This will be a very long winded discussion/review/justification of my purchase, of why I think the 2019/20 Ram is a force to be reckoned with, when comparing it to the GMC Denali. Let's start at the beginning…
My history...I grew up with a Dad who owned a new pickup truck every couple of years. One of my favorites was a mid-80’s GMC, which was two toned in black, with a grey stripe about a foot above the rocker panel. It was just a two door, bench seat, as back then, the whole crew cab thing wasn’t really prolific. He also had a Dodge (maybe a Gen3?). That thing looked like a big chromed out, green brick and I just couldn’t stand it. It had a goofy hood flares over the front wheels, the hood was even higher and some other odd things that just turned me off. Maybe that was the truck that Dad made me listen to that Alabama 8-track over and over, as we bird hunted up north? Those negatives probably stuck in my subconscious for a while.
My favorite truck was a 1988 Ford F150, which was grey, had a matching rear cap and “pass through” windows from the rear of the truck and front of the cap. We had an insert that went in the gap to keep the dust out, but you could freely go from truck, to cap, no seat belts needed back then. We also had a fold out couch/bed back there. As a high school kid, I had about 10 teenagers in the truck at once. It was a 4 speed standard, where 1st gear was a “granny-gear” and you only used it when you were stuck and you always started out in 2nd. Essentially, it was a 3 speed and you could chirp the tires in 2nd, or 3rd gear. It didn’t have much top end speed, but quick off the line. Dad let me drive that nearly every day in 1989, my senior year of high school. Although my father, divorced from my mother, was not rich by any means, I sat a little taller as I drove past all the gear-heads smoking in the parking lot back then.
As an adult, I purchased a used, black 1998 GMC Yukon and it was early technology, but it had a cell phone that was, “mobile” but only because you drove around with it. You couldn’t take it out of the truck. It also had a CB, which was still sorta cool and before Waze came into existence, the best fuzz buster around on the interstate. (In fact, I’ve always kept a CB in my trucks, until now, just trying to figure out how to place it in the new Ram.) I really enjoyed that Yukon, but after we had twins, I had the wonderful idea of trading it in for a brand new blue, 2008 GMC Acadia. I figured the 3rd row seat would come in handy for family, as we went out. After not using the third row seat all that often and breaking the oil pan in the North Maine Woods (I wasn’t off roading, a piece of shale kicked up after hitting the front air dam and shattered the oil pan like glass), I decided I needed to get back into a truck, with a bit more clearance and also skid plates!
I traded the Acadia in for a used, 2007 Avalanche, which was silver in color and although I was going backwards a year from the Acadia, I was moving forward in regards to features and ride. Man, that was the best truck I ever owned, until now. The air ride suspension in the Avalanche, side storage boxes, rear heat vents out the back of the center console, it turned on a dime, etc! It was a sweet ride. I never used the breakdown rear window thing that made the bed extend into the rear seat area, but that was an interesting concept. It did look a bit goofy with my snowmobile hanging out the back with this being a short bed, but it did the job. I put 100k on that truck and I think when I traded it in, it had some 150k. (The guy who bought it from the dealer lives local to me and I still occasionally see it drive by my house and it still is in mint shape!)
As the miles racked up on the Avalanche, I decided to step up into the GMC Sierra Denali, so in 2015, I bought one brand new. The Denali grill is something that I always thought was bold and spoke to the luxury component of a truck. I was as proud as I could be to own a “Professional Grade” truck. However, it was a bit of a cluster out of the gate, as the truck I received from the dealer, was not the same one I test drove earlier. This truck I received was transferred from another dealer to me. Same options, setup, color, etc. I figured it would be the same. After getting a great deal, a bunch of stuff thrown in, higher value for my Avalanche trade, etc. things started going south, as soon as I drove it off the lot. (Mental note, even if new, don’t ever buy a vehicle without test driving the exact one you are looking to purchase.)
First off, on the way home from the dealer that day, I said to my wife, “do you feel that vibration?” Now, I'm known as an audiophile and vibration snob within the family...if I hear a water bottle wiggle, a rattle, etc. I need to figure it out and stop it, or it drives me crazy. So, she just figured I was being over-sensitive to the new ride. Over 60 mph and that thing had a case of the shakes. To make matters worse, about a week later, the shark fin failed and the GPS had me somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. (The shark fin also failed for a second time, just prior to trading it in.) I had my electric power steering pump fail after going through a large puddle in the North Maine Woods. That was a long, hard 6 hour drive home. (I drove vehicles in the past without power steering, but when you lose an electronic power steering component, it is nearly impossible to turn. I thought at one point that I'd snap the steering wheel off!) The 6 speed transmission would constantly bog down at 45 mph...chugging for a downshift.
