When I reviewed the 2020 RAM 1500 Rebel EcoDiesel, I kept thinking, “Could this make a great family vehicle?” Pickup trucks have truly evolved in the last decade or so. I recall my father’s 1985 Ford F-150 XL being the family vehicle more out of necessity. An immigrant in the 80s, he quickly looked for a truck that he could put straight to work in construction. With it being the only vehicle we owned, it was used to haul many sheets of plywood as well as make the grocery runs! It was a single cab layout so that meant it would fit my father, mother, and myself in the front. My two older brothers? They would ride in the truck with whatever toolboxes, tools, and materials my dad had from the current job he was working. It wasn’t the most ideal setup for a family but we had some great memories. 

Fast forward about 30 years and here I am test driving this 2020 RAM 1500 Rebel EcoDiesel. Things have really changed since the last trucks i’ve driven. We start with the outside. The size of trucks have increased and so have the different configurations of crew cab, extended cab, all the cabs! This RAM Rebel was optioned out with the crew cab configuration which added to the length of the truck.

We look at the wheel and tire configuration and even though the Goodyear Wrangler tires work great off-road, they worked well for on-road situations. You’d typically have to comprise comfort and noise when running off-road style tires but the Wranglers were quiet and I didn’t have to constantly fight the wheel to keep the truck straight. 

One of the new things that trucks have been focusing on is storage. Whether it’s storage for your power tools, materials, or your kid’s sports equipment, this 1500 Rebel was ready to take on your storage needs. Our test truck was equipped with the RamBox which makes use of the space that wheel wells to create a storage compartments. You can use the space to put small tools you don’t want to have moving around the bed or fill it up with your kid’s baseball bats.

Before you climb in, make sure you use the remote start on the key fob to get the car either cooled or warm depending on the outside temperature. You’ll also want to take advantage of the air suspension on all 4 corners to activate the entry level height right on the key fob. This was one of my favorite features in the RAM 1500 Rebel because it makes this a versatile truck. At the lower height, it allowed my 5 year old son climb into the truck with no assistance needed and if my 85 year old father needed to get in, it would’ve been easy for him too. Loading up construction materials is also easier when the truck is at a lower height.

Let's talk tailgates. With my father’s old truck, the tailgates felt like they weighed a ton! You would need to prepare to have this massive thing come down. You didn’t want to have it slam either because it would make a loud noise and alert your father that you didn’t carefully open it. This RAM 1500’s tailgate was not only dampened, it was also lightweight. With this being the multi-function configuration, you’re able to open the tailgate as if they were french doors. This configuration makes it easy to load up the truck bed without needing to preload on the tailgate and then having to push the load back to the actual bed area.

When you load everything up and get inside, you’re greeted with a ton of space! The crew cab configuration allows for a lot of legroom in the back. The 8-way power adjustable driver’s seat is big and comfortable. The adjustability makes it comfortable to take this truck on a long road trip with the family.

The large Uconnect 4 Nav screen made it easy to read even if you were in the back seat asking are we there yet?

Firing up the 3.0L V6 EcoDiesel is uneventful but in a good way. It is extremely quiet and civilized making this great engine when your kid is asleep and don’t want to wake them with the roar of a big engine. Don’t be fooled though, just cause it’s quiet doesn’t mean it’s weak. The $4995 EcoDiesel option has a 12,560 pounds of towing capacity to haul all the race car toys you can think of!

In conclusion, the 2020 RAM 1500 Rebel Eco Diesel is an incredible truck and makes a great family vehicle with no compromises.