2022 Ram ProMaster Window Van

What do you do when you want to carry two people and a ton of stuff? You get a van, of course - and, if you're not fussed about Nappa leather seats and panoramic glass roofs, then the Ram ProMaster Window Van will be right up your alley. This bare-bones van makes use of a front-wheel-drive layout, which might sound a bit odd for a van, but it makes total sense when you consider the fact that this layout offers a lower floor height, which makes loading and unloading that much easier. This year, the 3.6-liter V6 engine remains but a new nine-speed automatic transmission has come along that improves efficiency. It's a well-known engine but not quite as powerful as what the Ford Transit has at its disposal.

It's strange that this van, classified as a passenger vehicle, only has two seats; Ram leaves it up to the owner to deal with a third-party supplier to configure the seating arrangement and, trust us, there are plenty to choose from. The interior is ultra-basic, the ride tends to be on the firm side, and it's a thirsty beast, but it offers a great deal of value: this, combined with its bare-bones feature list, will appeal to those that just want to get the job done without distraction and with an affordable price tag to match.

The 2022 Ram ProMaster Window Van is by no means a pretty car, and it doesn't come with many exterior features either. Standard on the 2022 Window Van is a set of manually adjustable and manual-folding wing mirrors, prominent Ram badging, and a set of 16-inch silver-painted steel wheels with center caps. Optional extras include a front license plate bracket, power-adjustable mirrors, and 16-inch alloy wheels. The Window Van is available in two configurations, both with a high roof, differing only in their body length.

The Ram ProMaster Window Van measures in with a body height of 105.9 inches, and an overall body length of 236.7 inches for the 2500, and 250.9 inches for the 3500. Total width without mirrors is 81.3 inches. Both configurations share the same 159-inch wheelbase, and both have a high roof that results in a height of 105.9 inches. Curb weight works out to 4,957 pounds for the 2500 and 5,061 lbs for the 3500.

Vans are built with one goal in mind: to serve as workhorses and to do so reliably, so it should come as no surprise that the Ram ProMaster Window Van is powered by a no-fuss old-school V6 - in this case, a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6. These engines have been proven to last for hundreds of thousands of miles and should last the lifetime of the van itself. Power is rated at 276 horsepower and 250 lb-ft of torque, and is sent to the front wheels via a new nine-speed automatic transmission. Ram promises low engine speeds in higher gears that contributes to greater efficiency, and which should make the van a little quieter on the highway. There's enough pull, even when fully loaded, and will get to 60 in around eight seconds unladen. Maximum towing capacity on the 2500 is 6,480 lbs, and 6,410 for the 3500 Extended.

While we are impressed with the Ram ProMaster's powertrain and smooth power delivery, the same can't be said for its suspension setup. Yes, it is more comfortable than its more utilitarian comrade the cargo van, but it still feels harsh, especially when driving over bumpy terrain at lower speeds. Things don't get better once you're up to speed: the light steering forces the driver to make constant corrections to keep the van on track and can get tiring after a few hours on the road. However, the crosswind-assist feature does ensure that the van remains remarkably stable in gusty conditions. What we do appreciate is the ProMaster Window Van's tight turning circle, a great boon for city driving.

There are no official numbers available for the 2022 Ram ProMaster Window Van, but we have managed to secure some real-world figures, which should be slightly more informative. Before we get to the numbers, it should be noted that this Ram van weighs around 5,000 pounds, and is powered by a naturally-aspirated V6, so you won't be achieving hybrid-car numbers. Real-world testing shows a combined fuel consumption figure of 16.8 mpg for the 2500. This number will fluctuate with the amount of cargo or people you're carrying, of course. Consumption was similar for the 3500 based on the latest figures.

Ultimately, it comes down to how you use the van. Dodge has compensated for this by fitting a large 24-gallon fuel tank to the ProMaster Window Van, which in theory, should give it a range of around 400 miles, driving style and load-dependent.

What we love most about vans of this type is the seemingly endless number of ways in which you can customize the interior. From the factory, the Ram ProMaster Window Van comes fitted with two seats, but plenty of third-party suppliers will assist you in fitting more if you so wish. The driver and passenger face a newly redesigned dashboard with a much more modern touchscreen interface than before.

The van offers front-seat occupants 38.8 inches of front legroom and 43 inches of headroom. The two body lengths cater to various setups, and you can select any number of seating/cargo configurations via various upfitters. The seats themselves aren't the most comfortable perches in the world but the standard cloth can be replaced with vinyl or leather if you so wish.

The Ram ProMaster Window Van's trunk is all about getting stuff in and out of the cargo hold as easily as possible. In order to do this, Ram has incorporated a few design tricks that make the Window Van easy to load. The rear doors, for instance, open up to a wide 260 degrees, and optional additions such as a rear bumper extension and sliding doors make things even easier. The smaller 2500 offers a total of 420 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats, while the larger 3500 offers 463 cubic feet. Once you add seating these numbers will diminish, but the ProMaster Window Van is also rated to carry a payload of 3,940 lbs in short body 2500 guise, and 4,290 lbs in long-body 3500 configuration.

To say that the 2022 Ram ProMaster Window Van is a basic piece of kit would be an understatement, but we get it: it's built to work, and not to entertain, so only the bare necessities are required. That said, it's a little less spartan than before thanks to new standard features like push-button start, and electric park braking, forward collision warning with pedestrian assistance, drowsiness detection, and traffic sign recognition.

The interior continues the basic theme by offering speed-sensitive door locks, manually controlled air conditioning, cloth seats, as well as a backup camera (which requires installation), and remote keyless entry. Optional extras include cruise control, power-adjustable wing mirrors, and heated driver and passenger front seats. You can also opt for a passenger seat delete kit, a swivel kit for both front seats, or power adjustment and a comfy suspension seat.

