Americans are spoiled for choice when it comes to vans that work hard or carry lots of people. The Chevrolet Express will seemingly be in production forever, and the Ford Transit puts a Euro twist on your plumbing company. But there’s been a bit of a void in the work van space if you don’t need a huge box on wheels. Ram sees itself filling that space with the 2027 Ram ProMaster City. Pricing has just been announced and, even including destination charge, it’s going to be the cheapest work van in America.
There was once a time in America when the tradespeople and families who wanted something that wasn’t a pickup truck or minivan had quite a few work-oriented vans of all sizes to choose from. Just in the 2010s alone, you could buy a Ford Transit Connect, a Chevrolet City Express, a Nissan NV200, a Ram ProMaster City, and a Mercedes-Benz Metris. All of these vans offered the ability to do hard work in a smaller, more maneuverable space than their larger brethren.
By 2022, most of these vans were gone. That year, Ram Commercial hung up its hat on the original Ram ProMaster City. Nearly all of that van’s competitors had already ceased production in the months and years prior, leaving the ProMaster City and the Mercedes-Benz Metris as the sole vans holding down the compact segment in America. At the time, Ram said that the smaller commercial van segment had bled sales in the four or five years leading up to the van’s discontinuation, and the company found it difficult to commit to a van with such low volumes.
Clearly, other automakers felt the same way, as by 2023 the curtain fell on the whole segment. If you wanted a work van but didn’t want to get a whole Chevrolet Express, Ram ProMaster, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, or Ford Transit, you were working out of something like a Chrysler Pacifica, Toyota Sienna, or Kia Carnival.
The various segments and markets of the automotive world experience ebbs and flows much like everything else, and, apparently, Ram now sees growing demand for a smaller van once again.
A Van Of Many Names
Like the last ProMaster City, the new one is based on a European van with a new badge and American upfitting. But this time, the new van isn’t a Fiat Doblò, nor is it very small, either. Instead, Ram has chosen a mid-size Citroën as the base of the 2027 Ram ProMaster. Here’s what my former colleague, Brian, wrote when the van was announced earlier this year:
Stellantis, the parent company for brands like Jeep, Dodge, Ram, and Chrysler, is a very big company. In addition to its American arm, it also controls several big-name manufacturers in Europe, including Citroën, Peugeot, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Vauxhall, and Lancia. That means it had plenty of existing platforms to choose from when deciding to revive the ProMaster City for 2027. The van it chose has actually been around since 2016, and has been sold under no fewer than seven different brands and 13 different names. Here, let me list them all out for you:
1. Citroën Dispatch.
2. Citroën Holidays.
3. Citroën SpaceTourer.
4. Fiat Scudo.
5. Fiat Ulysse.
6. Iveco eJolly.
7. Opel Vivaro.
8. Opel Zafira Life.
9. Peugeot Expert.
10. Peugeot Expert Traveller.
11. Peugeot Traveller.
12. Toyota Proace.
13. Toyota Proace Verso.
14. Vauxhall Vivaro.
Honestly, I love that this van is so gloriously badge-engineered. I know domestic automakers used to be mocked for lazily slapping new badges on existing products, but I think that’s okay in this case. A work van that’s been sold over the past decade with over 1.5 million copies and over a dozen government names is sort of charming in a silly way. Besides, as the continued existence of the practically stone age Chevrolet Express shows, work van buyers don’t always care about the latest and greatest design or engineering.
Like the rest of its siblings, the 2027 Ram ProMaster City has a face befitting its new alias. It looks like a Ram product and, dare I say, unlike earlier versions of the bigger ProMaster, this one is actually nice to look at.
Smaller, But Not Too Small
As you can tell from the imagery, this is not necessarily a “small” van. The old ProMaster City was 15.6 feet long (187.5 inches), while this one is 17.5 feet long (210.1 inches). It also rides on a longer 129-inch wheelbase compared to the old one’s 122.4 inches, and stands 76.7 inches tall compared to the old model’s 74.0 inches. This places the new ProMaster City into a mid-size category. Yet, despite the upgrades in size, Ram claims the new van has the same tight turning radius as the old ProMaster City.
Technically, this isn’t the smallest work van by length in America. You can still buy the regular Ram ProMaster with a 118-inch wheelbase and a 16.2-foot length (195.4 inches). However, it is measurably smaller than the rest of the segment. The smallest Ford Transit, for example, has a 130-inch wheelbase and a total length of 18.2 feet (219.2 inches). Even the old Express is bigger with its 155-inch wheelbase and 18.6-foot length (224 inches).
