- pickup 246,757
- 1,215 below average
- 4,995 great
- Zephyrhills, FL
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- autoshopper.com
- 1,215 below average pickup 246,757 gasoline automatic
1998 dodge ram 1500 review this car review is specific to this model, not the actual vehicle for sale. With this year's introduction of a 4-door extended-cab pickup truck, dodge has fired yet another shot across the bow of ford, chevy and gmc, which offer only three doors on their extended-cabs. The new dodge quad cab, as it is called, is an option on all 1500 and 2500 extended cab trucks and it's standard on the big 3500 models. that one major product advantage is backed up by a host of other significant changes for 1998 from one end of the ram family to the other. Interiors have been given a thorough makeover for the new year. Like all of the domestic pickups, the dodge ram is available in three load ratings: 1500, 2500, and 3500. Three engines are available: a 3. 9-liter v6, 5. 2-liter v8, 5. 9-liter v8 engines, 8. 0-liter v10 and a cummins 5. 9-liter inline 6-cylinder diesel. Every engine comes with a choice of 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission. Output from the 5. 2-liter v8 has been raised from 220 to 230 horsepower and it earns an epa city/highway rating of 14/19 mpg when fitted with the 5-speed manual and two-wheel drive. Power from the 5. 9-liter v8 has been increased from 235 to 245 horsepower, with a jump in torque to 335 pound-feet; a two-wheel-drive automatic gets 13/17 mpg. the cummins turbodiesel puts out 215 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of trailer-pulling torque. The v10 gasoline engine is rated at 300 tire-smoking horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. The 3. 9-liter v6 is unchanged with 175 horsepower and 225 pound-feet of torque and fuel economy ratings of 15/19. standard, club cab and quad cab bodies are available in lt, laramie slt, and sst trim levels. Regular-length beds are 6 1/2 feet long, optional long beds are 8 feet long. improvements for 1998 include a new keyless remote entry system, an upgraded base sound system, a new cassette and cd sound system option, leather seat availability on slt versions, and a new sport plus package with 17-inch wheels and tires, suspension upgrades and 5. 9-liter v8 with sport exhausts. A number of under-the-skin upgrades have been made, including electrocoated frame paint, and new exterior and new interior colors are available. dodge says the new quad cab design is as strong as a conventional pickup body shell even though it does not have a pillar between the doors. To improve structural rigidity, dodge engineers designed a beam that runs crossways under the truck and strengthened the a and c pillars. The absence of a b-pillar makes it much easier to get in or out of the rear seat; it also makes it much easier to stick something behind the front seats. This includes a new steering wheel design, a new set of reduced-force air bags, with a lockout for the passenger bag, a gaping storage hole, an extra power point, and new cupholders that will handle anything. in order to get rid of a potentially messy array of dangling seat belts in the wide-open quad cab doorway, the designers have integrated the front seat belts into the seats themselves on all rams. The console has also been redesigned. The front seat in all rams is divided 40/20/40, with a huge fold-down central section that doubles as armrest and writing table. There's a substantial storage box inside the armrest portion with divided spaces for coins, cassettes, maps or even a laptop computer. the rear seat in the quad cab is the same seat used in the conventional extended cab version of the truck. It's handy for children, pets and petite adults, but it is not comfortable for adults on long trips. The rear seat is fitted with two shoulder belts and one lap belt. Driving it made us think of the old muscle car drag racing days on woodward avenue in detroit. It's also a really flexible, driveable combination in off-road situations, much more so than the automatic. Rear suspension is a conventional live axle with leaf springs designed to carry heavy loads. We found the suspension delightfully smooth and supple on the street, aided by those big fat goodyear rt/s tires. But the body is so high off the ground that some passengers--particularly females--had a great deal of entry/exit difficulty even with a grab bar on the a-pillar. one thing we didn't like about the ram's dynamics last year was the steering, which was light enough and quick enough, but had an enormous dead space on center, and seemed to require constant left-right adjustments to stay straight ahead. That has been fixed this year with a new steering gear setup and new steering geometry, and the feel of the truck is much more precise than earlier models. braking, with discs in front, drums in rear, was exemplary. The ram stops quickly with superb straightline stability. Power Locks✔ Power Windows✔ Power Mirrors✔ Cruise Control✔ Air Conditioning✔ Aluminum Wheels✔ Sport Package✔ Alloy Wheels
4,995 Zephyrhills, FLZephyrhills, FL at autoshopper.com