WINDSOR, ON — Ram Truck has swept the 2014 Canadian Truck King Challenge, a rigorous multi-day, third-party event that sees today’s top pickup trucks from the light- and heavy-duty segments tested head-to-head in an apples-to-apples series of exercises.

The multi-day Canadian Truck King Challenge took place in both Kawartha Lakes, ON, (light duty) and London, ON, (heavy duty) in recent weeks. This was the seventh year of the competition, which gets more thorough every year.

Judges put all of the entrants through intensive, real-world truck evaluations with the focus on capability, consumption and features. The testing included 8,000 lb (3,629 kg) of towing; 1,800 lb (817 kg) of heavy payload and even some off-roading.

The 2014 Ram 1500, powered by the Pentastar V6 engine, claimed victory in the under $45,000 category.

The new Ram 1500 EcoDiesel — the first light-duty, full-size pickup to offer durable, efficient diesel technology, and Ram 1500 with legendary 5.7-litre HEMI V8 power — claimed the 1-2 spot in the over $45,000 category.

The new Ram 1500 EcoDiesel was also crowned the overall 2014 Canadian Truck King Challenge winner.

In the three-quarter-ton heavy-duty category, the new 2014 Ram 2500 Heavy Duty powered by the Cummins Turbo Diesel engine, earned the top spot, beating even the Ford F-350 Super Duty.

“The sweep of the 2014 awards by Ram shows just how hard this group has been working,” said Howard Elmer, founder of the Canadian Truck Challenge. “While many scores this year were very, very close, Ram did edge out its competition in all three categories with quality, styling and innovative powertrain choices – like the new 3L EcoDiesel and the eight-speed transmission.”