[hemiowner]

Link to the Allpar review


http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2013/10/ram-promaster-delivers-the-goods

 

[carryon]

My one complaint was the information display in the instrument cluster: without a manual or pre-flight orientation, it was impossible to figure out how to change it to provide the desired data, in this case the miles-per-gallon. I did master increasing and decreasing the display brightness, but that was it.
I tried two different ProMasters: first, a quick spin in a basic low-roof 1500, then an extended wheelbase, high-roof 2500 for a trip from Thousand Oaks to nearby Westlake Hills to pick up a load. Both vans handled well, even on dirt roads. Since any unladen van is light in the rear and the front-wheel-drive ProMasters don’t even have the weight of a differential I were expecting them to be skittish on unpaved surfaces. Both vans impressed me with their sure-footed handling: no bouncing; no feeling the rear end was going to break loose at any minute.
I had the luxury of a solo ride in the 2500, which was great. The van handled well on both well-maintained city streets and country roads that might not have seen serious upkeep since Ronald Reagan was the governor. Even after picking up my “load” in Westlake Hills, the ProMaster had no trouble with climbing narrow mountain roads.
ProMaster operating costs should be lower than a conventional American van and there are already slide-in vocational fittings to suit a variety of purposes, from package shelves to workbenches and cabinetry for locksmiths, plumbers and other jobs.

sounds good to me.

 

[SFAVGUY]

Recent Promaster Drive

Hey guys,

I recently drove a promaster at a local SF Bay Area Dodge Dealer and thought I would give my impressions. I thought this might add some info for the taller guys out there considering the Promaster as I'm 6' 6. The leg room for me was perfectly adequate, not as much as my 2010 Dodge Ram 1500 but still fine, the seating position is very upright and doesn't really allow the driver to stretch his legs out, this is the case for anyone, I doubt anyone taller than 5' 8 would be able to do this, much less someone my height. My problem came with the sight line, my eye level is about even with the top of the windshield and I found my view compromised pretty severely. That being said the seat is bolted to a 10 inch tall platform and I'll be modifying it to lower the seat height a few inches. Not the ideal solution but better than dropping an extra 10 grand on a similarly equipped Sprinter.

As for the rest of my impressions I'll sum it up with a quick summary.

Interior

Good fit and finish
Fair Stereo
Amazing amount of room and you feel it while driving (and that's with the low roof model). This beast made my ram feel like a Mini Cooper.

Driving
Drives great, good acceleration and a pretty smooth ride.
Turning radius is amazing, almost comedic, it feels like you could do figure 8's on a standard road.
Where's the hood? I can't see it.

Other thoughts

This will always be worked on by the dealership, I can't even see the engine much less wanting to tackle working on it.
I think it looks great in person, better than photos.
This is a perfect trade vehicle, never again will you have to crawl in the back of a van on your knees.
Overall I'm very impressed and hopeful that the suspension seat option will have a height adjustment that eliminates my view issue, if not ill be modifying the seat, which while not ideal is something I'm willing to do.

Hope this helps.

 

[carryon]

seems like they purposely made the seat height taller.

i guess the advantage is a better view on the road.

but for taller guys it would be an issue with "clearance"


sucks for the legroom. ill have to see for myself.

 

[Ram3500']

seems like they purposely made the seat height taller.

i guess the advantage is a better view on the road.

but for taller guys it would be an issue with "clearance"


sucks for the legroom. ill have to see for myself.

Sure seems like it's for a better view of the road, with an amazing turning radius, they have to. How would the drivers actually know they cleared that curb or that they wont hit that car close to them.

 

[5robottn8]

How is a Sprinter $10,000.00 more than a Promaster? The base Promaster 1500 136" wheel base is $30,500.00. The base Sprinter 144" standard roof is $37,000.00. That is $6500.00 more, if you compare the Promaster diesel version it will cost $34,500.00 for the 1500 low roof, putting the Sprinter $2500.00 more than a comparable Promaster.

 

[SFAVGUY]

Relax

I built a Promaster as I would need it for my business and it comes to 35,000. I build a sprinter again with the options I need and I'm at 45,000. The promaster is not a diesel as I don't need it and diesel is more than premium in California.

The promaster is built basically loaded and the sprinter has some basic options. I could build out a sprinter loaded and spend 55,000. Long story short its a more expensive vehicle, if they were the same price I would lean Mercedes. But at 10 grand cheaper ill stick with dodge.

All that aside the purpose of my review was to give some taller potential buyers my opinion, not start a cost debate.

 

[DennisV]

I priced out a 159 Hi Roof with some options at $36000

A 170 Hi Roof comparably equipped Sprinter was way more than 10 grand over that. And that's before the extra sales tax and DMV fees.

The prices for MB options are frankly insane.

 

[timmer]

Thanks for the review SFAVGUY, I am 6'2 and was wondering about the leg room and sight lines.