The Good, The Bad, And The Wants - Ram 2021 Limited Longhorn

[JWnclub11]

I'm new to owning a Ram and have right under a month and 2000 miles on my 2021 Limited Longhorn. So far I'm loving the truck but I wanted to share some of the features that I enjoy the most and areas that are lacking for others considering a Ram.

The Good

If you drive a lot of highway miles the adaptive cruise control is more than a gimmick and a great feature. You set the max speed you want the truck at and the following distance (2 -5) and it will speed up to the set speed and slow down all the way to a complete stop if their is a vehicle in front of you. If the the truck is stopped more than a few seconds like in stop in go traffic you need to tap the gas to reengage the system.

The interior finish is unreal and on par with luxury cars. Space in the backseat is incredible as well.

The suspension is close to equivalent to a Lexus. This truck has the 4 corner air suspension but I've read the trucks without air suspension ride incredible as well.

The XM Weather is really useful and probably underrated. It will notify you of weather warnings as well as real time weather radar maps which is helpful.

The heads up display showing speed, speed limit, street, etc. is really helpful. Initially I thought it was an annoyance but I've actually grown to use it as the primary location I look for my speed and the current speed limit.

The rear floorboard container are a great place to store tie downs, gloves, flashlight, etc.

The etorque system makes the restart of the truck the smoothest of any vehicle I've been in that has the "auto start" feature.

The pano sunroof is incredible.

The Wants

An option to fold the mirror when you place the vehicle in park without having to buy an aftermarket "programmer". There are 10s of other options, why didn't Ram include this as well?

The air ride suspension allows you to move the truck up to 4" in height. (Off Road 1 and Off Road 2) The bad news is the truck doesn't allow you to drive in those modes over a certain speed, something like 45 and 25 MPH respectively. It would be great to be able to drive at normal highway speeds in these higher height modes.

The surround camera view turns off after a few seconds when moving from a stop to drive. Why not enable this option at any speed?

The center console is massive and has a great setup but lacks appropriate lighting at night.

Add a 120V outlet to the bed like Ram does with the Ram boxes.

Allow for the truck to remember the position of the auto start without having to turn it off after every start.

Add wireless Apple CarPlay already.

Have a locking console somewhere to lock items up. (ex. during valet)

Increased use of the fuel 12" screen. Most apps only allow for the screen to be split into halves. For example, Apple Car Play will only take the top 6" and then the bottom 6" might be the interior controls or climate control. I suspect this will improve as Ram continues to mature with another UConnect version.

The Bad

The gas mileage is abysmal, like 16 on the highway so far but you didn't buy this bad boy for it's gas mileage did you?

With the safety rear braking enabled sometimes the truck randomly slams on the brakes in reverse believing there is an object that is about to be struck. This option can be disabled which I will probably do shortly as the reaction is jarring but just a heads up that it's finicky.

 

[GunnyJC]

Welcome aboard.

 

[Neurobit]

I'm new to owning a Ram and have right under a month and 2000 miles on my 2021 Limited Longhorn. So far I'm loving the truck but I wanted to share some of the features that I enjoy the most and areas that are lacking for others considering a Ram.

The Good

If you drive a lot of highway miles the adaptive cruise control is more than a gimmick and a great feature. You set the max speed you want the truck at and the following distance (2 -5) and it will speed up to the set speed and slow down all the way to a complete stop if their is a vehicle in front of you. If the the truck is stopped more than a few seconds like in stop in go traffic you need to tap the gas to reengage the system.

The interior finish is unreal and on par with luxury cars. Space in the backseat is incredible as well.

The suspension is close to equivalent to a Lexus. This truck has the 4 corner air suspension but I've read the trucks without air suspension ride incredible as well.

The XM Weather is really useful and probably underrated. It will notify you of weather warnings as well as real time weather radar maps which is helpful.

The heads up display showing speed, speed limit, street, etc. is really helpful. Initially I thought it was an annoyance but I've actually grown to use it as the primary location I look for my speed and the current speed limit.

The rear floorboard container are a great place to store tie downs, gloves, flashlight, etc.

The etorque system makes the restart of the truck the smoothest of any vehicle I've been in that has the "auto start" feature.

