2019 Ram 1500 Review

[MUSIC PLAYING] CARLOS LAGO: We were excited to buy the now current generation Ram 1500 as soon as it debuted at the Detroit Auto Show in 2018. We wanted to test out the new updated interior, see what this vertical touchscreen was like in operation, and experience the ride quality from the improved rear coil spring suspension. In July 2018, we actually bought this exact truck, a Laramie Crew Cab 4x4 with a short bed and the 5.7 liter V8 for about $55,000. We added it to our long term test fleet where a diverse range of staff and editors drive the truck just like you would. Now as of April 2020, we have just under $35,000 miles. And in this video, we're going to talk about the broad points of ownership-- what we liked, what we didn't like, what kind of problems, if any, we had along the way. Now, if you want to go into more detail, make sure to click the link below to read the Edmunds long-term blog on this truck and the rest of the vehicles in our fleet. [MUSIC PLAYING] We had to go all the way to Cheyenne, Wyoming to find the right truck because we wanted that 12-inch center touchscreen and a couple of towing features, and that combination was hard to find when we were looking to buy. We wound up with this crew cab Ram obviously, and it had a couple of features that we had to take along the way. And it was nice to evaluate them as well-- a 33-gallon gallon fuel tank, a 392 to 1 axle ratio. Center console front seat-- we had buckets with that large, deep storage area and a couple other things too that we'll explore. [OPEN CAR DOOR ALARM] We used this truck for everything-- commuting, family hauling, road trips, moving, hauling heavy items. And everyone on staff generally loved using this truck in particular for all those things because this thing could be a workhorse and had a genuine sense of luxury while doing so. This interior is masterful. It's big sure. In fact, one of the editors commented that the size of the rear seat allows for a neutral or "no fire zone"-- his quote-- between his kids. It's funny, but it's true. And then you have just the general niceness of everything. and that extends to the space, of course, but also the range of adjustability in the seats. The back seats even recline. The materials, the general appearance-- yeah, brown isn't my interior color of choice. But beyond that, this is a really usable and nice place to sit in. And then there's the ride quality too. This thing rides really well for a 1500 series pickup truck, better than you've experienced or might expect. And we haven't even talked about the center console, but I really want to explore this because I love this space. Sure, you've got two cup holders here. You've got a large center. Flip up arm rest with storage space here with a USB port here, which is really nice for additional power. Underneath that, you have more storage space, two more cup holders. This whole thing slides to reveal more storage space beneath that. There's little partitions you can flip up to make sure that your load doesn't shift around. And there's even the Pythagorean theorem right here just in case you need it for some reason. Slide this back and you have more storage space right here-- a little pocket underneath for additional storage space, places for your phones, a wireless charging setup, four USB ports-- two USB-C and two traditional or older USB format. This is really, really clever. Pass this screen, you have an additional cubby up here for my sunglasses right now but also another power port if you're going to hang something off the windshield. This is really well thought out stuff. Now when it comes to talking about the Ram's technology, you really have to start with this center screen because it commands your attention as soon as you hop in the truck. We had a lot of comments from our staff about the screen, and most of them were positive. The only complaints we really had were on the base navigation system, which was somewhat clunky in use. But you'd only really need to rely on it if you were driving in a place that didn't have cell phone reception. And that's because this truck both supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and the implementation of both of those projection systems is actually really clever. This vertical screen layout means that you get the top half of the screen devoted to one of those phone projection systems, while on the bottom half you still have access to the normal vehicle controls. Like if you wanted it you'd get easy access to AM, FM, or satellite radio, if you wanted to use your climate controls, and your seat heaters, and your seat ventilation-- that all happens down here. It's really nicely done. I also want to comment too on the physical buttons surrounding the screen. They're really helpful because these are the controls that you might want to use frequently that you don't want to use voice controls for. A lot of car makers are turning these into capacitive or touch sensitive switches, and it's really nice to have the tactile feedback of a mechanical button because it doesn't command as much of attention when you're driving on the freeway. Now when it comes to safety and driver assistance features, this Ram was actually fairly well loaded. We have to comment on the surround view system it was extremely helpful multiple times in Los Angeles parking lots, which generally are not accommodating to trucks like this. And using this system really made it easy to park a truck this size. We also had an automatic parking system that tried its best to help parallel park. When you turned it on, it would control the steering wheel automatically. Though, you would still be responsible for doing the gas, braking, and shifting into drive and reverse. And it works about as well as they can. These systems aren't perfect. And when they do work, it's great. But they don't, you just, you know, parallel park it yourself. We also have to highlight the blind spot monitoring system on this truck, which is really neat because it automatically learns the length of your trailer after a turn or two with no additional work required on behalf of the driver. That's really helpful. And so too was the adaptive cruise control because the buttons allowed you to switch between smart adaptive cruise control and, let's say, dumb traditional cruise control. So you can choose between the two depending on the driving situation. I, for example, like using adaptive cruise control in stop and go traffic. But when traffic's moving at normal freeway speeds, I'd rather just let the computer