SirHobgoblin
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- Mar 11, 2022
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I am curious to hear everyone’s perspective on why they chose Ram over the competition. I’ll start with myself.
I haven’t owned a truck since ~2009, when my 2001 Dodge Dakota Sport’s transmission died around 100,000 miles. I took it personal, since I was a poor college student, and so I swore off Ram/Dodge/Chrysler and moved on with my life. I didn’t pay too much attention to trucks over the next decade plus, but I did always find the Ram’s to be the best looking of the bunch. I am also a tech person, both in profession and in hobby, and so I was a big fan of the 5th gen Ram when it was introduced - despite not being in the market for a truck. Now I have missed having a truck since the day I had to get rid of my Dakota, but I never had a good enough reason to convince myself, or eventually to convince my wife.
Fast forward to Q1 2022 and my wife and I decided we wanted a truck for us and our three dogs - the capability, utility, towing ability, and all-around interior space sold us. I’d like to say that it was prospect of being able to tow a travel trailer (which is true), and that would be our offical line, but sheer size of the backseat with the ability to fold up the seats and have a flat loading area is what really sold us. Like I mentioned before, we have three dogs (one large, two small dogs) and we like to travel with them, and the rear area of a truck like the ram is perfect for a couple dog beds and our three dogs.
So my priorities in a truck were as follows: 1.) Interior Quality and Luxury (2022 truck upper trims are firmly in the luxury suv pricing range); 2.) User facing technology (i.e. uconnect 5.0, app integration, etc), 3.) Ride quality and comfortability; 4.) Reliability; 5.) Capability and Technology; 6.) Price (value for the money)
Our decision really came down between an F-150 Powerboost King Ranch and the Ram 1500 Limited Longhorn. The Silverado 1500, refreshed model, was appealing but unavailable to see and drive in person, and thus was an unknown. We appreciated the refreshed interior, but ultimately thought the Ram looked superior inside and out. The 2022 Toyota Tundra was quickly ruled out by my wife, despite us having a employee family discount available, as she hated the look - I didn't hate it, but smaller rear backseat and a non-flat floor when folding up the backseat was a deal breaker.
The F-150 and Ram comparison made for a tough decision. An F-150 Lariat Hybrid was the first truck we test drove and what firmed up our decision to get a truck. We really appreciated the theoretical fuel efficiency (real life seems to be 18-22 mpg based on owner reporting) of the hybrid and the on-board 7.2kWh option, and found the exterior to be attractive, and the interior to be nice - it didn't blow us away, but it felt premium and well suited to the truck. Major detractors for us was the unknown reliability of the Powerboost powertrain combined with a somewhat clunky feeling transmission, the overall confusion around build times and available options (F150 forums are full of discussion around this), and the additional cost. Cost wasn't a deciding factor for us, but pricing seemed firm or close to MSRP, with the potential for a ~2k below MSRP via Costco before incentives.
The Ram 1500 really wowed us when we took it for a test drive, and we preferred it to the Ford in the most categories. I won't echo the praise that is scattered through this forum, but it was the only truck we drove that felt like it earned its price without needing to rely on the name for justification. It felt like a luxury vehicle, with real attention to detail inside and out, and really check all the boxes when it came to the before mentioned priorities. My biggest concern before really diving into my research on the Ram was reliability, in which the 5.7 Ram seems to be on par or better across the spectrum (no truck is perfect), and fuel efficiency (which I am not thrilled on, but it is a truck....). Plus, the wife stated that the Limited Longhorn with Black and Tan interior and black exterior (which we ended up ordering), was the "prettiest vehicle she had ever seen" - which firmly sealed the deal. The added plus, which we were not expecting, was our ability to get a price on our order that was $100 below invoice, before incentives, saving us ~6k compared to a similarly equipped F-150 King Ranch Hybrid.
We ordered the Longhorn on 3/12, and as of yesterday it is awaiting transport to the rail yard, so we are on course for a much faster arrival than the 4-5 months we were told to expect.