Rattles here, issues there, I brought the truck in over a dozen times to see if they could fix the shakes. Everything from testing the driveshaft, to replacing 7 of the tires (not sure how we got to 7, but I got a free set of 4 tires out of it), one Bent rim, to having a GM technician with a device that I’ll call a, “wiggleometer” sit in and drive around at 70mph. After all that, they said, “it is within specifications.” To which I said, “my butt says otherwise.” Also, they blamed the 20” tires, to which I said, “then why would GM ever put 20” tires on a truck?” Long story short, over the nearly 5 years of ownership, it never, never fully went away. It was a constant reminder and pissed me off each time on the highway. Frankly, it was embarrassing, I spent $55k on a truck and it rode like hell. I think the truck looked sharp, had great lines, just didn’t perform up to my high expectations. To make matters worse, I wondered why it didn’t have blind spot monitoring, a rear vent for heating and cooling the passengers, why the defrost didn’t work well, etc. It seemed like all the things I liked from my Avalanche, didn’t flow through into the GMC’s. I realize the Avalanche brand didn’t sell well that last year, but I should have bought a 2013 Black Diamond edition, instead of that Denali.
Fast forward to this past February, when I went to get an inspection sticker from my dealer. They said I had a leaking Magnaride front shock. Knowing I purchased the extended warranty, I said, “great, that should be covered, right?” Nope...it is a “wear part” and not covered under the extended warranty. “How much is it,” I said? He replied with, “$850.” “Ya, but how much is one?” “$850.” Holy crap! Really, $850 for one shock? “Is it a safety issue, I asked?” “No, but I can’t put a new inspection sticker on it.” Ok, I figured I’d go to the local garage to get a sticker, then fix this another time. In August, I put new tires on the Denali, guess what...the other front shock was leaking!
Now I’m $1,700 into needing new front shocks and I still owed $3k on my 5 year loan, I was ripped. I called GM customer service and I’m not exaggerating when I say, I made 16 phone calls, talked to 2 supervisors and managed after all that, as a 20 year GM guy, to get $400 from GM to help cover the expense of these two front shocks. (As a side note, a ball joint is not a, “wear part” and was covered under warranty.) I figured I’m done, but out of loyalty, I went back to the GMC dealer one more time and explained my overall situation, that I was looking at new Ram trucks and wanted them to price out a 2020 CarbonPro Denali for me. Nearly identical MSRP to the Ram I was looking at, I think it was off $300 or so. Although they were going to give me $1,500 more for my trade than Ram, they couldn’t come close to the Ram incentives being offered. Bottom line, they were some $6k off from the Ram deal I already had in hand and honestly, even if it were closer, or even money, I wouldn’t have bought a new GMC.
I thanked them in person, later wrote a nice, professional letter for the 20 years of service, but also provided them justification for making the brand switch. After purchasing my Ram, I went back to the dealership to get a refund on my “extended warranty” and felt great pulling into the parking lot with my new Ram 1500 Limited, Black Out Edition. One woman walking by with a salesman stopped and stared. The salesman had to kind of take her by the arm and move her along. The sales manager I worked with on the GMC quote saw me and couldn’t have cared less. The service guy I worked with came up and shook my hand and we chatted a bit. I got my remaining balance processed and will have my warranty refund in some 6-8 weeks. It sure felt like GM didn’t care about me as a customer after that whole experience. How about even a, “hey give us another chance when you are ready,” on my way out?
So, here’s my list of where I think GMC’s Denali has the edge on the Ram, then I’ll get into what I like about the Ram, over the Denali:
The Denali has some nice felt-like coverings in the wheel wells, to keep the noise down from rocks coming off the tires, hitting the frame. Although it was sometimes hard to clean, it did seem to keep some of the road noise down, especially on dirt roads. My Denali could take regular gas, along with E85 and although we don’t plant enough corn around here for stations to carry it, I was impressed with it when we took a road trip across the country. We stopped everywhere I could get that green handled (not diesel) gas that we could. Man, it was amazing! First time I got on the accelerator out of the first station we filled up with it, I peeled out, without even wanting to do it! The power and sound was awesome, although the fuel mileage was half as much, so was the cost, so it was a wash, although a bit cleaner alternative.
When I took phone calls in the Denali, it automatically turned down the heat, or A/C fan, to have less noise in the cab. That was a good feature. My 2015 had, “oh crap” handles above the doors, although it doesn’t look like the 2020’s have this option, it was something my family enjoyed when I tried to go around corners on two wheels. I think the 10 way seat on the GMC has more thigh support, it felt like it would come up in the front a bit more. I also think the seat went higher, or the steering wheel came down lower. I like my wheel low and close to my chest. On the Ram, I can’t figure out how to position the wheel to see the entire 7” screen between the tach and the speedo, without my wheel higher than I want it to be.
