increase font size
The new Ram 1500 was unveiled at Fieldays last month.
The Ram 2500 and 3500 utes have a name for big load-carrying and towing capability but come with a hefty price tag.
So the arrival of the new Ram 1500 at Fieldays should bring the brand into the scope of the high-end ute buyer, a sector that seems to know no bounds in New Zealand.
The new Baby Ram 1500 is obviously nothing of the sort: 6m long, 2m wide and just short of 2m high.
It’s powered by a 5.7L V8 Hemi engine pushing out 291Kw and 556Nm torque, mated to a Torque-flite 8-speed automatic; this ‘baby’ can haul up to 4.5 tonnes and is best in its class for power, cab size and cargo space.
The new 1500 range is offered in six configurations centred on two trim/cab formats – the Express/Quad Cab or the Laramie/Crew Cab.
The Express/Quad seats five – confusing given the title – and looks sportier and aimed at dual-purpose use.
Colour-coded grille, bumpers and headlights combine with a load bed of 1939mm long x 1295mm wide between the wheel arches; it carries a standard pallet and has a payload of 912kg.
The higher-specification Laramie also has five seats, but the rear cabin offers as much leg space as the front cabin – over 1m of legroom. Add to this leather upholstery, heated and ventilated seats (heated in the rear), a heated steering wheel, touchscreen display and lots of chrome and you’ll get the idea of the Laramie.
At the rear, the tray shrinks slightly to 1712mm long and has payload capacity of 885kg. But it retains the 1295mm between the wheel arches. Standard in the whole range are 20-inch wheels, a sprayed-on bed liner, side-steps and fog lights. Safety is via vehicle stability control, brake assist, ABS, traction control, trailer sway control, hill start assist and hill descent control.
Also available in the range is a RamBox – clever secure storage lockers built into the sidewalls of the tray and above the wheel arches. Combined storage is reckoned 243L -- in ‘rural Kiwi’ terms 140 drink cans per side.
Also in the RamBox format is a clever bed-extender frame and divider system that allows loads to be carried safely over the lowered tailgate.
All Ram vehicles sold in NZ are switched to right-hand drive at a dedicated facility in Melbourne: the cabs are removed, steering re-engineered and a host of RHD required modifications are made, all to factory standards.
A three-year/100,000 km warranty applies.
Walking around the Fieldays this year, expected most of the conversations to be about machinery purchases and farm infrastructure upgrades. Instead, one topic seemed to keep cropping up more frequently with farmers – the price of PKE.
A new digital assistant is now helping Ballance Agri-Nutrients farmers speed up nutrient information and ordering.
OPINION: At Fieldays this year, one theme kept surfacing across the sector: global shocks are no longer something that happens “over there”. They are now translating quickly into local, farm-level impacts through increasingly complex and connected channels.
As the dust settles after Fieldays, we're once again reminded of the sheer volume of technology now available to New Zealand dairy farmers.
Kiwi built to suit Kiwi conditions, the Fieldays reveal of its new 3-point linkage mounted e-Spreader will add another string to Hamilton-based SAM Machinery’s already extensive portfolio of fertiliser spreading tools.
Celebrating 50 years in the rural landscape of Central Canterbury and beyond, Ashburton-based Carrfields, has been the exemplar for all aspects of modern agriculture via its extensive range of services including supply, growing, agronomic advice and marketing.
For Taupiri dairy farmers Logan and Sian Dawson, their involvement in the NZ Dairy Industry Awards has been a key catalyst in the growth of their business - the experience helping shape how they approach the farm ownership pathway they are pursuing today.
West Otago dairy farmer Luke Kane has been awarded the 2026 Rabobank Dr John Morris Business Development Prize.
OPINION: As the general election approaches, political parties are churning out policies in the hope of attracting more votes.
An LIC bull, Tronnoco AR Sadio-ET S3F, bred by Tony and Keri O'Connor of Tronnoco Farming Co Ltd near Timaru, has won the 2026 Mahoe Trophy.
With forecasters advising El Niño conditions will develop through winter and strengthen into spring and summer, Ballance Agri-Nutrients is encouraging farmers and growers to think ahead about nutrient planning and be prepared to work around challenging weather conditions.
OPINION: The same mainstream media muppets that brought you Jacindamania in 2017 have been flat out pimping for the Opportunities…
OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in…
