Even though the design staff appears to leave its best for the other marques of the group, it is undeniable that Fiat automobiles are competent. Practical and roomy interiors, efficient engines, innovative solutions every now and then… Everything combined to reasonable prices. So what could explain Fiat’s modest sales, outside Brazil? The fact that those values are as good for entry-level market categories as they are bad for more expensive ones. So, as a marque, Fiat started to avoid the latter group because its image makes it very hard to prosper in it. This is why any projects of bigger cars were left to FCA’s other divisions, specially after the merger with Chrysler. Any Fiats you will see from now on should be either compact or commercial.
Going through all that introduction is important because it is precisely what culminated on Ram having released this article’s vehicle. Since the current C/V Tradesman will be dropped along Dodge Caravan and its other sisters in a short time, and developing a whole new model would be excessively expensive, the North-American decided to trust once again on one of Fiat’s fields of expertise – the other is ProMaster, which was derived from Ducato. In other words, this is another case of badge engineering, whose intentions are to increase the original vehicle’s production, Fiat Doblò, as well as give Ram a fair chance among the small-sized work vans, which have recently received Chevrolet City Express (this one a rebadged Nissan NV200) and Ford Transit Connect.
However, those who live in the United States probably have already found a “but” on an otherwise pretty sweet deal: the so-called “chicken tax”. Therefore, in order to avoid the famous 25% tariff, Ram will import passenger Doblòs, and immediately afterwards take them to what is called Chrysler Group Transformation, where they will end the process of becoming ProMaster City – for those who are feeling some déjà vu, this is exactly what Ford used to do with its own van for years. But since the government ended forcing it to pay the higher tariff anyway, under the (totally understandable) claim of these products not being used as they arrive in the country, maybe the Italians will not be able to take advantage of this loophole for long.
If such story made you a little more interested in this car, you must know that this is not another case of Lancia Voyager. PMC will have two trim levels, both with long wheelbase: Tradesman is the typical panel van, with seats and windows only at the front. SLT, in turn, favors those who occasionally take additional people by keeping the second rows of both those two elements. When it comes to the design, the logotype changes were joined by new wheels and front fascia: the latter uses Ram and Dodge’s signature grille in a colored piece whose sides work as some sort of visual extensors for the headlights, just like Fiat Freemont’s – the effect is better noticed watching from afar. Besides, the ride height was slightly raised, but there is another change.
Doblò’s North-American sibling will use Chrysler’s TigerShark 2.4L engine, which reaches 178 hp of power and 174 lb-ft. As if it was not enough to beat both aforementioned competitors and only lose to Transit’s EcoBoost 1.6L (sold as an optional), Ram claims it will achieve best-in-class consumption rates. Always with a nine-speed automatic transmission, PMC also goes from 0 to 48 kph in 3.7 seconds and to 96 kph in 9.8. Where Fiat’s work was not touched is the car’s structure: the unibody construction uses an independent coil-spring rear suspension, which usually delivers a much smoother ride. Everything intended to make the new Ram interesting for the most different kinds of companies, regardless of what they need to transport.
Fiat’s aforementioned field of expertise also appears at the cargo room: the overall volume of 3,729.3 L can be accessed by 60/40 split rear doors that can open 180°. It also measures 1.53 m of width (1.2 m between the rear wheels) and 2.2 m of length, with a maximum payload of 854.1 kg. If you need help using this space, Mopar will offer a whole list of various accessories, in order to suit PMC to the most different uses. Going to the cabin, the equipment list will feature seven airbags, multimedia audio system with four speakers and two 12-volt outlets as standard, and can get better with power mirrors, a second USB port, rearview camera and the Uconnect system, with navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, satellite radio and a 5” touchsreen.