US, with Transit being vastly superior. They should have brought it here sooner.

pman6

vans are all about function.... a box with a front end as aerodynamic as possible.