2016 Ram ProMaster Adds New Features Driven by Commercial Customer Input
Airport and hotel shuttle customers and mobility upfitters requested a window version of the largest ProMaster configuration. The 2016 Ram ProMaster now adds side window availability to the 159-inch, high roof, extended configuration.
RV upfitters and executive transportation companies asked for upscale appearance. Ram ProMaster delivers with a chrome grille option.
Upfitters also sought more electrical function and capability when adding power-hungry conversions. Again, Ram ProMaster answers with provisions for a second battery at the rear of the cab and new 20-amp auxiliary switches easily accessible on the dash panel.
ProMaster has experienced great success in an expanding, purpose-built, full-size van segment with a number of best-in-class features focused on the commercial customer.
ProMaster boasts numerous best-in-class features, which are appreciated by the hardworking customers of Ram’s full-size van. Best-in-class fuel efficiency, usability and impressive total cost of ownership all combine to deliver a proven solution for businesses and fleets.
Ram Commercial will continue to have a larger presence in commercial vehicle segments. ProMaster supports the Ram Brand strategy to offer a one-stop shop for their large truck and van fleets. Ram’s ProMaster and ProMaster City vans enhance the brand’s commercial offerings, which include the brand’s line of Tradesman pickups and Chassis Cab trucks.
Engineered for the North American market
Conceived and developed in Italy, the ProMaster also spent quality time proving itself on this side of the Atlantic undergoing extensive, extreme-duty testing. Engineering the ProMaster for the Ram Truck brand required a number of changes in capabilities, powertrain, environments, duty cycles and customers.
Chassis
The ProMaster is available in two roof heights, three wheelbases and four body lengths. Additionally, the ProMaster offers both a chassis cab and cutaway from the factory. Its unibody frame architecture makes it significantly lighter than the competition. As a result, the ProMaster boasts an impressive best-in-class payload capacity up to 5,160 pounds and a maximum towing capacity up to 5,100 pounds. The gross combined weight rating (GCWR) for the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 is 11,500 pounds and 12,500 pounds for the 3.0-liter EcoDiesel I-4. A unibody structure has additional advantages, including stability and strength from front to rear, a reinforced plenum area for optimized engine packaging, and “truer” tuning of chassis systems and related hardware when compared to more common body-on-frame applications.
Front-wheel drive
The unibody system under the cab is an enabler for the ProMaster’s segment exclusive front-wheel-drive system. The body-integral construction and multiple configurations allow Ram’s ProMaster to be upfitted for virtually every conceivable job. Without rear driveshafts or rear differentials, the proven drive system creates a number of advantages:
- Best-in-class turning diameter
- Best-in-class step-in height and lowest load floor
- Best-in-class standard ceiling height
- Lower maintenance costs
The ProMaster features a standard sliding door on the passenger side with an optional sliding door on the driver’s side. The sliding door openings are based on roof height – 42-inch x 60-inch for the low roof model and 49-inch x 70-inch for high roof models. In the rear, an available three-position rear clamshell door swings open up to 260 degrees, folding almost flat to the side of the van. All three door openings enable forklift pallet loading and unloading, and spaciousness that leads the competitive set.
Upfitter friendliness
Ram Commercial is well known for being the most upfitter-friendly brand in the truck market. The Ram ProMaster continues the tradition and features an integrated cab configuration for unmatched up-fitter/conversion solutions driven by commercial customer input. Adding to the ProMaster’s design for adaptability, virtually all primary vehicle systems are packaged forward of the cargo area.
Electronic stability control
The standard electronic stability control (ESC) system on the Ram ProMaster assists the driver in maintaining control under demanding or adverse conditions such as wet, snow-covered or icy roads, tight turns and evasive maneuvers. In effect, the ESC determines the driver’s intentions and optimizes overall vehicle control to keep the dynamic forces within select limits in any driving situation – nearly transparent so control seems almost intuitive.
Powertrain
The 2016 Ram ProMaster van’s powertrain lineup features the award-winning, standard-equipment, gasoline-fueled 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine and a torque-laden, 3.0-liter EcoDiesel I-4 engine. The engines are paired, respectively, with a proven six-speed automatic transmission and an electronically controlled Dual Active Drive six-speed automated manual, featuring best-in-class fuel economy.ProMaster also offers a best-in-class powertrain warranty, 5 year/100,000 miles on diesel engines and unsurpassed 5 year/60,000 miles on gas engines.
