Looking into a new Ram Ecodeisel. Got two small kids, one 7, one almost 3. Currently driving a little Mazda 3 so space is limited in back, especially with the little one in the car seat, he is basically right up against the back of the front seat. I have to put him in the seat sort of blindly with my head out of the door or bend over awkwardly to wrestle him in. It works but sometimes it kills my back. He's kind of a pip squeak too.

So in terms of the truck - would I be better off with a Crew cab as opposed to a Quad? I believe it's around 9" difference between the two - 5'7" bed with the crew, 6'4 with the Quad. Eventually the older one will just be in the seat and the little one will be in a booster for a few years.

I would use the bed for various things but I'm not a contractor or anything, just runs to Home Depot and car stuff etc. We use our Subaru wagon for this kind of thing right now and it's not that great. Can't really haul much of anything in the Mazda.

So anyone with a Ram and kids - did you go with the Quad cab and regret it or did you go with the Crew?

Thanks for the input.

- Greg

Don't have kids but I got the crew cab, way more room. Had a friend in the back the other day, he's 6'2" and he had lots of room. Should be better for resale in the future also.

I would most likely go with the Crew, just seeing if I could get away with the Quad. Does not seem like the right thing in my situation though.

I actually looked up interior specs on Edmunds after I posted here. The Quad cab has almost exactly the same amount of legroom as my Mazda but it has more hip, shoulder and headroom. Obviously the Mazda is a compact car so it's apples to oranges but the rear area of a Quad cab seems like it could get pretty cramped with two rugrats in car seats which is what I am trying to get away from.

Never thought I'd consider buying a modern, diesel crew cab pickup but I need something that hauls my Duster from time to time and gets decent enough mileage for daily driving. I drive at least 120 mi./day. The Ecodeisel seems to fit the bill.

Anyone else have any experience in this situation?

Crew Cab! Assuming you're going to finance the truck for 5 years, your 7 year old will be 12 by the time you get it paid off. He/she will very likely have outgrown that tiny quad cab back seat by then.

Have owned both.....Crew Cab Hands Down.

Rickster

I regret getting a quad instead of a crew. There is so much more room in the crew. There will be enough room in the quad. It is not like they will be squashed in the back seat, but the crew is just the way to go. Next one will definitely be a crew.

Cool, thanks for the replies. If I go through with the plan, looks like I would get a Crew cab.

Such is life when you are a family man.

Get the crew with the 6'4 box

But also review the payload numbers before purchasing

My Eco crew 6'4 box has a total payload of only 1004# this includes occupants too.

So if you plan on towing you have very little left for tongue weight

The payload capacity of these trucks is a concern, understand this before purchasing



Red

Crew! I had a quad with a rear facing toddler, hardly fit, I had to scoot the passenger seat all the way forward.

I've owned 3 different Ram quad cabs, a 2003, 2006 and 2013. I have 3 kids and no regrets on getting the quad over the crew. The kids are 14, 14 and 18 now and we still fit fine. Since the oldest started driving we usually only have the twins with us, but on trips we all ride together. The crew is definitely larger and I am sure more comfortable for larger passengers. I just couldn't see paying more for less bed space and I never really needed the extra interior space. I like the longer bed because I can throw in my 1 piece fishing rods and close the gate and tonneau. Also we regularly are hauling stuff to and from the lake so the extra inches help when you are loading in tubes, skis, coolers, etc. Cosmetically I actually think the crew looks a littler better but I still prefer the quad for what my needs and usage is.

Go with the crew, I went on step further and went with a Mega cab which l love. Only have a one kid and a 100lbs Doby. I also seemed to be the one hauling her and her two friends around everywhere and the extra room is awesome.

Funny man I too have a Mazda 3 and I agree the back seat sucks. I have a 3 and a 9 year old too. So I bought a 10 year old S class Mercedes with back seats that recline of all things, it is wonderful for the kids. The little one facing forward can barely kick my seat back I'm sure you know what I mean. I know not a pickup but something to think about, cars like that are dirt cheap and with a turbo v12 mine sure hauls ass.

On the pickup though I'd definitely go for the one with the longer more useful bed.

Thanks for the continued replies.

The Mazda was my wife's doing. Back in 2012 we needed a car badly and that's the one she wanted. I was going to take over driving our beat up old Cherokee and she would get the zoom zoom. Honestly, i didn't care one way or the other what we bought. I encouraged her to buy the car she wanted since she was going to be the one driving it, not me.

But me being who I am, I couldn't just get any old Mazda3. If found a "Speed" model for sale on CL that was almost brand new, owned by a cop. Hey look it's a MazdaSPEED3! Cool! So we go look at it and test drive it. I come back from the drive and I'm like "yeah"! She has trouble with the clutch though, even though she proclaimed she had many stick cars and was proficient at it. But, we agree to but it because it was in such good shape and I was happy with it and figured she would eventually get used to the clutch. Again, it was not my choice even remotely since I wanted an older station wagon or a truck but she said no way, "I want fuel efficient, 4 doors and safe", (none of which the Mazda speed is). But she knew I liked it so we close the deal. What can I say, I was looking out for me. I like to be inspired by what I drive, I hate econobox, 4 cylinder cars with an automatic, most boring thing ever.

So anyway, we get it home and she tries to drive it and just can't. She is roasting the clutch. It took a little getting used for me too but once I figured it out, it's like butter. But, she just can't do it. She's cursing me and in tears. So of course, I end up driving the thing and she keeps the Cherokee.

So two years ago, the Cherokee is on it's last legs and literally falling apart. We sell it for peanuts and she finally gets her car, an Outback. Almost the same damn thing as the Cherokee - a lifted station wagon.

The Mazda is staring to need work now at 75K - fuel pump, suspension etc. It's not cheap either, this car takes some specific parts and I don't like replacing with generic A.M. stuff. We have to start thinking about the future of the car now, like do we start sinking money into this thing to keep it in good shape or is it something we should consider selling before it's too late.

So we are talking about it the other day and she goes, "we should have just bought a truck instead of the Mazda". I'm looking at her in astonishment, like "WHAT?!!"

I'm actually not entirely sure if I even want a truck now though, I am so used to the little car. It's fun to drive, is quick and is maneuverable in tight spots. I am having a hard time imagining what parallel parking a crew cab would be like. I used to work on these things too so I know what they drive like. They are comfortable for sure but in all honestly, I'd rather have a '70s D series.

We'll see how this all plays out.

I feel ya on the mazda. My wife recently bought a 2007 Mazda 3 wagon. Just the regular 2.3 with the stick shift. My wife likes it, I don't care for it. Very clunky sounding suspension when we go over bumps/pot holes. Still drives fine so I'm not doing anything about it. Marginally enough room for the car seat and IMO the mpg should be better.