2012 Ram 1500 Wins Canadian Truck King Challenge
By Dave Lee
The 2012 Ram 1500 was named the Best Half-Ton Pickup Truck this week by the Canadian Truck King Challenge team this week, beating out the Ford F-150, GMC Sierra 1500, Toyota Tundra and the Nissan Titan. Five judges evaluated the pickups in tests that included towing 8,000 pounds, carrying 1,800 pounds of payload and some off-roading.
"The testing performed by the Truck King Challenge is a great third party evaluation of the highly competitive half-ton truck segment, and we are thrilled that our Ram 1500 took top honors," said Reid Bigland, Chrysler Canada's president and CEO. "The Ram 1500 is the most awarded Ram truck ever and has the longest lasting line of pickups in Canada. It’s no coincidence that more Canadian pickup buyers are switching to Ram 1500 than to any other truck."
Ram sold 5,282 pickups in Canada in October, a 53 percent increase over 2010, and the brand remains the second-best-selling vehicle in Canada, the company says, adding that Ram has seen the greatest gains in Canadian market share for 2011.
For 2012, the Ram 1500 remains mostly unchanged except for the new 65RFE six-speed automatic transmission. You can read our first look here.
Comments
Maybe the 65rfe is an improvement after all.
Maybe towing wasnt a very large part of the equation. Would like to see how they were all equipped.
Congrats to RAM. Maybe it was setup like the under 30k challenge?
I know a guy that used to have a Ford SD with the V10 and he tows a 24ft car trailer quite often. He then traded it in on the Ram Hemi 1500 with the fancy paint and spoiler on the back and claims that it tows that trailer way better. So guessing it must be the 5.7 Hemi. I do believe him since he is a real Ford fan, not sure what made him go for the Dodge other then he does like it and it's that fancy rust color.
If you do a search about the actual test, they did NOT count any off-roading.
That makes perfect sense, the approach angle on the Fiat is so terrible and the front so low, I think it would scrape on a parking curb... just look at the picture above.
I am guessing that the Tundra, Titan, and Ford would put the Fiat to shame off-road.
Way to go Ram!!!
Them Canucks sure do know their trucks...aye!
What were the test results? All I have been able to find is the winner. I am happy Ram guys got some kind of 6-speed auto but I drive around in D and dont shift so it does nothing for me but a lot of you Ram guys will love it and it appears to work so good job Ram engineers.
"Finally, we drove the trucks empty for 150 km and finished with an off-road section that, unfortunately, was interrupted this year by an act of God. The abandoned Colonization Road I use near Head Lake, Ont. was blocked by downed trees — knocked down by a ferocious wind storm. So, while the judges had an opportunity to see how the trucks handled off-road, we weren’t able to cycle everyone through the pickups in equal time allotments before dark — so this part of the overall test was not scored or used to calculate the winner."
Yep they tested those offroad capabilities right?
-Also gave no data other than what trucks were tested and how much they towed or hauled.
I say there's a solid 99.99% chance the Ram won because of a soft ride.....
Or Ram used that Italian money....
6.5' bed would do wonders on a Ram 1500 crew.
You gave great points here. I did some research on the subject and have found nearly all people agree with your blog.
@Peter- This guy you know must be a moron.
we have no info as to what drivetrain or configuration each truck had. even assuming they're equipped with the latest n greatest, i find it hard to believe that the 5.7 ram tows better than an eb f150, 6.2 gm n 5.7 tundra n with the rams softer rr coils, it's also hard to believe it can handle payload better than the others stiffer suspension.
i'd have to agree with tom with a ranger.
Whaaaaaat?????? The ford girly men f-150 didn't come in first place???? What is the world coming to??? I thought we were told by the ford girly men that the f-150 was the bestest and most rootin tootin truck on the road today. Oh we can't forget about the "man step" or is that just on the super duty models?
I am sure that ford and ford girly men will protest these results because they think the f-150 is the bestest truck and remember the Ego-Boost engine beats V-8 competitors.
Congrats to Ram for winning the Canadian Truck King Challenge.
Maybe it was a good thing they did not go much off-roading with them...
Really, what's a few trees knocked over...posers!
good work ram...we no the true is not a ford bullshit again ...good job..