EcoDiesel
The Ram ProMaster marks the North American introduction of the potent 174-horsepower 3.0-liter inline four-cylinder EcoDiesel engine, which generates peak torque of 295 lb.-ft. at just 1,400 rpm. The engine features a number of refinements, including internal engine components, turbo and emission controls. Helping to reduced total cost of ownership, an oil-level sensor contributes to a best-in-class oil change schedule of up to 18,500 miles.
Pentastar
The standard-equipment 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 is rated at 280 horsepower with peak torque of 260 lb.-ft. The dual-overhead-cam, 24-valve Pentastar delivers the capability required of a commercial van without compromising refinement.
Reducing vehicle operating costs is paramount in the minds of the powertrain engineers who contributed to Ram ProMaster’s development. Recommended oil change intervals range up to 10,000 miles. But an intelligent oil servicing system that monitors vehicle usage triggers an alert when service is most appropriate.
Transmissions
The smooth-shifting six-speed 62TE automatic transmission is upgraded to accommodate the Ram ProMaster’s prodigious cargo-hauling capability. Specifically, its 3.86 final-drive ratio enables comfortable grade transit under full freight. The transmission more readily adopts the most appropriate ratio for a given driving situation. The numerically lower overall top gear ratio delivers a more economical highway operation.
A trailer/tow program comes standard with the 62TE and the M40 automated manual. The Dual Active Drive six-speed automated manual transmission is not only exclusive to the 3.0-liter EcoDiesel, it stands alone in the Ram ProMaster’s competitive set and delivers impressive fuel efficiency.
The unique M40 gearbox delivers the efficiency of a manual transmission with the functionality of an automatic. At its core it is a manual, but gearshifts and clutch functions are accomplished with electro-hydraulic actuation system. However, the driver can opt for manual shift-lever inputs when desired. But the driver needn’t do all the work. Gearbox software delivers a unique response to driving conditions.
Shift logic is adjusted according to grade steepness. The result is a well-connected driving experience that delivers the fuel economy required of a commercial van such as the Ram ProMaster.
Design
The Ram design team started with a functional exterior and interior, adding distinct Ram styling while adapting the full-size van for North America.
Exterior
The front of the ProMaster is identified by visually durable bodylines, a broad wraparound bumper and twin-reflector headlamp clusters. True to the Ram Truck brand, the ProMaster leads with a bold, hexagon-shaped crosshair grille featuring the Ram’s head logo proudly displayed as the focal point of the crosshair. The cab-forward, short dash-to-front-axle design pushes the nose inward and the headlamps upward. This design provides higher passenger seating positions and better visibility – obviously important for commercial users – thanks to a more confident vantage point from which to operate the vehicle.
The front bumper is a three-piece styled modular design, resulting in reduced repair costs and downtime. Durable front-wheel arches are styled with the bumper to protect the doors. A unique step is designed into both front bumper corners, making it easy to clean the windscreen from either side.
The full-size van features plenty of real estate on all four sides. This space allows for businesses to post signage and graphics, making the van a rolling billboard to help promote the owner, business or team.
Interior
The functional and innovative features continue inside the Ram ProMaster. Although much is borrowed from the Fiat version, Ram designers made alterations for North American customers. Interior design and function is of primary importance for a light commercial vehicle in which the driver normally spends long hours at the wheel, often under demanding conditions. The cabin of the ProMaster is therefore designed with comfortable driving ergonomics – important because the ProMaster is a place of work.
The Ram ProMaster seats feature ergonomic padding and offer a multitude of adjustment options, including heat. Also, the distance between the top of the seat and ceiling benefit even taller drivers, and a telescoping steering column offers further adjustability.
A suspension seat also is available with an adjustment system that modulates based on the driver’s weight. Also optional are swivel seats in the driver and passenger positions for quick, efficient entry/egress including 180-degree inboard swing and 35-degree outboard swing.
Passenger seats come as single units or a bench. The front bench seat arrangement can comfortably accommodate three people and comes equipped with a console that may be folded down to make a practical table with storage, a paper holder and a compartment to house a portable computer.
Because goods always need to be transported with total security, the Ram ProMaster van is fitted with accommodations to hold cargo down on the floor. Up to 12 tie-down rings with 1,000-lb. rating fold away to maintain a flat floor, along with five sidewall tie-down rings with 550-lb. rating, for easy loading and unloading operations. Available partitions also offer passengers excellent protection against the possibility of load shift in the cabin.
