2020 ram 1500 vs 2020 toyota tundra

[21TRX]

Tundra's are outdated

 

[ChadT]

Had a Toyota FJ cruiser and loved that thing. Absolutely loved it. But, they are not perfect.
I had mine for 10 years and 100,000 miles. In that time I had the rotors replaced (IIRC there was a recall on it but the dealership wiped their *** with it), the driver's side window decided to stop going up and down and that got replaced. It did leave me stranded once somewhere far away. Ended up replacing the battery and then the alternator. Transmission went down, that was a ~$5,000 repair. A year later it started to "chug" again. I had suspected it was going to die again, after the repair work's warranty was out. (I had the Toyota Dealership repair it).

This in a vehicle I'd fed nothing but premium gasoline (The 07 FJ was spec'd for 91 octane), and full synthetic oil. I'm not someone who neglects vehicle maintenance or treats them like lawnmowers. I'm the kind of guy who checks the tire pressure on my spare tires!

They are not invincible, they are not infallible, and "But muh Toyota reliability?" flies out the window the very first time it leaves you stranded. There is nothing about Toyota that makes it so perfect that it can't happen to you. You realize you're driving yesterdays tech at tomorrow's prices, with questionable power and ho-hum fuel economy, for results that aren't THAT far away from what "the other guys" live with.

I moved to a Ram and realized I was getting fuel economy in the same ballpark, for a VASTLY better ride, for a ton more power, a lot more space, etc etc. I don't think the Tundra is terrible, I know I'd looked at one. To me the Ram is better. I think the 5.7Hemi is a better engine. The ZF transmission is a really solid unit that's being used across a lot of high end brands.

Engine wise I look at it like this. The 3/4ton trucks you see driving for decades towing landscaping trucks? Those worktrucks are asked to take a beating across their lives. Downtime means the owner loses money. The 5.7Hemi was the mainstay gas engine in Ram's 2500-3500 trucks for a long time. That says a lot for its expected reliability and service life. There's a reason Ford won't put an ecoboost in their super dutys, and it's not because they can't figure out how. When they needed a big powerful reliable engine for their new HDs? Know what engine ended up in it? Oh that's right, a large displacement simple V8 engine. It's the format of choice for true longevity.

Toyota makes a good vehicle, but they're not head and shoulders above anyone, particularly in the "Fullsize truck" space. Not in 2020.
Honestly they're solidly in 4th. They really are. I'd rather have a Ram, or a GMC, or a Ford instead. And I'm someone who likes and respects toyota's vehicles. I still love that old FJ - I just don't miss it after the 2 Rams and wouldn't trade back into it.

 

[Granite2WD]

Had a Toyota FJ cruiser and loved that thing. Absolutely loved it. But, they are not perfect.
I had mine for 10 years and 100,000 miles. In that time I had the rotors replaced (IIRC there was a recall on it but the dealership wiped their *** with it), the driver's side window decided to stop going up and down and that got replaced. It did leave me stranded once somewhere far away. Ended up replacing the battery and then the alternator. Transmission went down, that was a ~$5,000 repair. A year later it started to "chug" again. I had suspected it was going to die again, after the repair work's warranty was out. (I had the Toyota Dealership repair it).

This in a vehicle I'd fed nothing but premium gasoline (The 07 FJ was spec'd for 91 octane), and full synthetic oil. I'm not someone who neglects vehicle maintenance or treats them like lawnmowers. I'm the kind of guy who checks the tire pressure on my spare tires!

They are not invincible, they are not infallible, and "But muh Toyota reliability?" flies out the window the very first time it leaves you stranded. There is nothing about Toyota that makes it so perfect that it can't happen to you. You realize you're driving yesterdays tech at tomorrow's prices, with questionable power and ho-hum fuel economy, for results that aren't THAT far away from what "the other guys" live with.

I moved to a Ram and realized I was getting fuel economy in the same ballpark, for a VASTLY better ride, for a ton more power, a lot more space, etc etc. I don't think the Tundra is terrible, I know I'd looked at one. To me the Ram is better. I think the 5.7Hemi is a better engine. The ZF transmission is a really solid unit that's being used across a lot of high end brands.

Engine wise I look at it like this. The 3/4ton trucks you see driving for decades towing landscaping trucks? Those worktrucks are asked to take a beating across their lives. Downtime means the owner loses money. The 5.7Hemi was the mainstay gas engine in Ram's 2500-3500 trucks for a long time. That says a lot for its expected reliability and service life. There's a reason Ford won't put an ecoboost in their super dutys, and it's not because they can't figure out how. When they needed a big powerful reliable engine for their new HDs? Know what engine ended up in it? Oh that's right, a large displacement simple V8 engine. It's the format of choice for true longevity.

Toyota makes a good vehicle, but they're not head and shoulders above anyone, particularly in the "Fullsize truck" space. Not in 2020.
Honestly they're solidly in 4th. They really are. I'd rather have a Ram, or a GMC, or a Ford instead. And I'm someone who likes and respects toyota's vehicles. I still love that old FJ - I just don't miss it after the 2 Rams and wouldn't trade back into it.

The FJ Cruiser is a resale value champ. I looked up used models and had to make sure I wasn't looking at new cars because they were priced so high.

