The 2014 Dodge Ram Promaster is a big, multipurpose cargo van. It can carry. It can tow. It can haul just about anything average folks can muster.
It’s powered by a V6 engine putting out 280 horsepower. It has a six speed automatic transmission. It has front wheel drive and variable valve timing. It has MacPherson Strut and rear independent suspension. In short, it has many of the basic features any car has these days.
But, it’s not a car. It’s a van. A big van. A van designed to carry things in its cargo bay more than people. That means the odds are that an average consumer – your run of the mill driver – won’t be in the market for a Dodge Ram Promaster.
While that fits together logically, the lack of consumer interest doesn’t mean it’s any less an effective van option. I test drove one. I carried a lot of gear in the back of it. I essentially used it to move my home office. It’s a vehicle primed to make a dent in the transport business arena – ready to take on the Ford Transit or the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.
Still, the most interesting element of this Promaster is how many mainstream tech features found their way into it. With a van like this – a beast of burden intended to bang around town moving essential cargo and professional men and women from point A to point B – it’d be fair to expect driving features like those listed above, a couple decent seats, belts and airbags and maybe air conditioning.
Dodge didn’t settle for such expectations. Remember now – this is a van. It comes with Satellite Radio, Bluetooth phone connectivity, trip computer, one touch power windows, four wheel ABS, emergency braking assist and traction control.
Not too long ago, that would’ve been a list of features assigned primarily to upscale performance and luxury vehicles. However, the bangs and whistles have trickled down through the car family tree to reach brute utility vehicles like the 2014 Dodge Ram Promaster.
It leads you to wonder what cargo vehicles might be like in 25 years. We might end up with flying vans someday. Then again, those would be cargo planes. Never mind.
