Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Ram brand is best known for its pickups and commercial vehicles, but it does make one vehicle you could get away with calling a car: the Promaster City wagon.
A spinoff of the Promaster City compact van, the wagon adds a three-place rear seat to turn this vehicle into a five-seater and a conceivable choice as a basic family vehicle in a market where station wagons have largely disappeared and minivans have turned huge.
For 2019, there are very minor changes to the Promaster City wagon: on the outside, it gets a new grille, and Ram has added a fleet telematics system that lets companies track how its vehicles are being used.
Otherwise, this little van's fundamentals are unchanged. Power comes from a 2.4L four-cylinder engine making 178 hp and 174 lb-ft of torque, which is mated with a nine-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive.
The Promaster City wagon has one direct competitor in the form of the Ford Transit Connect, which is also available in a passenger model; meanwhile, the Nissan NV200 and Chevrolet City Express (the latter being a clone of the former) come only as cargo vans.
Beyond the addition of rear seats, the Promaster City wagon differs mainly from its cargo sibling in its rear windows, which replace solid steel panels in the cargo van.
As before, the Promaster City wagon comes in SL and SLT trims. Base models come with air conditioning, electric door locks with keyless entry, electric front windows, tilt-and-telescopic steering, 16-inch steel wheels, four-speaker stereo and Bluetooth hands-free phone functionality.
SLT adds wheel covers, heated and power-adjustable side mirrors, body-colour front and rear trim, cruise control, height-adjustable driver's seat and a leather-trimmed steering wheel.
Options include heated front seats, navigation and power rear windows.
As you can see, there's not a lot of luxury here; whether you choose the cargo version of this van (covered in its own buyer's guide entry) or this people-friendly variant, what you're getting is a pretty back-to-basics vehicle whose focus is on utility. Ram says the Promaster City will tow 907 kg, but more impressively it boasts a formidable payload of 862 kg, which is a lot more than mid-size pickups like the Toyota Tacoma and Chevrolet Colorado can manage, at 680 kg and 653 kg respectively.
Ram's fuel consumption estimates for the Promaster City are 11.2/8.3 L/100 km (city/highway).
This vehicle has not yet been reviewed
