Large trucks can be fun to drive, and even more fun to get dirty. Unfortunately, they may also cause you to get phone calls from friends who need to move into a new apartment. Fortunately, just having a truck may get you out of having to take the carpool simply because you don’t have room for everyone to sit.
The F-150 is well known to be the most desirable truck on the market, but the Dodge Ram gives it a run for its money this model year. The Dodge Ram is easily considered the best-looking full size truck, with a great ride quality, a HEMI V8 engine, and even better fuel economy than previous years and the F-150. The F-150 gets all new engines this year, giving them the strong performance their macho good looks deserve. The feel of the steering is very responsive, and the F-150 always offers great towing and hauling capacity.
Fuel Economy and Ride
The fuel economy of the F-150 is higher overall by 3 points – 17 mpg city and 23 mpg highway – than the Dodge Ram, but the bland and jiggly ride in the F-150 goes up against the wheezy and coarse V-6 engine (with no diesel or hybrid offerings) of the Dodge Ram. It’s a toss-up which option comes out on top as far as ride quality, but the fuel economy is a no-brainer. Fuel tank capacities are the same, which means the F-150 will certainly take you further between fill ups at the gas station, although not that much further.
Infotainment Options
The Dodge Ram clearly comes out on top with the standard seek-scan AM/FM stereo, standard MP3 and auxiliary input jack, and 6 speakers instead of the 4 chintzy ones included in the Ford F-150. While Bluetooth compatibility is optional on both base models, the F-150 offers a few different upgrades such as optional voice recognition, steering wheel audio controls, navigation system, and speed-sensitive volume – none of which are even options on the Ram.
Safety Features
Side impact airbags come standard on the F-150, but are not available at all on the Dodge Ram, which is quite surprising. Optional stolen vehicle tracking on the F-150 gives you added security on this model, and the Ram offers a few additional headlight options such as fully automatic exterior light control and delay-off headlamps; both of which are nice options to have.
These two heavy-hitters in the large truck category both retain their value well over time and get the job done when there's cargo to be hauled.