The pano sunroof is incredible.

The Wants

An option to fold the mirror when you place the vehicle in park without having to buy an aftermarket "programmer". There are 10s of other options, why didn't Ram include this as well?

The air ride suspension allows you to move the truck up to 4" in height. (Off Road 1 and Off Road 2) The bad news is the truck doesn't allow you to drive in those modes over a certain speed, something like 45 and 25 MPH respectively. It would be great to be able to drive at normal highway speeds in these higher height modes.

The surround camera view turns off after a few seconds when moving from a stop to drive. Why not enable this option at any speed?

The center console is massive and has a great setup but lacks appropriate lighting at night.

Add a 120V outlet to the bed like Ram does with the Ram boxes.

Allow for the truck to remember the position of the auto start without having to turn it off after every start.

Add wireless Apple CarPlay already.

Have a locking console somewhere to lock items up. (ex. during valet)

Increased use of the fuel 12" screen. Most apps only allow for the screen to be split into halves. For example, Apple Car Play will only take the top 6" and then the bottom 6" might be the interior controls or climate control. I suspect this will improve as Ram continues to mature with another UConnect version.

The Bad

The gas mileage is abysmal, like 16 on the highway so far but you didn't buy this bad boy for it's gas mileage did you?

With the safety rear braking enabled sometimes the truck randomly slams on the brakes in reverse believing there is an object that is about to be struck. This option can be disabled which I will probably do shortly as the reaction is jarring but just a heads up that it's finicky.

Welcome to the forum. Great first post.

Agree with all your points. The 2022s should have UConnect 5, and along with OTA map updates and built-in wireless CarPlay, hopefully some of the features we all want like full screen cameras, auto-fold mirrors, and a higher-res screen since the 12 is not as sharp as the 8.4” models.

Here are a few more things I would like to see, not in any order:

1. Would love to also be able to keep the camera on at least until it reaches a certain speed and not shut off after 10 seconds when switching from Revere to Drive. Sometimes you need the camera when maneuvering forward, and the camera cuts out just when I need it most. Had this on my MB, and miss that feature.
2. Power steering wheel to tie into driver memory. Fords on higher trims have had this since 2015 but we’re stuck with a manual settings. C’mon FCA...
3. Complimentary service to start from phone app. Again, something Ford offers for free.
4. On AS trucks, ability to select drive modes. Would love to have comfort, sport, auto modes, etc, for different driving situations.
5. Ability to disable the cursed MDS permanently for those that choose to do so.
6. Ability to use built-in 360 cameras in dashcam mode (I know, it’s a pipe dream but it would be awesome).
7. Color selectable ambient lighting.
8. Powered down & up tailgate
9. Four-door handle lock/unlock
10. Longer, kick-deploy running boards to allow reach inside front of the bed
11. Fully digital gauge cluster

That‘s all I can think of

Cheers,

 

[JWnclub11]

Welcome to the forum. Great first post.

Agree with all your points. The 2022s should have UConnect 5, and along with OTA map updates and built-in wireless CarPlay, hopefully some of the features we all want like full screen cameras, auto-fold mirrors, and a higher-res screen since the 12 is not as sharp as the 8.4” models.

Here are a few more things I would like to see, not in any order:

1. Would love to also be able to keep the camera on at least until it reaches a certain speed and not shut off after 10 seconds when switching from Revere to Drive. Sometimes you need the camera when maneuvering forward, and the camera cuts out just when I need it most. Had this on my MB, and miss that feature.
2. Power steering wheel to tie into driver memory. Fords on higher trims have had this since 2015 but we’re stuck with a manual settings. C’mon FCA...
3. Complimentary service to start from phone app. Again, something Ford offers for free.
4. On AS trucks, ability to select drive modes. Would love to have comfort, sport, auto modes, etc, for different driving situations.
5. Ability to disable the cursed MDS permanently for those that choose to do so.
6. Ability to use built-in 360 cameras in dashcam mode (I know, it’s a pipe dream but it would be awesome).
7. Color selectable ambient lighting.
8. Powered down & up tailgate
9. Four-door handle lock/unlock
10. Longer, kick-deploy running boards to allow reach inside front of the bed
11. Fully digital gauge cluster

That‘s all I can think of

Cheers,

Thanks and I completely agree with your list especially #9!