“Ghost mode” on the trailer settings on the new GMC’s seem like an amazing innovation and use of the multiple cameras. Brake pad monitoring system is a good idea. I’m not sure the carbon-fiber bed makes much of a difference to me, but they do say it is stronger and a bit lighter than aluminum. I liked the ability to track gas mileage in 25 mile, 50 mile and I forgot the other mile setting, but it broke it down into shorter distances. I liked that you can set all the doors to unlock, when shifting into park. Side indented rear bumper, to step into the bed was nice. he turn signals in the side view mirrors always made me feel a bit better, when on the highway, so that someone could see my signal from another angle. The 6.2L, 10 speed engine combo on the Denali’s is a rocket ship. The Kicker tailgate speaker system, although cool, I’m not sure it would hold up to a Maine winter, or two. Ya, that’s my list...maybe there are a few other items, but when I looked at the 2020 Denali, the interior of the cab was the EXACT SAME THING as my 2015, minus a few minor changes. Same seats, same 8” screen for navigation, same control knobs, small sunroof, etc. Time for a refresh GMC!
Things I like more on the Ram, than the Denali, in no particular order, just as I had noted them on my phone. There are also some comments and observations thrown in and I’ll probably make edits as the weeks progress.:
From my story above about my Dad’s weirdly shaped Dodge, I would never have thought even a few weeks ago, that I would sit in a Ram, much less have purchased one. They really have come a long, long way and I have no doubt that if my experience as a loyal GM guy is any reflection, that Ram will end up beating GM for the #2 spot in national truck sales. My salesman has taken in 18 Denali’s this year! The night I picked my Ram up, there were 2 others with black GM trucks, similar to mine. The next night I stopped by for some paperwork I missed and there was another guy trading in his 2015 Denali!
I never even looked at the Fords after looking at Ram. I knew that was the truck for me. Now, one could argue that the exterior of the Ram, GM, Toyota and Ford trucks could have been designed by the same person. Some subtle differences, but a fairly close resemblance across the four brands. The huge difference to me, a “details guy” is the craftsmanship and quality they put into the interior of these new Rams. It blows everything else away and it is not even close.
Why my 2015 didn’t have blind spot monitoring on the Denali, I won’t know, but glad to see Ram’s mirrors have it. I like my wife’s 2019 Honda Pilot’s system a bit better, as the visual alarm is on the inside of the cab, near the “triangle” where the A-pillar and the driver and passenger front windows meet the windshield. The other cars won’t see it, just the driver. Not sure what the difference is, not sure why we’d need to let other cars know, that we know, that they are there? The passenger side mirror on the Ram is auto-dimming also, so I don’t have to be blinded on one side. I like the mirrors overall, with the convex mirror also providing more views than just the standard mirror.
The SiriusXM has WAY more channel options. That could just be an advancement, but the 2015’s channel numbers only went to 235ish. Any Nascar driver to crew channels that were in the 300’s, I couldn’t listen to on the road. I rode home listening to a NFL game, pulled up the SiriusXM on the screen and switched between the home and away feeds easily, just by hitting the team logo. Sometimes it is neat to hear the different announcers, depending on what happens during a play, bad Ref. call, etc. I'm not sure if the windshield is bigger on the Ram, or if it is just better sight lines, but my buddy mentioned it to me and I see what he was talking about, there seems like a wider view. The Ramboxes, like my old Avalanche, are just amazing and way deeper and wider. The Avalanche also had the drain plugs at the bottom, but these are just so nice. The optional dividers are great, but I don’t understand the A, B, B on the dividers? Shouldn’t it go, A, B, C, or 1, 2, 3? They should also have markings inside the Rambox where the particular divider goes? Also, these must be on some delay lock on the Ramboxes, as my truck will be unlocked, I’ll close my Rambox and come back and have to use the keyfob to re-open? Weird, but still awesome. I'm putting all my gear in the passenger side Rambox and then leaving gloves and some open space in the one closest to me. The other night I put Chipotle take out in there, so I didn't smell up my new interior. (I want to keep that new truck smell forever!)
The side steps are impressive as they deploy. When you show anyone the Ram, that is the first thing that gets an, “ohhhh, ahhhh!” response. My GMC side steps were not really usable, being fixed, only ¾ of the step stuck out and the angle wasn’t right for me. My wife fell off them more than once. These steps are not only usable, but when they fold in, the clean lines it leaves on the truck are nice. Why there isn’t a walk away locking feature on this Ram, is beyond me? You have a proximity unlock mode, a one push lock mode on the handle, how about a, “I forgot to lock the truck mode?” Another thing my wife’s Honda Pilot has but, Honda hasn’t figured out how to make a remote start app that works, so I guess there are trade offs.
