Straight from Turkey by way of Italy comes the 2015 Ram ProMaster City; it’s based on parent company Fiat’s Doblo van (winner of two International Vehicle of the Year awards), as popular on European roads as Ford Econolines and Chevy Expresses are on our roads here.
However, vans like the Doblo ProMaster City, Ford Transit Connect and Nissan NV200 are quickly making the old-school truck-based vans obsolete; Ford has already said that they’d be cancelling the lighter versions of their Econolines after the 2014 model year in favour of their new, smaller-engined Transit vans that have been doing so well by the electricians, plumbers and delivery servicemen in Europe for decades.
Before the City came the full-size ProMaster vans, born to fill the void left by departing Dodge-badged Mercedes-sourced Sprinter vans after the messy Daimler-Chrysler break-up.
The City, then, really is an all-new sector for Ram, unless you include the Grand Caravan-based Ram Cargo Van, but that’s pushing it a bit.
Or perhaps not.
Like the CV, the City gets many car-based underpinnings, from the industry-first bi-link rear suspension (no leaf springs here), 2.4L Tigershark I4 shared with the Dodge Dart and Fiat 500L and we see yet another application of Fiat Chrysler Automobile’s (FCA) nine-speed automatic transmission. That powertrain is your only choice, however; there are no plans to bring the diesel engines from European Doblos to our shores. When you consider how the price gap between diesel and gasoline seems to be widening by the cent every day, it’s easy to understand why.
Styling-wise, the front end has a new, more aerodynamic grille than does the Doblo – helping lower fuel consumption from a combined 11.2 to 8.1 L/100 km, but that’s pretty much the extent of it; even the high-mounted headlights and extra-wide plastic bumpers are carried over, so if you do get in a fender bender or two, the glass of the head- and taillights will be safe.
Under the skin, the engine bay has been made wider in order to accommodate the Tigershark that the Doblo doesn’t get, and many of the brackets and rails that make up the City’s body and chassis (it’s of steel unibody construction) have been reinforced to better handle choppy Canadian roads and rough winters. It rides a little higher, too.
The Tigershark is a good engine, and its 178 horsepower and 174 lb-ft of torque do well to translate to a 855 kg payload. This drops to 770 kg, however, if you decide to opt for the ProMaster City Wagon, which gains a second row of seating and the ability to seat five. It should be noted that Ford’s Transit Connect Wagon has room for seven.
Which is understandable when you consider that during the media presentation of the City just outside of Austin, TX, the Ram folks on hand were much keener to highlight the work van qualities of the City, with just a few cursory remarks about the Wagon.
Those qualities include near-vertical walls that can easily accommodate a host of rack systems, which are already being made available by groups like Weather Guard. You’ll also find a flat load floor and low step-in height thanks to the FWD setup; there’s no need to run a driveshaft to the rear wheels, allowing for more cargo space and easier access to the cargo bay.
The rear doors, meanwhile, fold out in a 60/40 split; the left-hand door is the wider of the two, adding protection from traffic when open. That is, of course, unless you decide to pop a simple hinge-mounted latch that allows each door to be opened 180 degrees against the side of the City.
For those who feel that a RWD system is necessary for ease-of-use around town, Ram set up a sort of inner-city obstacle course for us in which to test stuff like panic stops, tight turns and narrow alleyways. Here, we found the City to be an able handler; even when laden with a 270 kg payload, we were able to toss the vans through the course with near reckless abandon, the extra weight only really being felt during a panic stop that had us braking from 40 km/h on a surface covered with a water and soap mixture. It wasn’t quite ice-rink slick, but the message was sent nevertheless.
Inside, the modern dash wouldn’t look out of place in any sedan or SUV, and there’s even a version of FCA’s Uconnect system that can be equipped with navigation and a back-up camera. You can stream audio through your Bluetooth device in the higher of two available trims; base ST vans start at $27,995, with SLT models starting at $28,995. The latter trim adds Bluetooth, Uconnect media centre with a five-inch screen as opposed to a three-incher, cruise control, heated mirrors, driver’s seat with adjustable height and lumbar, leather-wrapped steering wheel, and body coloured mirrors and fascia. The same two trims on the City Wagon cost $28,995 and $29,995, respectively. That price premium gets you second row seating that tumbles forwards.
In addition to the modern dash, the cockpit is a comfortable place to sit with good seats and a great view both forwards and out the side windows. When I sampled the full-sized ProMaster van, I found the legroom to be severely lacking; that’s simply not the case here, and the steering wheels manually tilts and telescopes on both trims. Fantastic.
I would like to have seen more storage up-front, however; you get a glovebox and a small storage bin above it, door bins and two cupholders, and that’s about it. I kept looking between the seats expecting to find a proper storage bin, only to find nothing. That means you’ll likely be seeing a lot of Citys with messy dashes as documents, empty coffee cups and the like sit jammed into the lower windscreen. I do love the way the door releases sit on top of the door armrests, however; they’re easily accessible even with work gloves on.
It’s an accessible van in general, the City, from the way the door operates, to the flat load floor, to how easy it is to slither it through town. Yes, I’d like to see just a little more variety in the powertrain department (a diesel option would be nice), but it’s well-equipped, the price is right, and it’s sure to sell in droves.
| Warranty: 3 years/60,000 km; 5 years/100,000 km powertrain; 5 years/160,000 km corrosion perforation; 5 years/100,000 km 24-hour roadside assistance |
Competitors:
Ford Transit Connect
Nissan NV200
Pricing: 2015 Ram Promaster City
Cargo Van
ST: $27,995
SLT: $28,995
Wagon
ST: $28,995
SLT: $29,995
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