Dodge's Living Room on Wheels

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The RAM also offers numerous creature comforts not typically associated with big pickups. For instance, the Laramie upgrade package, which costs an extra $5,000 or so, includes sumptuous-looking wood trim, leather seats, a power driver's seat and windows, six-CD sound system, and steering-wheel-mounted audio controls.

GROCERY VALET.

An adjustable steering wheel is standard, and it offers optional power-adjustable foot pedals ($120) -- so you don't have to be a plus-size guy to drive the thing. Major options available à la carte include a power sunroof ($850), navigation system plus six-CD changer ($1,595), head airbags ($490), hands-free communication ($325), Sirius (SIRI) satellite radio ($195), and a very cool power-sliding rear window ($295).

The truck also offers many handy design touches. For instance, the rear doors are quite big (934.5 inches wide), and the rear seats recline (a first for a pickup truck). The interior door handles are bulky, functional levers that drivers will find easy to use. And there's at least a foot of space behind the rear seats with hooks on which you can hang grocery sacks.

The downside of the 2500 is pretty obvious. The first, clearly, is cost. My Mega Cab Laramie 4x4 test vehicle with the nav system, sunroof, and other add-ons listed for $54,250 -- an enormous sum for a pickup truck. You can get a comparable heavy-duty Ford (F) F250 or Chevy (GM) Silverado for several grand less, though you won't get as big a cab.

NOT WITHOUT JOSTLING.

Like any big truck, the RAM 2500 doesn't exactly operate on the cheap. In one 114-mile stretch of highway and local driving, I got 14.2 miles per gallon with the diesel engine. For now, at least, diesel costs more than gasoline, too: I was paying $2.75 per gallon, a quarter-per-gallon more than regular gasoline and almost as much as premium. Some stations were charging a nickel more for diesel than for premium.

Comfortable as it feels, the RAM 2500 still drives like a big truck. It bounces as you're going down the highway, and the diesel engine chugs at low speed. It's a chore getting in and out, because you're sitting so high off the ground. And at nearly 21 feet long, it barely fits in a typical parking space.

I normally drive a compact Ford Ranger pickup, and I found out the hard way you have to take the utmost care going around corners in such a big vehicle. I took my test truck through a McDonald's drive-through one night, cut the corner too sharply, and scraped some paint off the left rear quarter panel (sorry, DaimlerChrysler).

Then again, any big heavy-duty truck will take some getting used to. And the Mega Cab 2500 does the most important thing many buyers will expect of it: hauling people and big loads comfortably -- and better than most.

Thane Peterson reviews cars for BusinessWeek.com.