A coin holder...really? Is this 2005? Ok, I thought it was weird, then started using it, so its not bad. I’d maybe prefer the ability to rip it out and have another small space to store stuff. The Limited models, I don’t think you can take it out. The second thing that always gets comments and the first thing that I saw when I test drove a Ram was the 12” UConnect screen. I have an iPad Pro and it is just about the same size, if turned vertically. It blows the competition away! Keep the apps coming! SiriusXM listener profiles are great! My girls always want to listen to top 40 pop songs, but my GMC presets were always Hair Nation, Ozzy’s Boneyard, etc. You can put up to 5 listener profiles in and flip between them fairly quickly. The alert artist function works well and it stays on the SiriusXM screen for quite a while. I love that stuff...I sat out in the driveway the first two nights I had the truck and went through all the options, menus, setups, etc. My wife, of course, thought I was crazy.
The trails feature on the navigation, for “off road,” or roads not on the map may come in handy in the North Maine Woods, I need to give it a try. Would be nice if somehow the UConnect could store those and you could name the roads and then overlay them right on your trucks map to store for the future, like Garmin GPS’s, etc.? The live traffic view on the navigation, I figured wouldn’t work up here in Maine, due to limited traffic issues, reports, etc. I tried it the other day and it does! Not sure if it feeds off Google, Waze, or something else, but seemed fairly accurate.
Not sold yet on the 18” spare tire, I need to find a 20” spare, spare, or maybe a 22” spare, spare on a black steel rim. I have 22’s on this new Ram and man, do they look sharp. However, I did have the dealership immediately take off the stock Goodyears and replace them with some Continental Terrain Contact A/T’s. It makes the truck look even more impressive. (Looking to sell the 4 Goodyear’s, so send me a PM!) By the way, why no black lug nuts and no black door moldings for the Black Out Edition?! (I'm going to order up the Gorilla black lugs for this beast.) The smugglers hatches in the passenger floor, love them! Another spot to stash gear! However, the Ram floor mats I bought, should have a cut out, or flip up, so you don’t have to bend up the side of the mat when reaching in for the hatches. Please fix that for next versions? There is already a bunch of storage under the rear seats and I have yet to try the reclining option, but who’s kidding, I’m never riding in the back of this thing! How about a 5”7’ rubber bed mat for those of us with Ramboxes? You’ve got guys going to Home Depot to pick up a floor mat for the back of their $60k-$70k truck!
The one thing I missed out on was the multifunction tailgate...the Black Out (yes, it is really called the, “Black Appearance Group” but that name blows) Edition I was chasing didn’t have this option, the only option it didn’t come with. Wish I could have added it, maybe someday I’ll put it on. That would have been neat. I like the versatility of the instrument cluster for 7 different features, but the music option doesn’t work well for me, just shows the large “antenna” tower which takes up room for the info on the band, song, etc.? Wipe out the antenna thing please, I don’t need to see that.
True, dual exhaust pipes out the back, Hemi engine, it sounds great! Not too obnoxious, just enough growl when you get on it. I have a feeling with these 3.92 gears, my gas mileage is going to go in the toilet, but so far, it is so much more fun to drive. The 33 gallon tank may come in very handy, if mpg are lower. I don’t mind getting on it from stop light to stop light, getting on the highway ramp, etc. But, in the summer, I was getting some 18-21 mpg on average in my 2015. I expect more, 5 years later, both in regards to power, but also mileage. So far, I’m about 13.5 mpg, but that includes remote starts, idling in the driveway, hot-shot starts, etc. If I can get 16-18, I’ll probably be happy. And the ride, it is so plush...it eats up the bumps.
My 2015 Denali was so, so stiff. Bone jarring pot-holes up here in Maine can take their toll. Not sure what they did with the GM frame, but once you feel the difference, it is amazing. It is like having your favorite chair inside a jet fighter. The air ride suspension is fun and practical, I like to see the “aero” mode show up on the highway. Have not tried the off road settings in a real world setting yet, but the extra clearancy will also come in handy. So far, I’m digging the 19 speaker HK audio system. It booms! Also, the panoramic moonroof just blows the small GM versions away! My daughter didn't think it was that big a deal, until she rode in the back seat and then she really liked it.
I realize that there will be issues with my new truck, I’ll work through those, as they come up. Anyway, I’ll think of a few more items, but if anyone else is on the fence, concerned about coming on board to Ram from GM, I hope this helped a bit, the difference is pretty big.