Safety
Safety and security were two of the guiding principles followed by engineers throughout the development of the Ram ProMaster van. Ram’s full-size van offers more than 35 active and passive safety and security features. The ProMaster also includes standard ESC, hosting a number of technologies such as trailer-sway control. Security also means notification of the traffic around you. Ram ProMaster features ParkView rear backup camera and ParkSense rear park assist with audible warning, all of which are useful when maneuvering a large van.
The ParkView camera is located above the rear doors, enabling operators to see the rear of the van without obstruction from the doors when opened. For example, while backing up to a loading dock.
Uconnect
ProMaster customers can make the best use of their valuable time by leveraging Uconnect’s easy-to-learn, easy-to-use interface – acclaimed for its convenience and sensible design. Handsfree calling in the Ram ProMaster is made convenient via reliable Bluetooth technology. A full-color, 5-inch touchscreen is available with global positioning satellite (GPS) navigation, providing Ram ProMaster customers the ability to chart time-saving routes to their destinations. Uconnect Web, powered by Autonet Mobile, is available to U.S. customers. This system delivers continuous Internet connectivity, creating an efficient workspace and real-time information access on the go.
Best practices
In total, the Ram ProMaster test fleet accumulated millions of miles enabling Ram and Fiat teams access to real-world data. This includes testing done in laboratories in Turin, Italy, and Auburn Hills, Michigan, at the FCA proving grounds, as well as reliability testing on public roads in many different climates in Europe and the United States.
The 3/36 Reliability Testing, appropriately named as each test car accumulates 36,000 miles (equivalent to three years of use) in about three months, is conducted day and night by teams of drivers. To reflect typical daily driver scenarios, the test drivers do not originate from the engineering ranks and are intentionally chosen from diverse backgrounds to represent customers of different ages, sizes and ethnicities. The test drivers scrutinize all the customer functional aspects of each vehicle as well as overall driving evaluations. This includes radio and navigation system checks, seat-belt buckling, heating and ventilation operation and opening and closing storage compartments and windows.
Configurations
The 2016 Ram ProMaster offers 15 different configurations:
ProMaster 1500 Cargo Van 118-inch wheelbase low roof
ProMaster 1500 Cargo Van 136-inch wheelbase low roof
ProMaster 1500 Cargo Van 136-inch wheelbase high roof
ProMaster 2500 Cargo Van 136-inch wheelbase high roof
ProMaster 2500 Cargo Van 159-inch wheelbase high roof
ProMaster 2500 Window Van 159-inch wheelbase high roof
ProMaster 3500 Window Van 159-inch wheelbase high roof extended body
ProMaster 3500 Cargo Van 159-inch wheelbase high roof
ProMaster 3500 Cargo Van 159-inch wheelbase high roof extended body
ProMaster 2500 Chassis Cab 136-inch wheelbase
ProMaster 3500 Chassis Cab 159-inch wheelbase
ProMaster 3500 Chassis Cab 159-inch wheelbase extended body
ProMaster 2500 Chassis Cab Cutaway 136-inch wheelbase
ProMaster 3500 Chassis Cab Cutaway 159-inch wheelbase
ProMaster 3500 Chassis Cab Cutaway 159-inch wheelbase extended frame
ProMaster competitors are: Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Ford Transit, Ford E-Series (Cut-Away), Chevrolet Express, GMC Savanna and Nissan NV Cargo.
Manufacturing
All configurations are produced at the Saltillo Van Assembly Plant in Coahuila, Mexico.
About Ram Truck Brand
Since its launch as a stand-alone division in 2009, the Ram Truck Brand has steadily emerged as an industry leader with one goal: to build the best pickup trucks and commercial vehicles in the industry.
Creating a distinct identity for Ram Trucks has allowed the brand to concentrate on core customers and features they find valuable. Whether focusing on a family that uses a Ram 1500 day in and day out, a hard-working Ram 3500 Heavy Duty owner or a business that depends on its Ram ProMaster commercial van every day for deliveries, Ram has the truck market covered.
In order to be the best, it takes a commitment to innovation, capability, efficiency and durability. Ram Truck invests substantially in its products, infusing them with great looks, refined interiors, durable engines and exclusive features that further enhance their capabilities.
Moving into the 2016 model year, Ram continues to beat the competition in the most sought-after titles, fuel economy, payload and towing capacity:
- Best-in-class fuel economy with exclusive EcoDiesel – 29 mpg with Ram 1500
- Best-in-class towing capability – 30,000 pounds with Ram 3500
- Best-in-class payload – 7,390 pounds with Ram 3500
- Best-in-class torque – 900 lb.-ft. with Ram 3500 equipped with Cummins
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