OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
So, it's been over a year since we bought our 2019 RAM 1500 Sport to replace the 2018 EcoDiesel which we loved, but which became regen-central in the winter when my wife was short-tripping it for work.
The truck was purchased on February 11th, 2019 and is now coming up on 30,000Km.
The truck stickered for $68K:
We paid ~$48K + taxes.
Overall, we are extremely happy with the vehicle. It has 3.92's and limited slip, and since we tow the boats with it, this setup has proven to work exceedingly well. Acceleration, even with a large boat behind it, is very good. Braking is also excellent. the 2019 NBS received larger, updated brakes and their performance is quite good.
The good:
- Seats are comfortable and feature plenty of adjustability for height (good, because my wife is 4'11")
- Power wheel adjustment and pedal adjustment accommodate significant differences in driver size well
- UConnect - still my favourite infotainment system in terms of ease of use and convenience. We have the smaller 8.4" screen, so still have manual HVAC controls redundant to the touch screen ones
- Transmission + engine combo - The ZF 8spd has to be the best light truck trans on the market and paired with the HEMI that now has more aggressive MDS, means pretty good fuel economy when you aren't driving hard
- Integrated trailer brake controller works seamlessly and its adaptive system works extremely well, I never felt it necessary to manually adjust the gain.
- Easy open/close bed is a nice feature and makes it easier for children and more petite people to operate
- Comfort options like heated seats and wheel work as expected, with a decent amount of adjustability on the seats to fine tune to taste
- Auto up/down windows is a nice touch at this price point
- Materials - everything is soft touch and as you get the miles on it, you appreciate that no matter where you place your elbows, it isn't going to be a hard surface
- Sound deadening - Significantly quieter than the 2018
- Interior lights - well configured with plenty of options. Everything is LED.
- Ample cup and storage locations. The flexible centre console has myriad configurations and is cavernous. The dual glove box setup is also welcome, as are the integrated phone holders
- Ride - The suspension and ride is even smoother than on the previous body style, which was already excellent
- Headlights - we have the LED reflectors, which are quite good. I expect the higher trim LED projectors are even better but these work very well.
- Turn illumination - At low speeds the fog for the inside curve is turned on, illuminating the curb area. This can be handy.
- Active dampers - designed to eliminate the rumble from MDS, these work exceptionally well
- In-floor storage - This is a fantastic feature. Can pack these full of ratchet straps, rope...etc.
The bad:
- The tow mirrors stick out far enough that setting them up properly to cover the blind spots results in some weird placement. They are also not heated.
- The step to get into the bed on the corner of the bumper is tiny and makes it difficult to get in and out
- The OEM Goodyear tires are absolutely awful
- First model year means TSB's for some weird things like body mounts (replaced to eliminate a clunk), rear calliper brackets (replaced to eliminate a squeal in reverse) and updated front pads/sliders (replaced to eliminate a chirping sound).
- The cluster seems to intermittently forget the custom font my wife selects and reverts to the default
- The park sense/auto braking tends to be overly sensitive at times and may alert, or even stop you, prematurely.
- Every once in a while the MDS "hiccups" on disengagement. I expect there will be an ECM flash to address this.
Next update will be at 50,000Km.
The truck was purchased on February 11th, 2019 and is now coming up on 30,000Km.
The truck stickered for $68K:
We paid ~$48K + taxes.
Overall, we are extremely happy with the vehicle. It has 3.92's and limited slip, and since we tow the boats with it, this setup has proven to work exceedingly well. Acceleration, even with a large boat behind it, is very good. Braking is also excellent. the 2019 NBS received larger, updated brakes and their performance is quite good.
The good:
- Seats are comfortable and feature plenty of adjustability for height (good, because my wife is 4'11")
- Power wheel adjustment and pedal adjustment accommodate significant differences in driver size well
- UConnect - still my favourite infotainment system in terms of ease of use and convenience. We have the smaller 8.4" screen, so still have manual HVAC controls redundant to the touch screen ones
- Transmission + engine combo - The ZF 8spd has to be the best light truck trans on the market and paired with the HEMI that now has more aggressive MDS, means pretty good fuel economy when you aren't driving hard
- Integrated trailer brake controller works seamlessly and its adaptive system works extremely well, I never felt it necessary to manually adjust the gain.
- Easy open/close bed is a nice feature and makes it easier for children and more petite people to operate
- Comfort options like heated seats and wheel work as expected, with a decent amount of adjustability on the seats to fine tune to taste
- Auto up/down windows is a nice touch at this price point
- Materials - everything is soft touch and as you get the miles on it, you appreciate that no matter where you place your elbows, it isn't going to be a hard surface
- Sound deadening - Significantly quieter than the 2018
- Interior lights - well configured with plenty of options. Everything is LED.
- Ample cup and storage locations. The flexible centre console has myriad configurations and is cavernous. The dual glove box setup is also welcome, as are the integrated phone holders
- Ride - The suspension and ride is even smoother than on the previous body style, which was already excellent
- Headlights - we have the LED reflectors, which are quite good. I expect the higher trim LED projectors are even better but these work very well.
- Turn illumination - At low speeds the fog for the inside curve is turned on, illuminating the curb area. This can be handy.
- Active dampers - designed to eliminate the rumble from MDS, these work exceptionally well
- In-floor storage - This is a fantastic feature. Can pack these full of ratchet straps, rope...etc.
The bad:
- The tow mirrors stick out far enough that setting them up properly to cover the blind spots results in some weird placement. They are also not heated.
- The step to get into the bed on the corner of the bumper is tiny and makes it difficult to get in and out
- The OEM Goodyear tires are absolutely awful
- First model year means TSB's for some weird things like body mounts (replaced to eliminate a clunk), rear calliper brackets (replaced to eliminate a squeal in reverse) and updated front pads/sliders (replaced to eliminate a chirping sound).
- The cluster seems to intermittently forget the custom font my wife selects and reverts to the default
- The park sense/auto braking tends to be overly sensitive at times and may alert, or even stop you, prematurely.
- Every once in a while the MDS "hiccups" on disengagement. I expect there will be an ECM flash to address this.
Next update will be at 50,000Km.