Enjoy your new truck...
My history...I grew up with a Dad who owned a new pickup truck every couple of years. One of my favorites was a mid-80’s GMC, which was two toned in black, with a grey stripe about a foot above the rocker panel. It was just a two door, bench seat, as back then, the whole crew cab thing wasn’t really prolific. He also had a Dodge (maybe a Gen3?). That thing looked like a big chromed out, green brick and I just couldn’t stand it. It had a goofy hood flares over the front wheels, the hood was even higher and some other odd things that just turned me off. Maybe that was the truck that Dad made me listen to that Alabama 8-track over and over, as we bird hunted up north? Those negatives probably stuck in my subconscious for a while.
My favorite truck was a 1988 Ford F150, which was grey, had a matching rear cap and “pass through” windows from the rear of the truck and front of the cap. We had an insert that went in the gap to keep the dust out, but you could freely go from truck, to cap, no seat belts needed back then. We also had a fold out couch/bed back there. As a high school kid, I had about 10 teenagers in the truck at once. It was a 4 speed standard, where 1st gear was a “granny-gear” and you only used it when you were stuck and you always started out in 2nd. Essentially, it was a 3 speed and you could chirp the tires in 2nd, or 3rd gear. It didn’t have much top end speed, but quick off the line. Dad let me drive that nearly every day in 1989, my senior year of high school. Although my father, divorced from my mother, was not rich by any means, I sat a little taller as I drove past all the gear-heads smoking in the parking lot back then.
As an adult, I purchased a used, black 1998 GMC Yukon and it was early technology, but it had a cell phone that was, “mobile” but only because you drove around with it. You couldn’t take it out of the truck. It also had a CB, which was still sorta cool and before Waze came into existence, the best fuzz buster around on the interstate. (In fact, I’ve always kept a CB in my trucks, until now, just trying to figure out how to place it in the new Ram.) I really enjoyed that Yukon, but after we had twins, I had the wonderful idea of trading it in for a brand new blue, 2008 GMC Acadia. I figured the 3rd row seat would come in handy for family, as we went out. After not using the third row seat all that often and breaking the oil pan in the North Maine Woods (I wasn’t off roading, a piece of shale kicked up after hitting the front air dam and shattered the oil pan like glass), I decided I needed to get back into a truck, with a bit more clearance and also skid plates!
I traded the Acadia in for a used, 2007 Avalanche, which was silver in color and although I was going backwards a year from the Acadia, I was moving forward in regards to features and ride. Man, that was the best truck I ever owned, until now. The air ride suspension in the Avalanche, side storage boxes, rear heat vents out the back of the center console, it turned on a dime, etc! It was a sweet ride. I never used the breakdown rear window thing that made the bed extend into the rear seat area, but that was an interesting concept. It did look a bit goofy with my snowmobile hanging out the back with this being a short bed, but it did the job. I put 100k on that truck and I think when I traded it in, it had some 150k. (The guy who bought it from the dealer lives local to me and I still occasionally see it drive by my house and it still is in mint shape!)
As the miles racked up on the Avalanche, I decided to step up into the GMC Sierra Denali, so in 2015, I bought one brand new. The Denali grill is something that I always thought was bold and spoke to the luxury component of a truck. I was as proud as I could be to own a “Professional Grade” truck. However, it was a bit of a cluster out of the gate, as the truck I received from the dealer, was not the same one I test drove earlier. This truck I received was transferred from another dealer to me. Same options, setup, color, etc. I figured it would be the same. After getting a great deal, a bunch of stuff thrown in, higher value for my Avalanche trade, etc. things started going south, as soon as I drove it off the lot. (Mental note, even if new, don’t ever buy a vehicle without test driving the exact one you are looking to purchase.)
First off, on the way home from the dealer that day, I said to my wife, “do you feel that vibration?” Now, I'm known as an audiophile and vibration snob within the family...if I hear a water bottle wiggle, a rattle, etc. I need to figure it out and stop it, or it drives me crazy. So, she just figured I was being over-sensitive to the new ride. Over 60 mph and that thing had a case of the shakes. To make matters worse, about a week later, the shark fin failed and the GPS had me somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. (The shark fin also failed for a second time, just prior to trading it in.) I had my electric power steering pump fail after going through a large puddle in the North Maine Woods. That was a long, hard 6 hour drive home. (I drove vehicles in the past without power steering, but when you lose an electronic power steering component, it is nearly impossible to turn. I thought at one point that I'd snap the steering wheel off!) The 6 speed transmission would constantly bog down at 45 mph...chugging for a downshift.