Driver-assistance options have expanded appreciably for 2022. The Ram can now be had with adaptive cruise control, a 360-degree camera system, and lane-keep assist.

How would you like a 22-speaker Bose surround sound system in your ProMaster Window Van? That would be cool, right? Well, dream on. The Ram ProMaster Window Van falls short of delivering a symphony of audio brilliance: instead, you get the bare essentials. Four speakers is all you get, but the rest of the package is more desirable than before. This year, the Uconnect 5 infotainment interface brings speedier responses and a larger seven-inch touchscreen interface. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are new too, and Bluetooth and USB ports provide other means of connecting your devices. An integrated Alexa in-vehicle assistant is another nice touch.

A new Telematics Module boasts almost 50 functions. Some of the highlights are firmware over-the-air updates, a 4G LTW Wi-Fi hotspot, and the Google Home-to-Vehicle assistant. For fleet buyers especially, Ram Telematics allows owners to keep track of the vehicle and observe driver behavior data.

The 2022 Ram ProMaster Window Van did not suffer any recalls. 2021 models were recalled once for a seat belt locking retractor malfunction, and 2020 versions had side curtain airbags that may not inflate correctly. Fortunately, this isn't a high amount of recalls.

Ram will back the ProMaster Window Van with a three-year/36,000-mile basic warranty and five years of corrosion and roadside assistance cover, and also includes a five-year/60,000 month powertrain warranty.

The 2022 Ram ProMaster Window Van has not been tested by any of the major American crash rating agencies, so it's difficult to judge just how safe this Ram van will keep its occupants in the event of a crash, but we suspect that it won't be pretty. Standard safety features include six airbags, a tire pressure monitoring light, ABS, electronic stability control, and cross-wind assist. This year, Ram added more driver-assist features like forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, drowsiness detection, traffic sign recognition, and a rearview camera with dynamic gridlines.

You can bolster this features list with active driving assist, adaptive cruise control with Stop & Go, intelligent speed assist, lane-keep assist, front/rear parking sensors, auto high beams, and a 360-degree surround-view camera.

There's not a lot to judge here, which is pretty much why we like the 2022 Ram ProMaster Window Van: it's about as bare-bones a van as you're going to get in this class. What is it good at? It's excellent at hauling loads of people and stuff around without complaint. Its V6 engine offers good power, its auto transmission hands out smooth shifts, and the overall experience from the FWD drivetrain is one of unhurried smoothness. We also appreciate the ProMaster Van's tight turning circle, which will go a long way when operating on tight city streets. This year, the safety aspect of the van is a lot stronger than it was, and the infotainment system scores high marks for user-friendliness. What we can't get over is its harsh ride. Even seats are left to the work of upfitters. Be that as it may, the 2022 Ram ProMaster Window Van is an honest offering that's not going to win any awards, but it will do exactly what you ask of it.

The price of the Ram ProMaster has increased quite dramatically since last year, which is the downside of all the new features. The Window Van starts at $44,550 for the 2500, which is over $6,000 more than last year's equivalent model. As for the 3500, that will now cost you $48,485, over $7,000 more than before. These prices exclude a destination charge of $1,795 and any options you may add.

The whole appeal behind the 2022 Ram ProMaster Window Van is the fact that it comes from the factory as a bare-bones shell, a working van that you can mold into whatever form you like. So it's highly customizable, and it has been built to get the basics done, such as transporting band gear, or ferrying workers to and fro, which leads us to our choice: we would go with the most basic 2500 Van (the 3500 would obviously make sense if you need the extra space). The 2500 is powered by the same 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine as the 3500 and will be just as safe, not to mention tow a touch more. The 2500 features standard manually adjustable and manual folding wing mirrors, prominent Ram badging, and a set of 16-inch silver-painted steel wheels with center caps on the outside, while the interior gets a set of cloth seats, with extra seating available via third-party installers. You also get a Uconnect 5 multimedia system with Bluetooth streaming and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. The 2500 basically asks you to get in, shut up, and get the work done.

Whereas the 2022 Ram ProMaster Window Van offers the basics, the German Sprinter occupies the more luxurious end of the passenger van market. The Sprinter is available in two different wheelbase sizes and roof heights and can seat between 12 and 15 people. In base form, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is propelled by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged gas engine producing 188 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a nine-speed auto, but a seven-speed and four-wheel-drive is also available. The 4x4 model gets the option of a 3.0-liter six-cylinder producing 188 hp and a meatier 325 lb-ft of torque. From the outside, the Sprinter is the better-looking van and gets the option of LED headlights. Inside, the Sprinter is on a whole other level in terms of design and refinement, and the optional sound upgrade adds five front and eight rear speakers. Short-wheelbase models get 78.6 cubic feet of space behind the front row, while long-wheelbase derivatives offer 111.2 cubic feet. The Sprinter starts at $45,300 and should be your choice if you're looking for something a bit more luxurious.

The Ford Transit range of vans is one of the most popular in America, and for a good reason: it's highly configurable, reliable, and offers great value for money. The 2022 Transit is offered with naturally aspirated or turbocharged gas 3.5-liter V6s and sends its power to the rear wheels via a ten-speed auto. Buyers have the option of configuring the wheelbase length, roof height, and number of seats, but as with the ProMaster Window Van, there is little in the way of features on the base model. We appreciate the Ford's powerful engine options, and high levels of customization and configuration, as well as its good ride and pleasant handling dynamics. The interior of the Transit Van is a more comfortable place to sit in, and is also more refined, with more options on the table. What we don't like is its lack of features in base form, its driving behavior during strong crosswinds, and the fact that passengers don't get much in the way of features. It's a close match between these two, but in the end, Ford takes it.