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2019 RAM 1500 Road Test and Review

Ron Sessions
by Ron Sessions
March 25, 2018
5 min. Reading Time
2019 RAM 1500 hero by ron sessions ・  Photo by Ron Sessions

2019 RAM 1500 hero by ron sessions ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Meet the new face of luxury in America. Full-size pickups are America’s new luxury flagships. Forget for a moment that Fiat Chrysler sells a few thousand high-priced Alfa Romeo and Maserati cars and SUVs every year. The big-dollar machines that keep the lights on at America’s third-largest automaker are Ram pickups with sales more than a half-million strong in 2017. Sure they’re workhorses and have tremendous capability, but they’re also equipped with the latest comfort, convenience, infotainment tech and safety features. The 2019 Ram 1500 is royalty for the road.

For 2019, Ram is rolling out an all-new generation of pickups, starting with six 1500 models — Tradesman, Big Horn, Laramie, Rebel, Laramie Longhorn, and Limited — each with a distinct personality. Base prices range from $31,695 to $55,495, and that’s not including packages from the long list of extra-cost options.

Longer, Wider and Roomier

The 2019 Ram starts with a new look. Gone is the larger-than-life cross-hair grille that’s been the mark of the Ram pickup since the mid-1980s when it was branded as a Dodge. The drop-fender big-rig imagery that began with the 1994 model is still there, but it’s less heavy-handed, less ominous, with a more refined, more aerodynamic horizontal theme that’s forward-leaning and tapers (on Laramie, Longhorn, and Limited models) into slender LED headlamps that wrap into the fenders. The hood dropped an inch as well for a faster profile.

The new Ram is also 4 inches longer and a half-inch wider than last year's model, and all of that translates to a roomier interior. Yet it's nearly 225 pounds lighter this year, built on a lightened chassis featuring a frame that’s made of 98 percent high-strength steel. Despite the weight savings, payload capacity increases to 2,300 pounds and maximum towing capacity rises to 12,750 pounds. All 2019 Ram 1500s are four-doors, either the Quad Cab or the roomier crew cab. Buyers can choose a 5-foot, 7-inch short bed or 6-foot, 4-inch regular bed. The lightweight aluminum tailgate is now damped on most models, lockable, and droppable via the keyfob.

 Photo by Ron Sessions

Photo by Ron Sessions

All Aboard

You really feel the extra space inside behind the wheel. In addition to the ample head, leg, hip, and shoulder room, the new Ram’s cabin offers great organization options with tons of stash space. There are two gloveboxes: an upper bin (with a lid on higher trims) and a larger flip-down box below. Laramie Longhorn and Limited models feature a floor console with 12 different storage configurations, room for a 15-inch laptop in a covered bin, an available wireless charging pad for not just phones but tablets too, and a 115-volt outlet. There is even an iPad holder at the rear of the console. Five USB ports help keep mobile devices charged, and four of them are the faster Type C version.

Overall, the new Ram has an elevated level of interior execution that rivals some luxury brands. The seats are firm and supportive, yet comfortable. Upper trims get French-stitched leather wrapping the doors, instrument panel, console, and steering wheel. The Laramie Longhorn, for example, features barn wood trim and vintage pistol-like tooled filigree while the Limited goes with pinstripe detailing and aluminum trim.

 Photo by Ron Sessions

Photo by Ron Sessions

On the Big Screen

A 5-inch AM/FM/CD touchscreen radio is standard on Tradesman and Big Horn, and an 8.4-inch system is available on Big Horn, Laramie, and Rebel. But the real show-stopper is a Tesla Model S-like 12-inch vertical display that’s optional on Laramie, Laramie Longhorn, and Limited — the largest infotainment screen available currently in a full-size truck. The effect is like having two 8.4-inch Uconnect screens stacked atop each other. Redundant climate-control buttons and analog knobs for volume and tuning enable quick adjustments with minimal eyes-off-the-road time.

The reconfigurable touchscreen offers split-screen capability to display entertainment, climate control, phone, or other menus simultaneously, or the option of having one large image such as a navigation map. Both the Uconnect 8.4-inch and 12-inch systems are Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible. Also available with the huge 12-inch infotainment screen is SiriusXM with 360L, a system that merges satellite content with on-demand streaming for a Pandora-like personal listening experience. Bluetooth is standard across the line, as is 4G Wi-Fi via SiriusXM.

 Photo by Ron Sessions

Photo by Ron Sessions

What's Behind You Does Matter

While a backup camera is standard fare on all Ram 1500s, models with the 12-inch Uconnect display can also be equipped with a 360-degree surround-view monitor. In addition to the conventional rear camera display with grid lines to help you hitch a trailer, it delivers an overhead or bird’s-eye view of the truck and its immediate surroundings, stitched together from four cameras: one at the front, one at the rear and one in each side mirror.