Rattles here, issues there, I brought the truck in over a dozen times to see if they could fix the shakes. Everything from testing the driveshaft, to replacing 7 of the tires (not sure how we got to 7, but I got a free set of 4 tires out of it), one Bent rim, to having a GM technician with a device that I’ll call a, “wiggleometer” sit in and drive around at 70mph. After all that, they said, “it is within specifications.” To which I said, “my butt says otherwise.” Also, they blamed the 20” tires, to which I said, “then why would GM ever put 20” tires on a truck?” Long story short, over the nearly 5 years of ownership, it never, never fully went away. It was a constant reminder and pissed me off each time on the highway. Frankly, it was embarrassing, I spent $55k on a truck and it rode like hell. I think the truck looked sharp, had great lines, just didn’t perform up to my high expectations. To make matters worse, I wondered why it didn’t have blind spot monitoring, a rear vent for heating and cooling the passengers, why the defrost didn’t work well, etc. It seemed like all the things I liked from my Avalanche, didn’t flow through into the GMC’s. I realize the Avalanche brand didn’t sell well that last year, but I should have bought a 2013 Black Diamond edition, instead of that Denali.
Fast forward to this past February, when I went to get an inspection sticker from my dealer. They said I had a leaking Magnaride front shock. Knowing I purchased the extended warranty, I said, “great, that should be covered, right?” Nope...it is a “wear part” and not covered under the extended warranty. “How much is it,” I said? He replied with, “$850.” “Ya, but how much is one?” “$850.” Holy crap! Really, $850 for one shock? “Is it a safety issue, I asked?” “No, but I can’t put a new inspection sticker on it.” Ok, I figured I’d go to the local garage to get a sticker, then fix this another time. In August, I put new tires on the Denali, guess what...the other front shock was leaking!
Now I’m $1,700 into needing new front shocks and I still owed $3k on my 5 year loan, I was ripped. I called GM customer service and I’m not exaggerating when I say, I made 16 phone calls, talked to 2 supervisors and managed after all that, as a 20 year GM guy, to get $400 from GM to help cover the expense of these two front shocks. (As a side note, a ball joint is not a, “wear part” and was covered under warranty.) I figured I’m done, but out of loyalty, I went back to the GMC dealer one more time and explained my overall situation, that I was looking at new Ram trucks and wanted them to price out a 2020 CarbonPro Denali for me. Nearly identical MSRP to the Ram I was looking at, I think it was off $300 or so. Although they were going to give me $1,500 more for my trade than Ram, they couldn’t come close to the Ram incentives being offered. Bottom line, they were some $6k off from the Ram deal I already had in hand and honestly, even if it were closer, or even money, I wouldn’t have bought a new GMC.
I thanked them in person, later wrote a nice, professional letter for the 20 years of service, but also provided them justification for making the brand switch. After purchasing my Ram, I went back to the dealership to get a refund on my “extended warranty” and felt great pulling into the parking lot with my new Ram 1500 Limited, Black Out Edition. One woman walking by with a salesman stopped and stared. The salesman had to kind of take her by the arm and move her along. The sales manager I worked with on the GMC quote saw me and couldn’t have cared less. The service guy I worked with came up and shook my hand and we chatted a bit. I got my remaining balance processed and will have my warranty refund in some 6-8 weeks. It sure felt like GM didn’t care about me as a customer after that whole experience. How about even a, “hey give us another chance when you are ready,” on my way out?
So, here’s my list of where I think GMC’s Denali has the edge on the Ram, then I’ll get into what I like about the Ram, over the Denali:
The Denali has some nice felt-like coverings in the wheel wells, to keep the noise down from rocks coming off the tires, hitting the frame. Although it was sometimes hard to clean, it did seem to keep some of the road noise down, especially on dirt roads. My Denali could take regular gas, along with E85 and although we don’t plant enough corn around here for stations to carry it, I was impressed with it when we took a road trip across the country. We stopped everywhere I could get that green handled (not diesel) gas that we could. Man, it was amazing! First time I got on the accelerator out of the first station we filled up with it, I peeled out, without even wanting to do it! The power and sound was awesome, although the fuel mileage was half as much, so was the cost, so it was a wash, although a bit cleaner alternative.
When I took phone calls in the Denali, it automatically turned down the heat, or A/C fan, to have less noise in the cab. That was a good feature. My 2015 had, “oh crap” handles above the doors, although it doesn’t look like the 2020’s have this option, it was something my family enjoyed when I tried to go around corners on two wheels. I think the 10 way seat on the GMC has more thigh support, it felt like it would come up in the front a bit more. I also think the seat went higher, or the steering wheel came down lower. I like my wheel low and close to my chest. On the Ram, I can’t figure out how to position the wheel to see the entire 7” screen between the tach and the speedo, without my wheel higher than I want it to be.