FORD RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ford cry babys are out full force early today must be all there fords are in the shop being fixed again go ram!!!
Wow, an article about a Ram and all the Ram boys and Chevy boys are still talking about Fords. I guess we all know what's on everybody's minds 100% of the time. FORD! :)
Two of the judges picked F-150 and Tundra first.
The GM Sierra mostly came in 5th place and 4th place.
Quote:The GM Sierra mostly came in 5th place and 4th place.
That seems to be the trend these days GM twins are always coming in last on a contests
found the drivetrains of the truck:
"The competitors this year were a 2011 Ford F-150 Platinum Crew Cab (4WD, 3.5-litre EcoBoost V-6, six-speed automatic, $64,449); 2012 Toyota Tundra Double Cab (4WD, TRD Off-Road Package, 5.7L V-8, six-speed automatic, $43,975); 2012 Nissan Titan four-door Cab (4WD, 5.6L V-8, five-speed automatic, $52,228), 2012 Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Cab (4WD, 5.7L Hemi V-8, six-speed automatic, $54,825) and the 2012 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE Crew Cab (4WD, 5.3L V-8, six-speed automatic, $52,915)."
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/cars/Truck+King+Challenge+1500+king+pickups/5683295/story.html#ixzz1dPcIgPpZ
Alex
yea i love how every story on this site, turns into a Ford this and Ford that, i guess Ford is on top and are a threat to the rest of the trucks
breaking it out for easier reading
2011 Ford F-150 Platinum Crew Cab (4WD, 3.5-litre EcoBoost V-6, six-speed automatic, $64,449)
2012 Toyota Tundra Double Cab (4WD, TRD Off-Road Package, 5.7L V-8, six-speed automatic, $43,975)
2012 Nissan Titan four-door Cab (4WD, 5.6L V-8, five-speed automatic, $52,228)
2012 Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Cab (4WD, 5.7L Hemi V-8, six-speed automatic, $54,825)
2012 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE Crew Cab (4WD, 5.3L V-8, six-speed automatic, $52,915)
I wonder why everybody got premium engines except GMC? Why didn't they choose a 6.2l engine for the comparison? Aside from that it seems to be a good matchup on paper.
yeah, i gots notin bedder to do....
2011 Ford F-150 Platinum Crew Cab (4WD, 3.5 EB V-6, 6spd auto, $64,449)
2012 Toyota Tundra Double Cab (4WD, TRD Off-Road Package, 5.7 V-8, 6spd auto, $43,975)
2012 Nissan Titan Crew Cab (4WD, 5.6 V-8, 5spd auto, $52,228)
2012 Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Cab (4WD, 5.7 V-8, 6pd auto, $54,825)
2012 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE Crew Cab (4WD, 5.3 V-8, 6spd auto, $52,915)
Whaaaaaat?????? The ford girly men f-150 didn't come in first place???? What is the world coming to??? I thought we were told by the ford girly men that the f-150 was the bestest and most rootin tootin truck on the road today. Oh we can't forget about the "man step" or is that just on the super duty models?
I am sure that ford and ford girly men will protest these results because they think the f-150 is the bestest truck and remember the Ego-Boost engine beats V-8 competitors.
Congrats to Ram for winning the Canadian Truck King Challenge.
Posted by: Michigan Bob | Nov 11, 2011 8:33:09 AM
Well said. Now the Ford girlies should shut their huge pie holes. I must be kidding myself....that will NEVER happen.
$50K for that wimpy GM 5.3L. PASS!!!!
Um, I read the article and saw the charts and I can't make heads or tails of it. The final judging was off the driver's personal picks and not off any empirical data.
The fuel economy had me scratching my head, the Tundra blew everyone else away in towing, loaded, and empty tests. In what world could the Tundra beat ANYONE in a fuel economy comparo?
It was a pretty weak test or at least very weakly documented. I'm not complaining that the Ram won, I would just like to know HOW it won.
@oxi,
Happy Veterans Day...
Thank you for your service...
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f36/oxi3/6250_1195147482089_1330511296_55018.jpg
Not enough time...to go off-road...
Really, who do they think they care kidding?
Let me show them how it's done...
