Drove A 09 Ram Review

[Ryan00TJ]

First off I'm as unbiased as you can get. Straight up is what you will hear here.

 

The GF's mother and father bought an 09 SLT Ram this afternoon. They dropped by our house and I took it for a test drive.

 

 

09 SLT, Black, Silver two tone. Crew Cab, TRX4 Offroad Package. Bench Seating, 5.7L Hemi, Sticker $40,000 I believe they paid in the low 30's for it.

 

EXTERIOR

I won't get into too much here as looks are subjective but I like the look of the new Ram's. Up close the front end is huge looking compared to the Sierra. With the offroad package the truck sits very tall for stock. LT275/65R17 tires. It sits almost as tall as a GMT900 with a 2" level kit. Very sharp looking truck all around. No rambox on this package.

 

INTERIOR

Dodge has finally offered a truck with a modern interior. It's actually really nice. It has the Premimum cloth and let me tell you folks, it's hands down light years ahead of the seats in my Sierra. They are very firm buckets that you sit deep into. Well padded, a good drivers seat. Lateral support is excellent. The cloth material is also way way better quality than the GM Premimum cloth. It also does not look like it will attract lint. It's almost nylon feeling in terms of texture. I joked with them I would trade them seats straight up.

 

Dash is pretty nice, with decent layout and ergonomics. Gauges are well lit and easily red. White and red at night. GM has a better radio IMO in terms of size, easyness to use. Dodge had the 500W Alpine system and Sirius for 1yr vs GM XM 3 months. Alpine system way better than my stock GM. Gm also has an edge on the HVAC controls but mine is also dual climate where the Ram was not. Ram has standard Traction Control, Side and Rear Airbags where my GMT900 has none of the above. Also has a very useful 110V AC power outlet in the dash. GM has a much better DIC where the Ram virtually had none. It does not tell you when you are opeating in V4 mode or your tire pressure even though it has the TPMS setup. Just mainly trip, miles, etc... Dash, door materials are definately on par with GM. I like GM's center bench armrest better as it has built in cupholders vs the Ram's that are in the lower dash in the center. Both consoles open and have around the same amount of room. Also has two gloveboxes. Rear crew section is huge. Lots of room. Underseat built in storage compartments, underseat cooler, underseat subwoofer for 500w Alpine system. Advantage Ram here. Seats are split and fold just like the GMT900.

 

Engine and PowerTrain.

 

The 390HP 5.7L Hemi is pretty strong combined with the 3.92 gearing and 5 speed Auto tranny. Acceleration compared to my 315HP 5.3L, 4L60E with 3.73's is noticeably stronger. You cannot tell at all when its operating in V4 mode. It definately has TM built in just like GM. You cannot stomp it and spin the tires very much. Trans seems programmed dead on and shifts very smooth. I really like the manual gear selector built into the shifter handle. I would love to have this on mine. Stock exhaust note is noticeably louder and more raw than my GMT900. Sounds pretty damn good IMO for stock exhaust. Ram had the optional 32gal fuel tank and it seemed as if it would burn it very easily. 14-18 EPA ratings.

 

Ride

 

Visibility is good, you ride tall in this truck, much more so than my Sierra. With the TRX4 Offroad package it gives HD variable shocks and they seem to do a very good job and dampning different surfaces. Ride is comparable to my Z71, maybe a tad firmer. The coil springs in the rear do their job very well. The GMT900 rides damn nice for a leaf sprung truck, but in terms of ride quality the coils on the Dodge do a better job when it comes to ride quality or soaking up potholes or uneven pavement. Turning quickly at speed is much more controlled. Steerting ratio and response is on par with the GMT900. Truck seemed well built, no speaks, rattles, vibrations.

 

That about sums it up. Everyone enjoy.

[Stevens03]

Nice review... I do like the looks of the new dodges.. they seem very nice. I've not had the pleasure of driving one yet, I will someday.

 

Steven

[VMax2007]

I drove one too about a month ago, basically the same one you just reviewed and I would agree with most everything you said. It is a nice truck.

[Matt_]

great review man. If GMC didn't make a deal with me in December, those Dodge's were going to be a major competitor for my new truck purchase..... I haven't had a chance to drive one yet but i've heard they're much improved

[Porter_]

the ram was the only other truck i was considering when i bought my Sierra. i can't stand the rear bumper exhaust cut-outs. exaust cut-outs should remain on cars, not 4x4 trucks. other than that they seemed like nice trucks. thanks for the review.

[Zembonez]

I've seen a few new Dodge trucks that turned my head. I can honestly say that has never happened with the older Dodges. One white crewcab in my neighborhood is a downright good looking truck. I haven't driven one yet.

[2005LT]

Thanks for the review Ryan, really well done. I'm going to the car show tomorrow here in Edmonton so I'll have to check those out while i'm there, won't be getting one though

[weymard]

Thanks for your report. Interesting truck, if USD not so strong now may be I should change my silverado for this new ram.

[matt3]

They are good looking trucks. Nice review!

[BuckFeverZ]

The look is growing on me, I haven't really peaked at the interior yet.

[Porter_]

The look is growing on me, I haven't really peaked at the interior yet.

 

i really like the gauge clusters on the new rams, very appealing to the eyes. seems like there's a trend starting for locating the trans shifter in the center console, like on many cars. my boss's new tundra is like that, upscale dodges and fords are also going that way. meh.

[08_Denali_22]

Nice review. Its very refreshing to hear an unbiased review of a competitor's vehicle on a GM site. I too will say that I would have been seriously looking at one of these new Rams if I wouldn't have jumped on the Denali as soon as I did. The new F150's are just downright hidious (sp) to look at IMO. Enough that I wouldn't be able to give one a fair unbiased shot. The '04 - '08 trucks looked far better. I love the look of the new interior of the Ram's and the Hemi has always pulled like a monster. I hope to test drive on here in a few weeks just so I can say that I have. I wonder how the 5.7ltr Hemi coupled with the 5 speed would compare to the GM 6.0ltr with the 4 speed? That might be a very interesting comparison.

[AllBlkdOut07]

I'd surely black one out and drive it, they are pretty cool. lol

[pennzoil29]

I'd surely black one out and drive it, they are pretty cool. lol

 

Why did I know you'd say that?

[AllBlkdOut07]

I'd surely black one out and drive it, they are pretty cool. lol

 

Why did I know you'd say that?

 

 

 

Yeah you and probably several other people on here, like it says under my avatar, not sure I would ever own another color vehicle...last 3 I've owned were black.