“Ghost mode” on the trailer settings on the new GMC’s seem like an amazing innovation and use of the multiple cameras. Brake pad monitoring system is a good idea. I’m not sure the carbon-fiber bed makes much of a difference to me, but they do say it is stronger and a bit lighter than aluminum. I liked the ability to track gas mileage in 25 mile, 50 mile and I forgot the other mile setting, but it broke it down into shorter distances. I liked that you can set all the doors to unlock, when shifting into park. Side indented rear bumper, to step into the bed was nice. he turn signals in the side view mirrors always made me feel a bit better, when on the highway, so that someone could see my signal from another angle. The 6.2L, 10 speed engine combo on the Denali’s is a rocket ship. The Kicker tailgate speaker system, although cool, I’m not sure it would hold up to a Maine winter, or two. Ya, that’s my list...maybe there are a few other items, but when I looked at the 2020 Denali, the interior of the cab was the EXACT SAME THING as my 2015, minus a few minor changes. Same seats, same 8” screen for navigation, same control knobs, small sunroof, etc. Time for a refresh GMC!
Things I like more on the Ram, than the Denali, in no particular order, just as I had noted them on my phone. There are also some comments and observations thrown in and I’ll probably make edits as the weeks progress.:
From my story above about my Dad’s weirdly shaped Dodge, I would never have thought even a few weeks ago, that I would sit in a Ram, much less have purchased one. They really have come a long, long way and I have no doubt that if my experience as a loyal GM guy is any reflection, that Ram will end up beating GM for the #2 spot in national truck sales. My salesman has taken in 18 Denali’s this year! The night I picked my Ram up, there were 2 others with black GM trucks, similar to mine. The next night I stopped by for some paperwork I missed and there was another guy trading in his 2015 Denali!
I never even looked at the Fords after looking at Ram. I knew that was the truck for me. Now, one could argue that the exterior of the Ram, GM, Toyota and Ford trucks could have been designed by the same person. Some subtle differences, but a fairly close resemblance across the four brands. The huge difference to me, a “details guy” is the craftsmanship and quality they put into the interior of these new Rams. It blows everything else away and it is not even close.
Why my 2015 didn’t have blind spot monitoring on the Denali, I won’t know, but glad to see Ram’s mirrors have it. I like my wife’s 2019 Honda Pilot’s system a bit better, as the visual alarm is on the inside of the cab, near the “triangle” where the A-pillar and the driver and passenger front windows meet the windshield. The other cars won’t see it, just the driver. Not sure what the difference is, not sure why we’d need to let other cars know, that we know, that they are there? The passenger side mirror on the Ram is auto-dimming also, so I don’t have to be blinded on one side. I like the mirrors overall, with the convex mirror also providing more views than just the standard mirror.
The SiriusXM has WAY more channel options. That could just be an advancement, but the 2015’s channel numbers only went to 235ish. Any Nascar driver to crew channels that were in the 300’s, I couldn’t listen to on the road. I rode home listening to a NFL game, pulled up the SiriusXM on the screen and switched between the home and away feeds easily, just by hitting the team logo. Sometimes it is neat to hear the different announcers, depending on what happens during a play, bad Ref. call, etc. I'm not sure if the windshield is bigger on the Ram, or if it is just better sight lines, but my buddy mentioned it to me and I see what he was talking about, there seems like a wider view. The Ramboxes, like my old Avalanche, are just amazing and way deeper and wider. The Avalanche also had the drain plugs at the bottom, but these are just so nice. The optional dividers are great, but I don’t understand the A, B, B on the dividers? Shouldn’t it go, A, B, C, or 1, 2, 3? They should also have markings inside the Rambox where the particular divider goes? Also, these must be on some delay lock on the Ramboxes, as my truck will be unlocked, I’ll close my Rambox and come back and have to use the keyfob to re-open? Weird, but still awesome. I'm putting all my gear in the passenger side Rambox and then leaving gloves and some open space in the one closest to me. The other night I put Chipotle take out in there, so I didn't smell up my new interior. (I want to keep that new truck smell forever!)
The side steps are impressive as they deploy. When you show anyone the Ram, that is the first thing that gets an, “ohhhh, ahhhh!” response. My GMC side steps were not really usable, being fixed, only ¾ of the step stuck out and the angle wasn’t right for me. My wife fell off them more than once. These steps are not only usable, but when they fold in, the clean lines it leaves on the truck are nice. Why there isn’t a walk away locking feature on this Ram, is beyond me? You have a proximity unlock mode, a one push lock mode on the handle, how about a, “I forgot to lock the truck mode?” Another thing my wife’s Honda Pilot has but, Honda hasn’t figured out how to make a remote start app that works, so I guess there are trade offs.
