RAM 2500 vs Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

What's the difference?

Before the 1980s, when air travel was expensive, the humble Australian family car had to be able to tow a big boat or caravan in order to take the brood on holidays across our vast, sunburnt land.

Many turned to oversized American barges, like the Dodge Phoenix and the Pontiac Parisienne. People loved their massive dimensions, huge interiors, endless torque and look-at-me status.

And guess what? They still do. And even the same carmakers remain today, thanks to Chrysler’s Ram 2500/3500 Heavy Duty (HD) – which grew out of Dodge – and General Motors’ Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD.

Now, the Ram HDs, which were also the first of the modern American remanufactured trucks in Australia back in 2015, have come in for an overhaul.

How do the latest 2500/3500 stack up? Keep reading.

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has long been a formidable competitor in the Light Duty (3501-8000kg GVM) division of Australia’s highly competitive Heavy Commercial vehicle market.

The popular range offers a choice of panel van, cab-chassis and minibus body styles, four turbo-diesel engine variants (plus an all-electric drivetrain), three wheelbase lengths and for panel vans plus the choice of two roof heights.

An extensive overhaul of the Sprinter range in 2024 brought extra safety technologies, new comfort and convenience features and other benefits, which Mercedes-Benz claims can help drivers work more efficiently. We recently put one of the latest models to the test.