 

[PM-Performance]

Pretty accurate from my findings as well.
I did like the ACC though on the highways.

 

[Neurobit]

Pretty accurate from my findings as well.
I did like the ACC though on the highways.

Agreed. The ACC on these trucks is great.

 

[tenbens]

I agree on everything you posted and I'll post a few more. Most of these are based on a comparison of a 2018 Sierra that I traded in.

The Good

The fold out running board is at the precise height (at least for me it is). The Sierra's fold out running boards are so high they are rendered useless.

Remote start is for 15 minutes for two cycles. Most other vehicles are 10 minutes per cycle.

The Wants

The want of an option to fold the mirrors in could be corrected on the key fob. On my GMC that I traded in if you held the lock button down for a few seconds the mirrors would fold in. If you held the unlock button the mirrors fold out. I'm pretty sure if you held the unlock/lock button for a few more seconds the windows would go down/up. I could be thinking of my other car on that one though.

More redundancy knobs for the touch screen. Lot's of fingerprints on that screen that's driving me crazy. An example is the remote start seat and steering wheel warmer. The function in the Sierra would automatically shut off when the key is turned on. I've found both the seat and the wheel get to hot so I manually shut them off when I push the start button. That requires touching the screen every time I start the truck.

More presets on the radio. There are over 200 satellite stations but you can only save 12?

Extender kick button on running boards. The Sierra has a button on the side of the running board that if you kick it (gently of course) the running board will extend towards the bed so you can use it to get up into the back of the bed to get that jar of peanut butter that rolled out of the bag and is stuck against the bulkhead.

The Bad

Hands down it's the UConnect app. Calling it craptastic is giving it too much credit. 1) It took over a minute to start yesterday. The average is 45-50 seconds. 2) Then when it does start there is nothing on the screen to indicate it was a success. I tried this morning and it didn't start but I didn't know it until I went to leave. 3) There is no timer to indicate what time it started and how much time is left on the cycle. 4) It has to stop the cycle before you can press it again for the second cycle. 5) If you press the red alert button the horn will sound for two minutes and there is no way to remotely shut the alarm off. 6) The GMC app will tell you how much fuel you have, oil life, mileage, trip odometer, and so much more. There is nothing on this app that gives you any type of information about the vehicle. 7) Once you start it there is no way to cancel it remotely through the app.

You can only go up when scrolling through the radio presets using the steering wheel control. If I'm on preset 3 and want to go to preset 1 I have to go through all 12 presets.

You can not eliminate unused presets. I have 5 FM presets but have to scroll through all 12 to get to where I'm going.

You can't combine presets. I had my satellite and fm presets in order of which ones I used the most. Can't do that on this.

Get rid of those stupid brackets for the multi functional tailgate. Or at least lower them so a low profile tonneau cover can be used. I've seen other topics that cover this and I've ordered a set of brackets today. I haven't as yet searched to see if ladder racks can work.

When the tilt mirrors in reverse mode is on, The drivers side mirror tilts way to far down to my liking. There should be an option to have both mirrors, passenger mirror only, or drivers mirror only tilt.

The Thankful

I, too, thought the rear safety brake was too harsh. Scared the bejeebers out of me the first time it came on. Was seriously thinking about disabling it until the other night when I was backing down my dark driveway in the pouring rain. I didn't see my daughters car parked but that camera sure did. If it wasn't for that my three day old truck would have pretty severe damage to the rear so I think I'm going to leave it on. Over the course of the last week I've learned not to be a lead foot when backing. The system won't activate if you go real slow. And I mean real slow.

 

[Ranchostarvo]

I'm new to owning a Ram and have right under a month and 2000 miles on my 2021 Limited Longhorn. So far I'm loving the truck but I wanted to share some of the features that I enjoy the most and areas that are lacking for others considering a Ram.

The Good

If you drive a lot of highway miles the adaptive cruise control is more than a gimmick and a great feature. You set the max speed you want the truck at and the following distance (2 -5) and it will speed up to the set speed and slow down all the way to a complete stop if their is a vehicle in front of you. If the the truck is stopped more than a few seconds like in stop in go traffic you need to tap the gas to reengage the system.

