If you’re frequently in Europe, you might have seen this van already in Fiat Ducato form, but this thing is fresh as a daisy in the US.
Ram
Ram’s ProMaster full-size van has been on sale for some time now, and some parts were beginning to show their age. But that’s all in the past now, as Ram has something fresh in store for this year.
Ram on Monday unveiled the 2023 ProMaster cargo van at the Work Truck Week trade show in Indianapolis, Indiana. As usual, the van is aimed largely at those who use them for work vehicles, but it appears the automaker is also reaching out to a growing segment of people who are relying on vans as quasi-nomadic lifestyle vehicles. Oh yeah, and there’s an electric model on the way, as well.
It’s pretty easy to tell with a quick glance that things have changed. The ProMaster’s new front fascia is far sleeker than before, with standard halogen headlights (LEDs are optional) that are brighter than before. The new front bumper is pretty aggressively styled, as well. Out back, an aluminum roll-up rear door is optional, but otherwise the van isn’t very different back there. A new super-high-roof option is available on the 13-foot van, too, adding some 10 extra inches of headroom.
Interestingly, Ram also included a shout-out to the #vanlife set in its press release when it mentioned that orange is now an available factory paint color. It may not be enough to sway everyone, but it’s refreshing to see the automaker reach out to a segment that usually doesn’t get much airtime.
Overall, the 2023 Ram ProMaster will come in 19 different configurations, combining three roof heights, three wheelbases and four different lengths. Ram also touted the ProMaster’s friendliness towards upfits, helped in part by a front-wheel-drive layout that keeps all the mechanical bits up front. Up to 12 tie-downs can be found on the floor, each rated for 1,000 pounds, and there are five 550-pound rings on the sidewalls, too. If you need to move people, that’s fine, because there’s also a Crew Van version available with a second row of seating for three adults.
You can store a whole bunch o’ stuff in here.
Ram
Under the hood is Stellantis’ tried-and-true 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, which makes 276 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque. That mates to a nine-speed automatic transmission and standard front-wheel drive. AWD is not on offer. But, across its many variations, it can tow up to 6,910 pounds and haul up to 4,680 pounds of payload.
Ram also intends to introduce a battery-electric ProMaster in 2023. The automaker didn’t have much to add beyond that, only saying that Amazon will be the first commercial customer to use BEV ProMasters as last-mile delivery vans.
The inside didn’t change too much, but a flashy new infotainment system will certainly command buyers’ attentions.
Ram
If all that wasn’t enough, Stellantis also shoved a whole host of tech into the 2023 ProMaster, too. Standard safety features include forward collision warning, crosswind assist, post-collision braking and traffic-sign recognition. The van can also be optioned with adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, parallel and perpendicular park assist, front parking sensors and rain-sensing windshield wipers. A digital rearview mirror is also on offer, as is a surround-view camera system.
Creature comforts include a 7-inch touchscreen running Uconnect 5, although a honkin’ 10-inch display is also on offer with split-screen capability. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, as is Alexa compatibility, a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, dual-phone Bluetooth and over-the-air updates.
The 2023 Ram ProMaster will go on sale in the third quarter of 2022, and pricing information should be made available closer to its on-sale date.
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