I have asked many people to name their dream car. The answers are usually a Ferrari, a Lamborghini or a Porsche – rare and expensive sports cars. Never would I have imagined the level of excitement people showed when they saw me driving … a pickup truck. Sure, the truck I was testing for the week cost north of $100,000 with all the extras, but it was still a truck that can be seen everywhere from downtown streets to suburban hockey rinks to farmers’ fields. It can be seen everywhere because it is the second-most-popular vehicle sold in Canada, and after a week spent driving it, I could see the appeal too, even if it is completely impractical for my city life.
The Ram line of pickup trucks is the second best selling vehicle in Canada, behind another pickup truck, the Ford F-150.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
I was testing a Ram 1500 Limited – the Limited trim being the top dog. The base price is more than $80,000 and this one had another $20,000 worth of options. My mission was to haul stuff to the recycling centre. You know, actual pickup truck stuff. But after seeing the price and the beautifully outfitted interior, I had second thoughts about doing something as grubby as chucking tree stumps into its pristine bed. No, this truck was too nice, and imagining its optional and blemish-free “Mopar” spray-in bedliner coming into contact with 400 pounds of tree became almost too much. Why would I put such a nice vehicle through all of that?
But hold on. This is a pickup truck, right? The sort of vehicle that’s always shown on TV commercials at the job site, covered in the grime of a hard day’s work. Surely hauling some junk would be the bare minimum of what it was designed to do.
From old fireplaces to large tree stumps, the Ram’s bed can carry a lot and is exceedingly useful in many situations.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
I was able to load in a broken electric fireplace, old lawn equipment, large planters and what seemed like an entire tree. It was almost too easy. I drove to the recycling centre sitting on quilted leather seats and sipping on my oat milk cappuccino while being coddled by an auto-levelling four-corner air suspension. If you’d told me the cargo bed was still empty, I’d have believed you.
Getting the stuff out of the back was just as easy with the Ram’s optional split tailgate, which allows you to get stuff from deeper in the bed without having to climb in.
Surely this is more than just a pickup truck. It’s a luxury ride. Equipped with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, it even gets acceptable mileage on the highway. With an empty bed, I saw 10.6 litres per 100 kilometres.
Getting the stuff out of the back was just as easy with the Ram’s optional split tailgate.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
In Canada, 48 per cent of Stellantis sales in 2022 came from the Ram brand, making pickups the biggest seller for the company by a long shot. It’s also no secret that the Ford F-150 remains the best-selling vehicle in Canada and North America.
There was a time when the streets were filled with wood-panelled station wagons and Ford Taurus sedans. They’re what families used to drive, and while SUVs have now taken over, pickup trucks dominate the best-selling list.
Don’t be fooled by their utilitarian outfits. Despite looking like workhorses, pickups are now the ultimate suburban status symbol, along with perfectly manicured lawns and double-car garages. They are now legitimate dream vehicles. The Ram Limited became the envy of our street. The last time I received so many compliments on a vehicle, it was a bright yellow Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS.
It all seems excessive. Why do so many drivers need that much car? Why is the biggest, most inefficient type of vehicle such a popular choice? Most drivers aren’t even using it as a pickup truck in the first place. My neigbour’s truck hardly ever has dirt on it, nor do most of the pickups I see clogging the narrow street by my son’s school during pickup and dropoff. The kids don’t seem to mind. I wouldn’t either, at their age. These trucks have huge, comfortable back seats and, more importantly, they garner schoolyard respect. “Your dad drives that Ram? That’s wicked, bro!”
From my perspective, pickups have just become another example of consumerism run amok. They keep getting bigger, heavier and more expensive. Around town, they are ridiculously inefficient. When average new cars consume fuel at a rate of six litres per 100 kilometres, the 17 litres I was burning with the Ram was atrocious by any standard. Spending $200 a week on fuel is a reality many pickup owners face. And yet most seem to be doing it, willingly.
The 2023 Ram 1500 Limited starts at $83,545. This one with all its optional extras rang in at $104,535.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
In some ways, I get the appeal. The infotainment system, the interior trimmings, the sound system, even the way it drove was impressive. Better yet, sitting up high with the other Rams and F-150s and Silverados that saturate my neighbourhood, I felt a sense of belonging and acceptance. But ultimately, the Ram and other pickups like it are unnecessary in most cases because the vast majority of Canadians live in cities and don’t haul large amounts of stuff on a weekly basis.
Getting back into my little sedan brought things squarely back to reality. It’s tiny compared with the Ram. It isn’t as luxurious or tech heavy, and there’s no giant cargo bed behind the back seats. It has, however, carried everything we’ve ever needed it to carry, and gotten us everywhere we’ve ever needed to go, reliably. And it’s always proven to be just enough for our family, even if it isn’t the coolest car at the school run.