The interior finish is unreal and on par with luxury cars. Space in the backseat is incredible as well.

The suspension is close to equivalent to a Lexus. This truck has the 4 corner air suspension but I've read the trucks without air suspension ride incredible as well.

The XM Weather is really useful and probably underrated. It will notify you of weather warnings as well as real time weather radar maps which is helpful.

The heads up display showing speed, speed limit, street, etc. is really helpful. Initially I thought it was an annoyance but I've actually grown to use it as the primary location I look for my speed and the current speed limit.

The rear floorboard container are a great place to store tie downs, gloves, flashlight, etc.

The etorque system makes the restart of the truck the smoothest of any vehicle I've been in that has the "auto start" feature.

The pano sunroof is incredible.

The Wants

An option to fold the mirror when you place the vehicle in park without having to buy an aftermarket "programmer". There are 10s of other options, why didn't Ram include this as well?

The air ride suspension allows you to move the truck up to 4" in height. (Off Road 1 and Off Road 2) The bad news is the truck doesn't allow you to drive in those modes over a certain speed, something like 45 and 25 MPH respectively. It would be great to be able to drive at normal highway speeds in these higher height modes.

The surround camera view turns off after a few seconds when moving from a stop to drive. Why not enable this option at any speed?

The center console is massive and has a great setup but lacks appropriate lighting at night.

Add a 120V outlet to the bed like Ram does with the Ram boxes.

Allow for the truck to remember the position of the auto start without having to turn it off after every start.

Add wireless Apple CarPlay already.

Have a locking console somewhere to lock items up. (ex. during valet)

Increased use of the fuel 12" screen. Most apps only allow for the screen to be split into halves. For example, Apple Car Play will only take the top 6" and then the bottom 6" might be the interior controls or climate control. I suspect this will improve as Ram continues to mature with another UConnect version.

The Bad

The gas mileage is abysmal, like 16 on the highway so far but you didn't buy this bad boy for it's gas mileage did you?

With the safety rear braking enabled sometimes the truck randomly slams on the brakes in reverse believing there is an object that is about to be struck. This option can be disabled which I will probably do shortly as the reaction is jarring but just a heads up that it's finicky.

My main gripe so far is the lack of wireless carplay, but this can be fixed in a software update, so that's good, but yeah what's the point of my wireless charger if I need to plug it in anyways for carplay?

As for brake assist, I turned the backup brake assist off completely, just the sensors that make noise. It was brake checking me reversing out of my driveway.

You can buy locking panels for the console and backseat storage, but I hear ya, should be standard given the price of this truck. At least the glove box is lockable, but a pry bar will open that up. But, if you are locking any valuables, guns, jewelry etc, you should opt for one of the console safes or one of the reinforced lids for the rear storage areas... I think console safe, or locker down has these.

Everything else I'm very happy with. Coming from an 07 Yukon with no bluetooth and touch screen, this has been quite an upgrade. Even an upgrade over my wife's 2019 Tahoe.

 

[Neurobit]

My main gripe so far is the lack of wireless carplay, but this can be fixed in a software update, so that's good, but yeah what's the point of my wireless charger if I need to plug it in anyways for carplay?

As for brake assist, I turned the backup brake assist off completely, just the sensors that make noise. It was brake checking me reversing out of my driveway.

You can buy locking panels for the console and backseat storage, but I hear ya, should be standard given the price of this truck. At least the glove box is lockable, but a pry bar will open that up. But, if you are locking any valuables, guns, jewelry etc, you should opt for one of the console safes or one of the reinforced lids for the rear storage areas... I think console safe, or locker down has these.

Everything else I'm very happy with. Coming from an 07 Yukon with no bluetooth and touch screen, this has been quite an upgrade. Even an upgrade over my wife's 2019 Tahoe.

Wireless CarPlay will require new hardware that supports this, so no-go on our current units.
You’ll have to wait until UConnect 5 comes out in 2022 models (or later), or do what some of us have done and get a Car2Play dongle.