 Photo by Ron Sessions

Photo by Ron Sessions

Rear Passengers Don't Take a Back Seat

All 2019 Ram 1500s offer generous rear seat space and storage. The driveshaft tunnel is minimized, creating a nearly flat floor. The standard in-floor RamBins in the rear-seat footwells are bigger, almost half a foot longer than before, each roomy enough for a 4-inch drop hitch.

The under-seat storage bin is expanded as well, now with 20 liters of capacity — double that when folded out. The back seat is especially roomy in crew cabs, which have a limousine-like 45.1 inches of legroom and up to 8 degrees of backrest recline on the Limited model. A large center armrest folds down to create a captain’s chairs-like atmosphere.

 Photo by Ron Sessions

Photo by Ron Sessions

Power Broker

The early-production Ram 1500s on our test drive were equipped with the tried-and-true 5.7-liter Hemi V8. With 395 horsepower on tap, the brawny V8 got the big truck up and rolling without a sweat. A cylinder-deactivation system idles four of the eight cylinders when cruising under light load to save fuel, but mass dampers on the new frame and an active noise cancellation system working through the Ram’s audio speakers take care of any unsavory rumbles or vibrations.

Later in 2019, the RAM 1500 will be the first full-size pickup with a standard hybrid powertrain. The new mild-hybrid eTorque system will debut with the base 305-hp 3.6-liter V6. The system replaces the conventional alternator with a 48-volt starter/generator working with a suitcase-sized 300 watt-hour lithium-ion battery behind the rear seat to add up to 90 lb-ft of torque during acceleration, provide a seamless stop-start function at stoplights to save fuel, and assist with brake energy regeneration. The eTorque system will also be on the 395-hp 5.7-liter Hemi V8, adding as much as 130 lb-ft of torque to the Hemi. Expect impressive increases in EPA fuel-economy estimates for both eTorque systems.

 Photo by Ron Sessions

Photo by Ron Sessions

Shifting Priorities

Ram designers were able to free up precious storage space in the center console by moving the electronic shifter for the 1500’s standard eight-speed automatic transmission to the instrument panel directly in front of the driver’s right hand. The shifter’s rotary dial feels substantial like you’d expect a transmission control to be, but also nicely damped.

While the designers were at it, they grouped other drive controls around it, so drivers don’t have to search around for this control or that. Adjacent controls include those for the four-wheel drive transfer case, eTorque stop-start, E-locker rear differential, and hill-descent control on models so equipped.

 Photo by Ron Sessions

Photo by Ron Sessions

Working It

Put it all in motion, and the 2019 RAM 1500 is noticeably quieter inside and smoother riding than last year’s model. Its segment-exclusive four-wheel coil-spring suspension — the rears with progressive-rate springs to handle greater loads — arguably provides a more carlike ride quality than trucks with leaf-spring rear suspensions. Part of this is attributable to the Ram’s new frequency response dampers that deliver a smoother ride when cruising over well-maintained roads yet firm up to damp unwanted body motions under hard cornering or heavy braking. Front roll stiffness is up 20 percent, helping to keep the big Ram flatter when cornering.

The RAM 1500 also continues to be the only pickup available with a four-wheel air suspension, which offers four different ride heights: two for off-road operation, and entry and exit modes for easier ingress/egress. The larger brakes now have huge rotors just shy of 15 inches all around, inspiring confidence. All Ram 1500 models upgrade to six-lug wheels for greater durability.

 Photo by Ron Sessions

Photo by Ron Sessions

Rebel Without a Clause

The new RAM 1500’s down-and-dirty Rebel model rolls with a bold “flared nostrils” grille, front tow hooks, a power-dome hood, and black powder-coated bumpers. Interior touches include a Rebel-themed dash and unique tire-tread pattern cloth-and-vinyl seat coverings.

Underpinning the Rebel is a standard off-road package and a choice of rear- or four-wheel drive. Rebel equipment includes a 1-inch body lift, a shorter 3.92:1 final-drive ratio, an electric locking rear differential, hill-descent control, Bilstein off-road calibrated shock absorbers with remote reservoirs, and 33-inch diameter Goodyear Wrangler Dura-Trac off-road tires on 18-inch alloy wheels. Skid plates protect the front suspension, steering gear, fuel tank, and (on four-wheel-drive models) two-speed transfer case. Last year’s standard four-wheel air suspension is now extra-cost on the Rebel. The body lift and rear e-locker give the Rebel an edge traversing steep inclines and deep gullies.

 Photo by Ron Sessions

Photo by Ron Sessions

New Safety Tech

Coming or going, the 2019 RAM 1500 offers an array of safety technology on par with many luxury sedans and SUVs. Although the new hardware is mostly confined to higher trim levels, the new Ram launches with systems such as adaptive cruise control with stop, go and hold, adaptive LED headlamps that swivel with the steering wheel, and ParkSense parallel and perpendicular parking assistance that steers the truck into a parking spot.

There’s also collision-avoidance technology such as blind-spot and rear cross-traffic monitoring, a forward collision warning with automatic braking, and automatic lane-keeping steering assistance. 

 Photo by Ron Sessions

Photo by Ron Sessions


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