Ram: Four Wheeler’s pickup of the year by Bill Cawthon on

Four Wheeler Magazine has named the 2016 Ram 1500 Rebel its 28th Annual Pickup Truck of the Year, beating the Nissan Titan XD PRO-4X, Chevy Colorado Crew Cab Z71, and Toyota Tacoma Double Cab TRD Off-Road.

Seven judges tested the trucks’ comfort and performance in traffic jams, technical trails, and other conditions over five days and 1,000 miles.

Competing pickups had to be new or substantially changed; a two-speed transfer case was required, along with production of at least 1,500 trucks for the US and being on sale by January 15, 2016.

The writeup said, “Everything about the Ram Rebel feels right. From the suspension to the steering to the beautifully matched eight-speed transmission and V-8 engine, the Rebel is one dialed truck. Sure, we would love to see at least one differential locker and could do without the treads on the seats, but it’s hard to find many faults on- or off-road. This is one Rebel with a worthy cause.”

The judges “overwhelmingly” chose the Ram Rebel crew cab both as the Pickup Truck of the Year and as the truck they’d most like to take home.

Rank Truck Engine Base Price As Tested 1 Ram 1500 Rebel Crew Cab 5.7 HEMI V8 $45,200 $53,150 2 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab TRD Offroad 3.5 V6 (Atkinson) $33,730 $38,045 3 Nissan Titan XD Pro-4X 5.0 V8 $50,970 $58,085 4 Chevrolet Colorado Z71 Crew Cab 2.8 Diesel $35,835 $47,670

Bill Cawthon grew up in the auto industry in the 1950s. His Dad worked for Chrysler and Bill spent a number of Saturdays down on the plant floor at Dodge Main in Hamtramck. Bill is also the U.S. market correspondent for just-auto.com, a British auto industry publication, and a member of the Texas Auto Writers Association, which has named the Jeep Grand Cherokee the “SUV of Texas” several times and named the Ram 1500 as the “Truck of Texas” two years running.



Bill has owned five Plymouths (including the only 1962 “Texan”), one Dodge and one Chrysler and is still trying to figure out how to justify a Wrangler. He also has owned at least one of every 1:87 scale model of a Chrysler product. You can reach him directly at (206) 888-7324 or by using the form.