 

[Rammin BtoS AF]

My main gripe so far is the lack of wireless carplay, but this can be fixed in a software update, so that's good, but yeah what's the point of my wireless charger if I need to plug it in anyways for carplay?

As for brake assist, I turned the backup brake assist off completely, just the sensors that make noise. It was brake checking me reversing out of my driveway.

You can buy locking panels for the console and backseat storage, but I hear ya, should be standard given the price of this truck. At least the glove box is lockable, but a pry bar will open that up. But, if you are locking any valuables, guns, jewelry etc, you should opt for one of the console safes or one of the reinforced lids for the rear storage areas... I think console safe, or locker down has these.

Everything else I'm very happy with. Coming from an 07 Yukon with no bluetooth and touch screen, this has been quite an upgrade. Even an upgrade over my wife's 2019 Tahoe.

21 Built to Serve so no where near the fancy stuff you guys have but agree with everything you say. I have owned only Fords for many many years and still have a 20 Explorer ST in the drive. Almost all of what you say above is in that vehicle and not in the Ram. My biggest complaint is having to plug in for carplay all the time means I am eating up the battery in the phone having to plug it in and out all the time. I have looked at the Car2Play but curious as to if anyone has used another brand? And if you plug it into the USB in the upper console will it still work with carplay or does it have to be plugged into the dash?

 

[HemiDude]

I'm new to owning a Ram and have right under a month and 2000 miles on my 2021 Limited Longhorn. So far I'm loving the truck but I wanted to share some of the features that I enjoy the most and areas that are lacking for others considering a Ram.

The Good

If you drive a lot of highway miles the adaptive cruise control is more than a gimmick and a great feature. You set the max speed you want the truck at and the following distance (2 -5) and it will speed up to the set speed and slow down all the way to a complete stop if their is a vehicle in front of you. If the the truck is stopped more than a few seconds like in stop in go traffic you need to tap the gas to reengage the system.

The interior finish is unreal and on par with luxury cars. Space in the backseat is incredible as well.

The suspension is close to equivalent to a Lexus. This truck has the 4 corner air suspension but I've read the trucks without air suspension ride incredible as well.

The XM Weather is really useful and probably underrated. It will notify you of weather warnings as well as real time weather radar maps which is helpful.

The heads up display showing speed, speed limit, street, etc. is really helpful. Initially I thought it was an annoyance but I've actually grown to use it as the primary location I look for my speed and the current speed limit.

The rear floorboard container are a great place to store tie downs, gloves, flashlight, etc.

The etorque system makes the restart of the truck the smoothest of any vehicle I've been in that has the "auto start" feature.

The pano sunroof is incredible.

The Wants

An option to fold the mirror when you place the vehicle in park without having to buy an aftermarket "programmer". There are 10s of other options, why didn't Ram include this as well?

The air ride suspension allows you to move the truck up to 4" in height. (Off Road 1 and Off Road 2) The bad news is the truck doesn't allow you to drive in those modes over a certain speed, something like 45 and 25 MPH respectively. It would be great to be able to drive at normal highway speeds in these higher height modes.

The surround camera view turns off after a few seconds when moving from a stop to drive. Why not enable this option at any speed?

The center console is massive and has a great setup but lacks appropriate lighting at night.

Add a 120V outlet to the bed like Ram does with the Ram boxes.

Allow for the truck to remember the position of the auto start without having to turn it off after every start.

Add wireless Apple CarPlay already.

Have a locking console somewhere to lock items up. (ex. during valet)

Increased use of the fuel 12" screen. Most apps only allow for the screen to be split into halves. For example, Apple Car Play will only take the top 6" and then the bottom 6" might be the interior controls or climate control. I suspect this will improve as Ram continues to mature with another UConnect version.

The Bad

The gas mileage is abysmal, like 16 on the highway so far but you didn't buy this bad boy for it's gas mileage did you?

With the safety rear braking enabled sometimes the truck randomly slams on the brakes in reverse believing there is an object that is about to be struck. This option can be disabled which I will probably do shortly as the reaction is jarring but just a heads up that it's finicky.

Welcome, and nice writeup!