A coin holder...really? Is this 2005? Ok, I thought it was weird, then started using it, so its not bad. I’d maybe prefer the ability to rip it out and have another small space to store stuff. The Limited models, I don’t think you can take it out. The second thing that always gets comments and the first thing that I saw when I test drove a Ram was the 12” UConnect screen. I have an iPad Pro and it is just about the same size, if turned vertically. It blows the competition away! Keep the apps coming! SiriusXM listener profiles are great! My girls always want to listen to top 40 pop songs, but my GMC presets were always Hair Nation, Ozzy’s Boneyard, etc. You can put up to 5 listener profiles in and flip between them fairly quickly. The alert artist function works well and it stays on the SiriusXM screen for quite a while. I love that stuff...I sat out in the driveway the first two nights I had the truck and went through all the options, menus, setups, etc. My wife, of course, thought I was crazy.
The trails feature on the navigation, for “off road,” or roads not on the map may come in handy in the North Maine Woods, I need to give it a try. Would be nice if somehow the UConnect could store those and you could name the roads and then overlay them right on your trucks map to store for the future, like Garmin GPS’s, etc.? The live traffic view on the navigation, I figured wouldn’t work up here in Maine, due to limited traffic issues, reports, etc. I tried it the other day and it does! Not sure if it feeds off Google, Waze, or something else, but seemed fairly accurate.
Not sold yet on the 18” spare tire, I need to find a 20” spare, spare, or maybe a 22” spare, spare on a black steel rim. I have 22’s on this new Ram and man, do they look sharp. However, I did have the dealership immediately take off the stock Goodyears and replace them with some Continental Terrain Contact A/T’s. It makes the truck look even more impressive. (Looking to sell the 4 Goodyear’s, so send me a PM!) By the way, why no black lug nuts and no black door moldings for the Black Out Edition?! (I'm going to order up the Gorilla black lugs for this beast.) The smugglers hatches in the passenger floor, love them! Another spot to stash gear! However, the Ram floor mats I bought, should have a cut out, or flip up, so you don’t have to bend up the side of the mat when reaching in for the hatches. Please fix that for next versions? There is already a bunch of storage under the rear seats and I have yet to try the reclining option, but who’s kidding, I’m never riding in the back of this thing! How about a 5”7’ rubber bed mat for those of us with Ramboxes? You’ve got guys going to Home Depot to pick up a floor mat for the back of their $60k-$70k truck!
The one thing I missed out on was the multifunction tailgate...the Black Out (yes, it is really called the, “Black Appearance Group” but that name blows) Edition I was chasing didn’t have this option, the only option it didn’t come with. Wish I could have added it, maybe someday I’ll put it on. That would have been neat. I like the versatility of the instrument cluster for 7 different features, but the music option doesn’t work well for me, just shows the large “antenna” tower which takes up room for the info on the band, song, etc.? Wipe out the antenna thing please, I don’t need to see that.
True, dual exhaust pipes out the back, Hemi engine, it sounds great! Not too obnoxious, just enough growl when you get on it. I have a feeling with these 3.92 gears, my gas mileage is going to go in the toilet, but so far, it is so much more fun to drive. The 33 gallon tank may come in very handy, if mpg are lower. I don’t mind getting on it from stop light to stop light, getting on the highway ramp, etc. But, in the summer, I was getting some 18-21 mpg on average in my 2015. I expect more, 5 years later, both in regards to power, but also mileage. So far, I’m about 13.5 mpg, but that includes remote starts, idling in the driveway, hot-shot starts, etc. If I can get 16-18, I’ll probably be happy. And the ride, it is so plush...it eats up the bumps.
My 2015 Denali was so, so stiff. Bone jarring pot-holes up here in Maine can take their toll. Not sure what they did with the GM frame, but once you feel the difference, it is amazing. It is like having your favorite chair inside a jet fighter. The air ride suspension is fun and practical, I like to see the “aero” mode show up on the highway. Have not tried the off road settings in a real world setting yet, but the extra clearancy will also come in handy. So far, I’m digging the 19 speaker HK audio system. It booms! Also, the panoramic moonroof just blows the small GM versions away! My daughter didn't think it was that big a deal, until she rode in the back seat and then she really liked it.
I realize that there will be issues with my new truck, I’ll work through those, as they come up. Anyway, I’ll think of a few more items, but if anyone else is on the fence, concerned about coming on board to Ram from GM, I hope this helped a bit, the difference is pretty big.
Enjoy your new truck...
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