Why are trucks gaining popularity? They are always useful for moving furniture and a trip to the dump, but more drivers are finding their own reasons. Trucks now have four-door luxury cabs with cushy, quiet interiors and a smooth ride. However, the problems of parking and fuel consumption remain.

You can get a fuel-efficient diesel engine (diesel engines are some 20 percent to 30 percent more efficient than gas engines, and diesel fuel has some 20 percent more energy than gasoline) with lots of stump-pulling torque.

The Dodge Ram 2500 is the quieter, smoother workhorse of today.

The Dodge Ram 2500 offers a 235 hp, 5.9 liter, 6-cylinder in line, 24-valve, turbodiesel Cummins engine. A noisy engine in the past, the 2003 Cummins has reduced the noise level by a reported 80 percent. It certainly is considerably quieter than the 2002 and earlier models.

The seats in this Dodge are the best. No back problems here; very comfortable and fully adjustable. The cab interior makes some car interiors look skimped and uncomfortable. To get up to the cab, there is a step up, but not difficult, and once there, a great view. The multiple white gauges leave little operational info to the imagination. The various switches, pockets and cupholders unfortunately have a pretty cheap look and feel.

Not so under the hood. The big Cummins diesel engine looks as if it were carved out of solid metal, with big solid fuel pipes threaded right into the cylinder head. A look under the hood even for the non-mechanic is inspiring. There are tales of these engines running for 300,000 to 500,000 miles between overhauls.

There is little difference between modern full-sized pickups. Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge and Toyota are all good at what they do and are all comfortable and quiet inside. They are all offered as four to six seaters and all look tough and macho. The choice actually has more to do with personal biases and preferences, and perhaps with some of the special options and accessories offered by manufacturers.

Driving this behemoth turns out to be a calm and rewarding experience. It has an indestructible feeling. Acceleration from the diesel was decent and perfectly adequate, cruising and highway passing felt safe and quick with great torque at lower rpms. The brakes are powerful and stop in a straight line. The cab is remarkably quiet, the diesel sound is muted to the degree that some non-techy ears might think it is a gas engine.

Fuel consumption figures are hard to come by — EPA does not have an estimated fuel mileage for this diesel — but if we assume 25 percent better efficiency over the standard V-8 (14 city/16 highway) we come up with 17.5 city/20 highway. This is a guesstimate, since the road test did not use enough fuel to determine an actual test figure. The most important statistic for this truck — fuel consumption — is that it’s becoming more like that of a large automobile. Take into account that diesel fuel usually is about 10 cents to 20 cents a gallon less than regular fuel, costs for this pickup become comparable.

It is impractical to try to list all the various options and prices for this pickup. Suffice it to say that the test vehicle with four doors, four- to six-seating capacity, and many extras was offered by a local dealer (after all manufacturer and dealer discounts) at a no-haggle $31,000. The manufacturer’s rebate is currently $2,000. Dealer rebates, if offered, vary by dealer.

The basic price for the Ram 2500 is $25,575. The diesel engine adds $4,625 and an automatic transmission around $1,100.

The warranty is quite generous with 36 months and 30,000 miles for the entire vehicle, and 7 years or 70,000 miles for the powertrain.

Do you need a pickup? Maybe you can combine your needs for a car and a pickup into one vehicle with the Dodge Ram 2500 turbo diesel. John Hine in Mission Valley will be happy to let you test drive one. Other regional dealers include Balboa Dodge in Clairmont, Carl Burger Dodge in La Mesa, Poway Dodge and Worthington Dodge in Carlsbad.

Motoring since 1952, Austin Lynas has owned 55 cars and at one time raced mini-sedans in England. An aerospace engineer, he was instrumental in developing the anti-skid systems used in British military aircraft that preceded today’s ABS systems. Lynas can be reached by e-mail at osten@aol.com.