#6. Exhaust braking helps the four-ton Ram HD slow its roll.

Ok, we exaggerated. The Ram Heavy Duty technically weighs in between two-and-a-half and just-under-four tons, roughly. But the fact remains that diesel-powered 2010 Ram HDs include a new exhaust braking feature that works well and sounds very cool.

Once activated with the push of a button on the dash, the system closes off part of the exhaust system and uses the resulting pressure to slow the truck. We tested the technology, used in partnership with a tow/haul mode and an electronic range selector that limits the six-speed automatic transmission to a gear of the driver’s choosing, and a few seconds after lifting off the accelerator we could hear and feel the system working to scrub speed. This was with more than 16,000 pounds of trailer and cargo hooked to the back of our test truck.

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