Should you opt to get a 2027 Ram ProMaster City rather than working out of a minivan, the platform you’ll get sounds pretty straightforward. It’s a unibody vehicle rocking MacPherson struts up front and a trailing arm suspension in the rear. A compact 1.6-liter inline-four mill doles out 166 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque through the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy numbers have not been released yet, but considering the small engine, I wouldn’t be surprised if the highway number lands around 28 mpg, just like the old ProMaster City.
Ram is quoting some decent enough capacities, too. The new van can tow 2,000 pounds, has a payload of 2,175 pounds, and has a 9-foot, 3-inch cargo area with up to 5 feet, 4 inches in width. Ram also says that the van has a 23.2-inch step-in height. For comparison, a regular ProMaster 1500 has a 21-inch step-in height, up to 4,160 pounds of payload, and can tow up to 6,910 pounds. Obviously, the baby ProMaster City is solidly for light-duty applications.
The ProMaster City will be offered in two trim levels, starting with the Tradesman and moving up to the SLT.
The list of standard features in the base Tradesman is pretty rich. Every ProMaster City comes with a 10-inch digital gauge cluster, a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and even heated front seats. Other noted goodies include an onboard navigation system, a forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, and a digital rearview mirror. Move up to the SLT and, in addition to body-color bumpers and alloy wheels, you get gadgets like parking sensors and a wireless charging pad. The van can be ordered either as a cargo model or as a passenger van with seating for five or eight.
The Cheapest Commercial Van In America
The big deal, of course, is the price of it all. Ram has revealed pricing today and says that you can get this van for $39,995, with destination fee included. That makes it the definitive cheapest commercial van in America, and in some cases, it’s not even close. A regular ProMaster, for example, starts at $46,370 before all fees. Ford Transit? $48,400 before fees. Even the dinosaur Chevy Express, with its rock-bottom $41,800 before fees, cannot match the ProMaster City.
Anyway, paying $41,495 will step you up to the SLT, and the base price of the Passenger Wagon is $42,695 for a Tradesman or $44,195 for an SLT. Production of the new 2027 Ram ProMaster City is expected to kick off in Bursa, Turkey, later this year. Deliveries are supposed to start early next year.
This is a good thing. Ram might have a hard time selling these things if they were just as expensive as a larger van. But that may also make you wonder just who, exactly, does Ram think will buy these vans?
In our previous coverage, we asked Ram about who buys Stellantis vans right now, and we were told that there are a lot of people riding in Pacificas using them for contracting, food delivery, and Amazon deliveries. Many Pacifica owners use them like a larger van, and lay down sheets of plywood and drywall in their vans. In theory, this van should be better for their work than a minivan. It has work van doors, a flat load floor, and a large loading area while still having an easy-driving layout and good maneuverability.
I also suspect that some of those who have lamented the loss of the small work van might also find themselves in a Ram dealer. Maybe we’ll even see some camper vans out of it, too. At least, I hope that’s the case, given how ludicrously expensive some camper vans are right now. Either way, I’m weirdly excited to see a new kind of van arrive in America. I can’t wait to see what people do with it.
Top graphic image: Ram
1.6L seems awfully small for a load-carrying work van. Sure, it has the numbers, but wringing that kind of power out of a motor that small in a vehicle that size can’t be good for longevity. Admittedly, the same could be said about a lot of the small turbo motors being put into larger vehicles these days.
I’m all for lower emissions and better MPG, but if it’s at the expense of longevity and thus forcing early retirement of the vehicle, is anything really being saved?
I’m no engineer, but it seems to me like an overbuilt 3.0L straight-6, like the Hurricane, in a variety of configurations for different purposes, would be better in the long run. I’m sure it could be made to be fairly fuel-efficient while not sacrificing much power, and if you need more power, a modest turbo could be added. The only obvious problem would be package size, especially if you were trying to put it in transversely for a FWD configuration…even a longitudinal setup would involve a relatively long hood compared to a 4-cyl motor.
…ah, I dunno. Yell at me if you want, I don’t care.
I heard on Autoline that Stellantis is bypassing the chicken tax by bringing these over as passenger versions and then converting to cargo at the port. But Ford exploited this loophole using some cheap rear bench seats in their Transit Connect cargo vans that they would dispose of at port, but they were busted and fined. I think one of the reasons Ford killed these in the US. I would say they sold a ton of them just looking around.
I’m dissapointed the rumors we’d get the new Transit Connect, but built in Mexico proved false. I really want an e-Tourneo.
Gotta love a box on wheels.
Is this using the Prince engine codeveloped with BMW?
Also, fun fact: this engine makes the exact same power and only 6 lb-ft less torque than the 3.8L V6 in the mid-90s Caravans
It is a derivation of that engine. It is still direct injection only and will need carbon blasting.
