CTC Review: 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie

[CD_Editor]

Day 1:

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So much for all the luxury and sports cars... at least for a few weeks.  This week I step up, way up, into the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie edition. The Ram won AJAC's truck of the year category in February, and with all the troubles Chrysler has been having lately, the Ram and the Challenger are its shining lights right now. Hopefully, the Ram is good enough to compete in a very tough truck market.  More ...

[Mitlov]

Still the best-looking truck in its class.

I'm really curious to hear what you think of the coil spring rear suspension.

[PJungnitsch]

A co-worker of mine just bought one, the test drive really sold her. Apparently the traditional Dodge 'slide sideways over washboard' is gone.

The hardest part of buying a Ram around here is finding one as the factories were shut down.

[silverbullet3]

$54k for an American ''almost-gone-bankrupt'' truck ?!?! U gotta be kidding. The recent financial crisis is a wake up call....companies who build trucks should be going GREEN..we don't need anymore stupid heavy gigantic trucks  than we already have on the roads. Bad for environment. WAKE UP DODGE!!

[airbalancer]

A truck like that is for the owner of a company puts a lot of km per day and wants something nice to drive

[mrthompson]

Nice truck but I dislike the name "Laramie" as it reminds me of...


 

[tpl]

TTAC just "tested" a version of this.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/review-2009-dodge-ram-150/

It will be interesting to see what you think of it

[wing]

TTAC is just out to hate everything, I just read up to the dash, which is the best part and they hate it....

[tpl]

Ok.  I know nothing about Chrysler products and , if possible, even less about trucks.  just seemed relevant to this thread.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Extremely happy with our '09 Ram Crew Cab Sport 4X4. Big improvement over the '06 Ram Quad Sport, and we deemed it better than the Ford FX4 or GM crews we compared it to. The seats are fantastic (wish passenger's side had height adjustment), right amount of room, logical easy to use instrumentation and controls (those HVAC controls are about as good as you get, 115V outlet, illuminated upper glove box), luxury features (heated/ventiliated seats, heated steering wheel, LED puddle lamps, remote start where the exhaust rumble puts a smile on your face every time you walk up to it, etc), NAVI HDD and back-up camera are handy, best-in-class materials and fit, tonnes of useful cubbies everywhere including under the rear floor, excellent ride with far more confidence inspiring handling, kickin' power, and superb maucho styling (the Ram's head details in various places are a nice touch for brand loyalists).

I don't care for the two-tone treatment (have seen monochromatic Laramies even though the configurators don't allow it) and prefer metallic interior over the wood, or maybe just the black interior instead of the brown, not sure. Our Sport actually costs more than the loaded Laramie even though it doesn't have the heated rear seats or Auto 4WD (didn't know at the time of ordering), which is strange.

If we had to do any real towing or hauling, a HD diesel would be a better option, but for recreational use it gets the job done and is very satisfying whether a driver or passenger. We've picked up gravel, did washroom renos (flooring, wood, and stone tiling are heavy!), etc which the truck is handy for - as much as I poke fun at it being unnecessary in suburbia, it does get used. On the down side the exhaust note on the highway tends to make itself heard on and off with a little bit of throttle which can be tiresome, but do like hearing it most of the time. And better fuel economy sure would be welcome. An item missing I'd like to see are Ford's kick-out side steps to the bed, and the F-150's flat rear floor is an advantage as well along with it being available with a regular box. But they weren't enough to sway the decision with the Ram's advantages.

[Honda Owner]

TTAC is just out to hate everything

Or maybe they don't sugar coat the truth in order to get advertising and invites to new product intros. I can recall Car and Driver just loving the Citation when it first came out, Motor Trend gave it "Car of the Year" and the Citation was one of the worst cars every built.

[Seafoam]

Ok.  I know nothing about Chrysler products and , if possible, even less about trucks.  just seemed relevant to this thread.

They mentioned the V6 ram in that review and the base model.Not enough power to get out of its own way. If they tested the V8 it might have reviewed a lot better .
I'm not a truck guy but i think it's the best looking of all the trucks.

[Mitlov]

Nice truck but I dislike the name "Laramie" as it reminds me of...


 

The name Laramie reminds me of...um...driving through Wyoming?

[rrocket]

TTAC is just out to hate everything, I just read up to the dash, which is the best part and they hate it....

I tend to agree.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Had a bed liner and hard tonneau cover on the previous truck and disliked both. The bed liner's grooves were too deep to clean out, and 'stuff' found its way between it and the bed at the ends which bothered me as I figured it was an invitation for rust, etc. The tonneau cover was just a major PITA as a one piecer, and had to plan ahead and store the sucker which took forever to remove (and the struts want to stay open). Can't believe they're so popular, mostly for 'looks'.

This time we didn't want a liner so appreciated the option, and instead had Line-X sprayed into the bed. Wing, your Titan has similar, no? The surface seems tough, just grippy enough, and so far happy with it although it's still early going. And opted for the hard tri-well, quad-fold bed cover. Again, night and day for versatility and I actually like the lower profile better. Both were wise investments.

[Truck Country]

"Canada is not truck country"?

What the heck kind of comment is that?
Must be Toronto centric, center of the universe type comment. Disappointing to say the least.

[Erik]

I thought I had seen pics of  very nice interior in these. What The "Truth" About Cars failed to mention right off what that they picked the stripper, hose down the interior, work truck. From what I see, it is supposed to be cheap and plain. They also forget to mention that you can upgrade to interiors like this:

[CURTIS]

First off...

That tailgate is extremely light, as I can lift it closed with one finger and have demonstrated that.  There is a smart bar in there to help with closing and opening.  NOT SURE WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT -

Secondly...

As for the bedliner, if you ever sold a truck you may notice that a lot of people prefer no bed liner or to get the box sprayed. 

Research a little more next time!!!

[sirAQUAMAN64]

I've sat in a more basic Ram interior with bench seat and found it very impressive in its own right. Much of the interior is the same. The cloth even looks good and feels durable.

Compared to the competition with tail gate assists, the Ram's tail gate (which supposedly has some sort of assist as well although you'd never know it) is significantly heavier. I stand tall, but if I didn't would imagine it could be awkward to handle.

[TopGun]

Or maybe they don't sugar coat the truth in order to get advertising and invites to new product intros. I can recall Car and Driver just loving the Citation when it first came out, Motor Trend gave it "Car of the Year" and the Citation was one of the worst cars every built.

Ya...I wonder what MotorTrend took to make this 2006 Truck of the Year...

December 20, 2005
With two full weeks of thudding over concrete, howling around tight curves and bouncing over rocky roadways, Motor Trend editors unanimously awarded 2006 Honda Ridgeline to be Truck of the Year.

http://www.motortrend.com/auto_news/112_news051220_truck_of_the_year/index.html