But this leads to a question about the
overall design of the ProMaster City (as
well as vehicles like the aforementioned
Ford): What happened to the full-size,
one-box cargo van? Chrysler had one
from 1971 to 2003, the B-Series. Cairns
points out that in the case of Chrysler,
that B van gave way to the Mercedes
Sprinter as the company became Daim-
lerChrysler (1998 to 2007). The idea was
that as there was a Sprinter and as the B
van was needing a signifcant improve-
ment, using a vehicle that was already
in the portfolio made more sense.
u The rear doors are designed with
a 60/40 split, with the larger door
on the driver's side. The reason,
Mike Cairns, director of Ram Truck
Engineering, explains is so that when
pulled to the side of the road, such
as in a package delivery situation,
the person is shielded from the
roadway by opening that door.
t The underpinnings of the Ram ProMaster
City. As regards the suspension setup,
there is a MacPherson strut suspension in
the front and an independent, coil-sprung
bi-link in the rear.
Still, Cairns says that the confgura-
tion of the front-drive ProMaster City
is one that is more appropriate for the
kind of use that tradesmen and deliv-
ery people need than the conventional
one-box, body-on-frame, rear-drive
van. In efect, those vans are overkill,
and not nearly as efcient. The Pro-
Master City can get 29 mpg highway. It
has a turning diameter (curb-to-curb)
of 42 ft. Clearly, the word "City" in the
name of the vehicle has meaning for
the sort of urban environment that it is
likely to be used in.
Yes, the vehicle is cargo-oriented. But
there is also a passenger confguration
available for the vehicle, the "Wagon."
This provides two rows of seating, two
in the front and three in the rear. While
the cargo versions have a maximum
capacity of 131.7-ft
3
, the passenger-
style vehicle provides 101.7-ft
3
.
Why just two rows when there is easily
space for three (and the Doblò does
ofer that third row)? Simple: there are
FCA US products named the "Town &
Country" and the "Grand Caravan," and
they certainly don't want to step on that
now-legendary franchise
.
AD&P; > February 2015 > FEATURE > Introducing the Ram ProMaster City > Gary S. Vasilash > gsv@autofeldguide.com
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