choose the speed and stick to it. Altogether, really nice sophisticated stuff. Now let's hear some experiences from the rest of the team. BRENT ROMANS: I really liked that truck. In particular, I remember I did a trip with its spring of 2019 with my family about 600 miles. Kids were in the back. My wife was in the front. The backseat is just huge, which was fantastic because the middle seat was essentially like a demilitarized zone for the children so they couldn't touch each other. And upfront, just like smooth ride quality, comfortable seats, really quiet, great sound system. Just overall, it really reinforced like how luxurious today's trucks are and the Ram 1500 in particular. ALISTAIR WEAVER: The biggest thing that always impressed me about our Ram was just overall level of refinement. I remember taking it up to big Bear Mountain Thanksgiving 2018 and being super impressed by the quality the interior, the easy power of the engine, and also the ride quality, which meant that people often choosing the truck even if they didn't actually need one. That trip was also memorable because we were expecting our first child at the time, and I ended up buying this enormous teddy bear which then got strapped into the passenger seat. What didn't I like about the Ram? Let's be honest, that interior was just a sea of beige. What were we thinking? SCOTT JACOBS: So I spent a lot of time in our RAM pickup truck. I did all the truck stuff that you're supposed to do. I helped people move. I helped my dad move. I did some wetland restoration in it. I did all kinds of adventures with my dogs. The inside of the vehicle is fantastic. And it's got excellent visibility, tons of power. The screen is-- no joke, It gets lots of mentions. The small storage is great. But what I think one of the most overlooked things is just how comfortable the truck is. On those adventures I did like 10-hour straight road trips throughout California and the southwest, and I never got tired in the vehicle. And I think that says a lot about a truck. CARLOS LAGO: Let's talk about reliability. Our Ram had its fair share of issues, but none are what we would determine or call dramatic. We bring this up because Edmund's customer reviews for this particular year, make, and model have been less than stellar, let's say. We can only report on what we've experienced, so we always recommend you read customer reviews to get a feel for what might be common issues with the truck. As far as recalls go, 2019 Ram 1500s had, at the time of this recording, 17 recalls. That seems like a lot. Remember, there's a lot of model variation underneath that 1500 name. Ours was subject to five of them, including one technical service bulletin, and most of the issues were addressed at the 20,000 mile service interval. Our truck automatically notified us when it was time for an oil change like many new vehicles do out there. With that as our guide, we had three service visits-- one at 8,700 miles, one at 20,000 miles, and one at 30,000 miles. These were for all the usual stuff-- oil change, oil filter change, cabin air filter change, tire rotation, and inspection-- stuff that anybody with any mechanical inclination could do at home. Outside of normal maintenance, we had to replace our tires at about a 30,000 mile mark because we got a couple of nails, and it seemed appropriate. All that sounds pretty plain, so you wonder where some of these customer complaints come from. Well, in the case of our truck, we experienced a number of gremlins. Most of them were insignificant and largely related to fit and finish, but there were quite a few. I have a list that I compiled from all the editor's notes during our ownership period. A phantom tailgate open alert, opera glove box gap that lets you see the light inside shining through. Trim started falling off one of the rear doors. One of the sun visors simply fell off. The blind spot monitoring system was just unavailable at one point. And the passenger side view mirror housing developed a rattle. Though, I suspect that's probably from a fellow Angelino giving it a solid bonk in a parking lot or something. We have to say that a lot of these were minor, and a lot of the technological ones came as quickly as they went. You can get the current Rand 1500 with a diesel engine or a mild hybrid, let's call it, V8. We've got the 5.7 liter V8 all natural, and we really liked it. It sounds awesome for 1. And 2, aside from the occasional clunky upper shift, driveability was otherwise good. And so let's talk fuel economy. Over the course of ownership, our truck averaged 14.7 MPG. And that's a number that doesn't even match the EPA's city rankings or estimates. Why is that? Well it's likely a combination of factors. One is how we option that truck, like by getting the 392 to 1 axle ratio. Just numerically shorter means the engine will rev more to get the same amount of work done. We also used this truck a lot for hauling in towing, which can produce fuel economy. And because that engine sounds so good, there's probably a good chance that we wanted to hear it more often, which meant stepping on the gas. Your mileage will vary depending on a variety of these attributes. Now on the upside because we have a 33-gallon fuel tank, that meant that on a full fill our distance to empty would regularly exceed 500 miles. That's great because on road trips let your brakes were only defined by your gut and bladder. What's our truck worth now? Well, the only way to know for sure is actually by selling it. But using the Edmund's appraisal tool, we can get an estimate for a starting point based off our condition, location, trim, options, and so on. After tallying it all up, our estimates for trade-in are around $31,000 and for a private party transaction about $34,000. And now we've come to the end of our long-term ownership experience with the Ram 1500. And the question is, would we still recommend this truck? The answer is yes, absolutely. Yeah, we had our fair share of problems with this truck, including things that literally fell off. But in our mind, those were outweighed by all the positives by everything else from the interior quality, to the usability, to the functionality, and the raw capability of this particular truck as it was outfitted. They, combined, elevated our expectations for what a full-size truck should be and what it should offer, and they should do the same for yours. That's going to wrap of this video. If you like what you saw, click like and subscribe. And be sure to visit edmunds.com to find your next perfect car. [MUSIC PLAYING]