I agree about the 5.7 and 8 speed. To me, that makes the Ram worth it. I wasn't comfortable going for the panoramic hole in the roof, first-gen FCA hybrid or 12" tv in the dash, but for those who can afford those options, they can probably afford to repair them as well. I enjoy a simple truck, and the refined ride (without air suspension) is a big bonus.

 

[tbaker1032]

I just went through the same decision. I had a 2015 Ram Big Horn and I had my heart set on a Tundra for a while. At first, I didn't even look at the Ram but when I was at the Ram dealership the blacked-out Rebel caught my eye. After testing out both the Ram Rebel blew it away and it wasn't even a close decision.

 

[Rammit]

The Ram is hands down the better truck. I’ve had several long term and Reliabiltiy and resale have been great.

 

[silver billet]

Toyota doesn't deserve their reputation, sorry. They have just as many recalls as any other manufacturer.

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Note how the 4runner has a "reputation for quality" but is yet one of the top 10 recalled vehicles.

The Hemi and 8 speed are proven to be rock solid. Buy a 2020 bighorn and stay away from glitzy features, you will have this truck easily for 15 years plus if you take care of it (maintenance).

 

[Granite2WD]

Toyota doesn't deserve their reputation, sorry. They have just as many recalls as any other manufacturer.

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Note how the 4runner has a "reputation for quality" but is yet one of the top 10 recalled vehicles.

The Hemi and 8 speed are proven to be rock solid. Buy a 2020 bighorn and stay away from glitzy features, you will have this truck easily for 15 years plus if you take care of it (maintenance).

I agree that the 5.7 and 8 speed should be fine.

The only place you'll see someone saying FCA is more reliable than Toyota is on an FCA forum, though. FCA reliability has improved lately, but pre 2008 all American cars were less reliable than Japanese cars.

To me, a recall is a manufacturer figuring out how to make a vehicle better. I would love for there to be several recalls on my 1500.

If Ram came out with a recall to fix the AC, rear brake squeal or highway vibration, I would be thrilled.

Not having a fix/recall doesn't impress me.

 

[silver billet]

I agree that the 5.7 and 8 speed should be fine.

The only place you'll see someone saying FCA is more reliable than Toyota is on an FCA forum, though. FCA reliability has improved lately, but pre 2008 all American cars were less reliable than Japanese cars.

To me, a recall is a manufacturer figuring out how to make a vehicle better. I would love for there to be several recalls on my 1500.

If Ram came out with a recall to fix the AC, rear brake squeal or highway vibration, I would be thrilled.

Not having a fix/recall doesn't impress me.

I didn't say FCA is more reliable. I find that extremely hard to quantize, because it depends on many factors, including year (usually first model year is worst than last), trim (more expensive, more to go wrong), severity (radio rebooting is not the same as brake booster failure) etc.

I did point out that Toyota has a ton of recalls. Keep in mind I've seen many posts here that follow the formula: "my truck has been back to the dealer X times for X different issues and I'm getting tired of it". And I'm saying there are plenty of Toyota owners who go through the same trouble. So owning a Toyota is not all sunshine and roses either.

In the end, I'd rather visit the dealer 5 extra times during my ownership, and get the truck I want, vs buying some truck that is beyond stale in every metric.

 

[SD Rebel]

You can get great deals on any full-size truck, my Rebel was purchased last July for $39,000 with a MSRP of $52,000. That was at a time FCA was trying to beat GM in sales, but those deals are available, especially now.

The Tundra is not the Tacoma, it's not been updated for a while and feels like a 10 year old F150. Not bad, but not up to the standards of today.

All full-size trucks have generally strong resale, especially when you consider the discounts all manufacturers put on them. The MSRP on all full size trucks is artificially inflated because the buying base for them is use to getting discounts. $10,000 off MSRP is generally considered standard, including the Tundra.

You can check all the reviews you want, just about all of them put the RAM at the top and the Tundra at the bottom. Not that the Tundra is a bad truck, but it is dated. Below are reviews by my favorite British car reviewer. Why this is interesting is that he is a Brit who before his reviews thought that full-size trucks were trash. To convert him, especially with the RAM is rather telling. He essentially fell in love with the RAM and didn't really like the Tundra in comparison. He was middle of the road on the F150 and Silverado.

 

[tbaker1032]

You can get great deals on any full-size truck, my Rebel was purchased last July for $39,000 with a MSRP of $52,000. That was at a time FCA was trying to beat GM in sales, but those deals are available, especially now.

The Tundra is not the Tacoma, it's not been updated for a while and feels like a 10 year old F150. Not bad, but not up to the standards of today.

All full-size trucks have generally strong resale, especially when you consider the discounts all manufacturers put on them. The MSRP on all full size trucks is artificially inflated because the buying base for them is use to getting discounts. $10,000 off MSRP is generally considered standard, including the Tundra.

You can check all the reviews you want, just about all of them put the RAM at the top and the Tundra at the bottom. Not that the Tundra is a bad truck, but it is dated. Below are reviews by my favorite British car reviewer. Why this is interesting is that he is a Brit who before his reviews thought that full-size trucks were trash. To convert him, especially with the RAM is rather telling. He essentially fell in love with the RAM and didn't really like the Tundra in comparison. He was middle of the road on the F150 and Silverado.

Very true!! I got $11k off MSRP on my Rebel last week.