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/general-automotive/80747-whats-1990-jeep-comanche-worth-3.html#post1606706
Oxi, please....just take a few minutes to use this time for talk about yourself.
oxi for president!
No surprise about the Tundra being tops on fuel economy, it's come in 1st or 2nd in every comparison test I've read.
The ecoboost was built to game a high score unloaded on the EPA's treadmill test, towing on actual roads it gets horrid mileage. The 5.0 is a better work motor by far.
if the tundra blew away everyone else in the performance criteria(its a given with the tundra stout drivetrain), it's no wonder ford didn't include it or the gm 6.2 in the ecobst hill climb towing test it did awhile back against the 5.7 ram n 5.3 gm.
but anywho, winner to me is who does best at performing it's duty as a truck.
When it comes to real truck the GM rules in the HD segment in all tests done.
MAN! Those RAM trucks are looking more outdated everyday.
GM wins again!
Calling all Bob's and oxi's we all know you all come form the same person, you guys are like Chevy's and Gm's getting old and outdated with same posts
@Dan in the Man,
I'd bet they are the biggest wimps on the block just like their beloved GM 5.3L.
I agree with Dan--in every objective test I've read in the last 4 years, the Tundra was first or second in real-world fuel economy. If I recall, in the objective tests, the only pickup that usually did (marginally) better was the Ford 5.4.
Congrats to Ram, well deserved. I'm not sold on the premise of the EB, in time I might change my mind. Personally, a small diesel would be a better choice.
Most recently in the PUTC 2011 $30k shootout, Tundra had the worst fuel economy.
$50K for that wimpy GM 5.3L. PASS!!!!
Posted by: Frank | Nov 11, 2011 11:13:19 AM
i think you forgot about ford at 64 000$ for that price you can
buy a hd truck with diesel engine
that will last longer and haul much more than any 1500
@bigtowing,
But the Ecoboost blows the doors, tailgate, fenders, wheels off the GM twinkies!
I agree, this is why I am keeping my V10 F250 4x4 SFA.
you guys have to realize, these trucks cost more in Canada
Who the heck is Team Oxi?
I know this site knows the IP of this poser...
@oxi,
Aren't they your oompa loompas?
The very first Truck King challenge was decent, but they've gotten crappy over the years. I had a hard time finding any decent information on the test.
I think that PUTC dropped the ball on this story. They probably just did a cut and paste on a Ram press release.
Where is the beef???
Why bother making a news post without any real substance?
http://www.worldcars-2.info/about/new-cars/truck-king-challenge-ram-1500-is-king-of-the-pickups
http://www.theprovince.com/cars/1500+wear+Truck+King+crown/5682346/story.html
http://www.theprovince.com/cars/1500+wear+Truck+King+crown/5682346/story.html
The tables look more like a personal preference vote as opposed to concrete unbiased test numbers.
They ranked:
#1 Ram
#2 F150
#3Tundra
#4 Sierra
#5 Titan
The Tundra got the best MPG loaded and the Ram the poorest MPG loaded.
Towing a 3,636 kilograms or 8,000 lb trailer
Ram - 31L/100 km = 9.1 (Imperial) MPG = 7.6 (USA) MPG
F150 - 28.4L/100km = 9.95 (Imperial) MPG = 8.28(USA) MPG
Sierra -27.3L/100Km = 10.35 (Imperial)MPG= 8.26(USA)MPG
Titan - 27.3L/100Km = 10.35 (Imperial)MPG= 8.26(USA)MPG
Tundra - 26.2L/100KM = 10.78(Imperial) = 8.98 (USA) MPG
I like the Ram and too many guys slag it for its coil suspension.
EVEN If this was a vote on preference, the Ram still deserves credit for winning .
It obviously was the favorite of the testers. Ram did win the under 30K shootout on this site.
Good job Ram.
@ bigtowing - those are Canadian prices. You can tack on another 10,000 dollars for a fully loaded Canadian diesel truck, in other words 74,000 dollars.
"It obviously was the favorite of the testers."
Not quite. It was the favorite of only 3 out of the 5 testers.
2 out of the 5 or 40% picked the F-150 or Tundra as their favorite.
I'd like to see the data behind this test and not just pick your favorite and number it 1 through 5.
The comments to this entry are closed.