I’m assuming it’s detuned for 87 AKI/91 RON gas as well. That’s gonna be fun
There is yet another name : Citroën Jumpy. And we could add the deliciously retro Caselani Type HG !
https://en.caselani.com/typehg.php
They really need to bring the standard length van here. My wife’s work van, a 2019 Ford Transit Connect, was hit while parked at a loading dock, and may need to be replaced. It was the perfect size for smaller needs, and if we can wait, this would be an option. But it seems too large, approaching the size of a low roof Ford Transit. The standard length might be perfect. Too bad we can’t get a stick here.
Great article, Mercedes. America needs more van users!
A minor correction: The standard Chevy Express has a 135″ wheelbase and a 224″ overall length. The 155″ wheelbase (244″ overall length) measurement is for the optional “Extended” configuration.
I expect the passenger version will do numbers in Utah
My wife goes all over the country with the dogs to dog sports events and a few dog shows. There are a lot of people trying to haul dogs in dog kennels around in Siennas with the middle seats completely in the way. I can see us replacing our Pacifica with one of these as the straight sides would allow for more and larger dog kennels.
$40 large (or more) for a van? Man, I’m old. Back in my day…..
I’ve an electrician on my street with an older one as his workvan. He had the Nissan one prior, and really likes this one (esp compared w the Nissan). It’s small, so he can park it easily on the side of his driveway, feels like a proper van on the road, and fits all his stuff. He likes it better than having one of the large vans.
It’s been a few years and seen some things, but it still looks in decent shape.
I’ll probably be driving one of these next year for work so i’ll let you know how it is. I’m trying to get them to get me a pacifica instead because the pentastar v6 is a beast.
I just had a ’25 Pacifica as a rental in California and I have to say I’m less impressed than I was in 2019 when I had an ’18 as a rental. It didn’t seem to drive as nicely, the interior was more plastic-y and it required a hefty boot to get the transmission to get out of “eco” mode and into “git on down the highway” mode.
This is not a $40k van. But hey, if you take out the chicken tax it sort of makes sense. At $32,000 it would make sense for florists and small contractors needing a flexible van.
As it stands they can buy a Maverick for the sales guy or estimators. And let the workers drive transits/promasters.
I just don’t know/understand who this slice of the market is.
So many of the ancient TransitConnects or ProMaster City you see in Seattle or Portland are being used by businesses that can’t afford big new vehicles. Bakeries. Coffee roasters. Small catering operations.
That is too much money for what it offers. I’m not going to lookup the towing / cargo capacities of competitors because I don’t care enough. The only time I’d be interested in something like this is if it were cheap (like pickup trucks were in the 80s / early 90s).
For 40k I’ll just get a minivan with comparable cargo/towing and a livable interior. I can always just gut a minivan for work use. It would be way more expensive to turn a f’n promaster into a passenger vehicle.
It is more expensive than a Kia Carnival and tows significantly (~1/3) less.
Are we not getting the electric version? That’s a big miss IMO.
Looks like it comes with either a 49 or 75kwh battery versions in other markets. For local deliveries and (presumably) returning to base every day, that’s more than enough.
Realistically, a large proportion of these types of vans should be electric. They frequently operate in urban areas where the noise/pollution reduction would be felt the most.
I have to wonder if they were originally planning to offer an electric version, but decided against it based on the policies of the current administration and how the market responded to the electric Charger. No EV credit plus Chicken Tax and other tariffs probably makes it a non-starter.
Still, this isn’t a muscle car. Offer a hybrid and they could lure some potential buyers who were planning to put a topper on a Maverick for work duties.
Engine from Hungary, assembly in Turkey.
At $40k, the markup is just gravy!
Side note, if it’s under 40k by like $5, it’s a 40k van. Enough of this marketing BS!
Think of all you could be stuffing into it.
Okay, but I wanna listen to The Cranberries while I drive.
That’s how we roll.
You butter believe it!
I appreciate how many people took the football and ran with it.
Hopefully football still counts as part of the pun here.
But can it hold 20 ladders on the roof?
From what I’ve seen anything can hold 20 ladders on the roof.
Safely, no.
Ford showed dealers a van it designed off the Maverick platform. It would undercut the price of the Ram.
I’ve got bad news for all of us: https://fordauthority.com/2026/08/ford-maverick-based-van-scrapped-for-affordable-crossover/
Building a new model on the C2 platform at this point seems late since it’s ‘due’ for a new gen after MY27 or so. Also not sure how much production room there is to spare between the Sport and Maverick. Kind of surprised Ford didn’t move one of the two to the Louisville plant after the Escape, but I guess there might not be enough space alongside the Fathom equipment or they’re anticipating for other vehicles built on that architecture.