 

[Nein1one]

Wireless CarPlay will require new hardware that supports this, so no-go on our current units.
You’ll have to wait until UConnect 5 comes out in 2022 models (or later), or do what some of us have done and get a Car2Play dongle.

Will that dongle work on a 21?

 

[Neurobit]

Will that dongle work on a 21?

As far as I know, nothing’s changed on the 2021 UConnect, so yeah, it should. My buddy @securityguy should be able to confirm.

 

[securityguy]

Will that dongle work on a 21?

Yes it will...perfectly!

 

[Nein1one]

Yes it will...perfectly!

Excellent! Thanks

 

[Rammin BtoS AF]

Yes it will...perfectly!

Will it work in the upper arm rest USB? Or does it have to be in the dash?

 

[Neurobit]

Will it work in the upper arm rest USB? Or does it have to be in the dash?

Not 100% sure, but I believe only dash and rear seat-facing (if you have them) ports are data-capable.

 

[securityguy]

Not 100% sure, but I believe only dash and rear seat-facing (if you have them) ports are data-capable.

I think you're right Neuro...I believe that only the console ports have data into and out of the radio. Easy to figure out...just plug something into it.

 

[Rammin BtoS AF]

I think you're right Neuro...I believe that only the console ports have data into and out of the radio. Easy to figure out...just plug something into it.

I think I am going to plug my apple into it to check if it connects data and will update you after.
The arm rest USB is a dead plug, charging only.

 

[Dr. K]

I'm new to owning a Ram and have right under a month and 2000 miles on my 2021 Limited Longhorn. So far I'm loving the truck but I wanted to share some of the features that I enjoy the most and areas that are lacking for others considering a Ram.

The Good

If you drive a lot of highway miles the adaptive cruise control is more than a gimmick and a great feature. You set the max speed you want the truck at and the following distance (2 -5) and it will speed up to the set speed and slow down all the way to a complete stop if their is a vehicle in front of you. If the the truck is stopped more than a few seconds like in stop in go traffic you need to tap the gas to reengage the system.

The interior finish is unreal and on par with luxury cars. Space in the backseat is incredible as well.

The suspension is close to equivalent to a Lexus. This truck has the 4 corner air suspension but I've read the trucks without air suspension ride incredible as well.

The XM Weather is really useful and probably underrated. It will notify you of weather warnings as well as real time weather radar maps which is helpful.

The heads up display showing speed, speed limit, street, etc. is really helpful. Initially I thought it was an annoyance but I've actually grown to use it as the primary location I look for my speed and the current speed limit.

The rear floorboard container are a great place to store tie downs, gloves, flashlight, etc.

The etorque system makes the restart of the truck the smoothest of any vehicle I've been in that has the "auto start" feature.

The pano sunroof is incredible.

The Wants

An option to fold the mirror when you place the vehicle in park without having to buy an aftermarket "programmer". There are 10s of other options, why didn't Ram include this as well?

The air ride suspension allows you to move the truck up to 4" in height. (Off Road 1 and Off Road 2) The bad news is the truck doesn't allow you to drive in those modes over a certain speed, something like 45 and 25 MPH respectively. It would be great to be able to drive at normal highway speeds in these higher height modes.

The surround camera view turns off after a few seconds when moving from a stop to drive. Why not enable this option at any speed?

The center console is massive and has a great setup but lacks appropriate lighting at night.

Add a 120V outlet to the bed like Ram does with the Ram boxes.

Allow for the truck to remember the position of the auto start without having to turn it off after every start.

Add wireless Apple CarPlay already.

Have a locking console somewhere to lock items up. (ex. during valet)

Increased use of the fuel 12" screen. Most apps only allow for the screen to be split into halves. For example, Apple Car Play will only take the top 6" and then the bottom 6" might be the interior controls or climate control. I suspect this will improve as Ram continues to mature with another UConnect version.

The Bad

The gas mileage is abysmal, like 16 on the highway so far but you didn't buy this bad boy for it's gas mileage did you?

With the safety rear braking enabled sometimes the truck randomly slams on the brakes in reverse believing there is an object that is about to be struck. This option can be disabled which I will probably do shortly as the reaction is jarring but just a heads up that it's finicky.