2009 4x4 Of The Year Participants

Dodge Ram TRX4 Quad Cab
Weighing in at 5,400 pounds with a 390hp 5.7L V-8 engine for an overall power-to-weight ratio of 1 hp to every 13.84 pounds (the best in the test), in this corner is the '09 Dodge Ram TRX4 Quad Cab 4x4. Dodge introduced its '09 Ram to the snickers of the competing 1/2-ton truck market because it showed up with a coil-sprung rear suspension. Some folks say all the truck owners who want a carlike ride are leaving the truck segment, and others think that the trucks need every bell and whistle to attract today's finicky buyer. Dodge decided to build a redesigned truck with unique styling to make waves in the truck market. Will these waves swamp the competition or Dodge itself?

Four-wheeling attributes are those from the judge's point of view before the truck ever sees dirt. This year these account for more points than ever. The Ram has a strong-looking steel driveshaft (others have aluminum) and some of the best front tow hooks of the test, requiring no shackle. A trailer hitch counts as a recovery point, and though we don't judge towing, we did like the four- and seven-pin connectors that are mounted safely up in the bumper, not down underneath. (Hey, Ford, please read previous sentence.) The rear link suspension had some low-hanging brackets and shocks, and we're unsure of an aluminum front knuckle and lower A-arm, but we like the transfer case and front axle skidplate.

There are nicer versions with navigation and power adjustable seats, but Dodge sent us the no-frills unit with manual adjusting seats and its basic AM/FM/Sirius radio.

The on-road portion report on the Ram was mostly positive, with one judge declaring the 1/2-ton a big, powerful, comfortable truck in the American tradition, while others thought it would make a great ride for a cross-country trip. All in all, the consensus was that for asphalt wheeling, this Ram was possibly the best-riding trucks tested, and the power from the big V-8 was icing on the cake.

Off road the Ram yelled for attention at times, yet also revealed some secrets. First the bad. Since fuel economy is so important these days, aerodynamics are important. The Ram's new body wraps farther down around the chassis to help get better mileage. We didn't notice how far down it wrapped until it took a beating on the rockcrawl (we might be buying a new bed for a Sunburst Orange Pearl 1/2-ton in Dodge's press fleet). Even though the body hangs low, the suspension flexes even lower, and often this flexy-Ram would tiptoe over rocks, notches, and gullies that would have required a locker in any other 1/2-ton. Speaking of locker, the Ram boasts only a limited-slip differential, but it, combined with the coil rear suspension, had us rarely hunting for traction whether on steep hillclimbs or rutted desert moguls. In the high-speed desert road section, the Dodge dominated, running fast, feeling stable, and bounding over washes without a care. But then we hit the sand and it went sour. The traction safety nannies would step in and pull power when it was needed the most. The light suspension should have been soaking up the dunes, but instead it was having a hard time just getting the power to the ground.

A TRX4 Dodge has won our test before, and this new version would lay a beatdown on its big brother. Can a truck with big power and a flexy suspension take on a smaller wheeler with one or two lockers underneath?

The Goods
* Comfortable ride
* Flexible rear suspension
* Powerful in high-speed dirt

The Bads
* Low body sides
* Annoying traction control
* Bad transmission shifter