So I am curious, why did you choose your Ram over the competition?
I haven’t owned a truck since ~2009, when my 2001 Dodge Dakota Sport’s transmission died around 100,000 miles. I took it personal, since I was a poor college student, and so I swore off Ram/Dodge/Chrysler and moved on with my life. I didn’t pay too much attention to trucks over the next decade plus, but I did always find the Ram’s to be the best looking of the bunch. I am also a tech person, both in profession and in hobby, and so I was a big fan of the 5th gen Ram when it was introduced - despite not being in the market for a truck. Now I have missed having a truck since the day I had to get rid of my Dakota, but I never had a good enough reason to convince myself, or eventually to convince my wife.
Fast forward to Q1 2022 and my wife and I decided we wanted a truck for us and our three dogs - the capability, utility, towing ability, and all-around interior space sold us. I’d like to say that it was prospect of being able to tow a travel trailer (which is true), and that would be our offical line, but sheer size of the backseat with the ability to fold up the seats and have a flat loading area is what really sold us. Like I mentioned before, we have three dogs (one large, two small dogs) and we like to travel with them, and the rear area of a truck like the ram is perfect for a couple dog beds and our three dogs.
So my priorities in a truck were as follows: 1.) Interior Quality and Luxury (2022 truck upper trims are firmly in the luxury suv pricing range); 2.) User facing technology (i.e. uconnect 5.0, app integration, etc), 3.) Ride quality and comfortability; 4.) Reliability; 5.) Capability and Technology; 6.) Price (value for the money)
Our decision really came down between an F-150 Powerboost King Ranch and the Ram 1500 Limited Longhorn. The Silverado 1500, refreshed model, was appealing but unavailable to see and drive in person, and thus was an unknown. We appreciated the refreshed interior, but ultimately thought the Ram looked superior inside and out. The 2022 Toyota Tundra was quickly ruled out by my wife, despite us having a employee family discount available, as she hated the look - I didn't hate it, but smaller rear backseat and a non-flat floor when folding up the backseat was a deal breaker.
The F-150 and Ram comparison made for a tough decision. An F-150 Lariat Hybrid was the first truck we test drove and what firmed up our decision to get a truck. We really appreciated the theoretical fuel efficiency (real life seems to be 18-22 mpg based on owner reporting) of the hybrid and the on-board 7.2kWh option, and found the exterior to be attractive, and the interior to be nice - it didn't blow us away, but it felt premium and well suited to the truck. Major detractors for us was the unknown reliability of the Powerboost powertrain combined with a somewhat clunky feeling transmission, the overall confusion around build times and available options (F150 forums are full of discussion around this), and the additional cost. Cost wasn't a deciding factor for us, but pricing seemed firm or close to MSRP, with the potential for a ~2k below MSRP via Costco before incentives.
The Ram 1500 really wowed us when we took it for a test drive, and we preferred it to the Ford in the most categories. I won't echo the praise that is scattered through this forum, but it was the only truck we drove that felt like it earned its price without needing to rely on the name for justification. It felt like a luxury vehicle, with real attention to detail inside and out, and really check all the boxes when it came to the before mentioned priorities. My biggest concern before really diving into my research on the Ram was reliability, in which the 5.7 Ram seems to be on par or better across the spectrum (no truck is perfect), and fuel efficiency (which I am not thrilled on, but it is a truck....). Plus, the wife stated that the Limited Longhorn with Black and Tan interior and black exterior (which we ended up ordering), was the "prettiest vehicle she had ever seen" - which firmly sealed the deal. The added plus, which we were not expecting, was our ability to get a price on our order that was $100 below invoice, before incentives, saving us ~6k compared to a similarly equipped F-150 King Ranch Hybrid.
We ordered the Longhorn on 3/12, and as of yesterday it is awaiting transport to the rail yard, so we are on course for a much faster arrival than the 4-5 months we were told to expect.
So I am curious, why did you choose your Ram over the competition?
