If these vehicles get any larger, homes are going to want to come back with RV-size storage doorways within the close to future.
Andrew Krok/Roadshow
We’re a very long time faraway from the times when stuntin’ on the neighborhood required a European luxurious sedan. The pickup zeitgeist has elbowed its manner into the fold, mixing work and play within the type of high-dollar vehicles that permit drivers luxuriate whereas dragging round full trailers. The 2021 Ram 1500 Limited Longhorn’s aesthetic of selection may not be everybody’s cup of sarsaparilla, nevertheless it’s laborious to disclaim that this trim is a 21st-century redefinition of the nice ol’ long-established luxurious automobile.
LikeFlawless mild-hybrid integrationImpressive interiorGreat infotainment
Don’t LikeThat window sticker, yikes
Giddy upFrom the skin, the 2021 Ram 1500 Limited Longhorn hides its fanciness. With the exception of trim-specific badges on the edges and rear, this pickup appears to be like fairly darn pedestrian. Its 20-inch alloy wheels look proportional to the physique, moderately than the flashy 21-plus-inchers seen on some huge vehicles and SUVs. There’s a multitude of chrome on the skin, however most each Ram 1500 has that.There are a number of seen upgrades if you realize what to search for. The Delmonico Red (sure, just like the steak) paint job is non-obligatory, however at $100 it is surprisingly reasonably priced. The locking RamField storage answer, which is nice for those who want a small trunk along with the mattress, asks for one more $995. Ram’s intelligent cut up tailgate, which may swing open like French doorways in addition to do the same old up-down stuff, is a part of a $1,220 10th Anniversary Limited Longhorn bundle that additionally zhuzhes up the inside with upgraded bucket seats and a novel gauge cluster theme.
And then there’s the inside, which is pushing into the realm of caricature. Make no mistake: It feels rattling plush with actual leather-based, steel and wooden just about wherever your eyes and arms can wander. Yet it additionally appears to be like prefer it’s making an attempt only a smidge too laborious, with simulated sawblade marks and hot-iron branding on the wooden, rough-cut suede strips between dashboard layers and complicated carvings on the steel trim. If you have ever been to the Cow Palace in Amado, Arizona, it is loads like that: a shiny cowboy veneer over conventional fare. It’s not my style, however I can’t deny that it’s totally well-executed and won’t solely make its homeowners very glad, it’s going to present an aspirational trim for youthful truck-buyers to work as much as. If that is your solely automobile, you will not be left wanting for something — accurately, contemplating the Limited Longhorn represents the lineup’s pinnacle.In addition to the high-cost fripperies, this Ram 1500 crew cab proves solidly succesful for employees and households. There are cubbies, drawers and different hidey-holes for each occupant. There’s a lot legroom within the again you could splay all day, and for those who want extra (or drier) storage than the mattress affords, the rear seats hinge upward, uncovering a flat flooring with trays to maintain issues from rolling round.
Git alongside, little doggies (and massive ponies)Pickup vehicles boast oodles of functionality proper out of the field, so it is no shock the Limited Longhorn would not add something past aesthetics. But its present setup is greater than ample.
My tester rocks the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 mated to a 48-volt eTorque delicate hybrid system, a $1,995 improve over the bottom 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 and only a couple hundred bucks greater than the 5.7-liter sans eTorque. A motor-generator and a small battery pack search to spice up usability, eschewing a want for monster peak torque figures and as an alternative working as a 130-pound-foot torque fill at low revs when it’s essential to, for instance, pull a ship out of the water. It additionally extends the engine’s stop-start functionality, which is easy as heat butter on this iteration. Honestly, more often than not you will not even know the system is working, which is excessive reward for any mildly electrified automobile.However, the mildness of the hybrid means it would not transfer the needle on gasoline economic system. The feds peg the 2021 Ram 1500 Limited Longhorn at 17 mpg metropolis and 22 mpg freeway with four-wheel drive, whether or not or not there’s extra electrons within the combine. Those figures aren’t too dangerous for a V8-powered metal ingot, and I’ve no downside assembly them in real-world use.Most of the time, you may by no means even know the hybrid system is working, which shall be nice information for some hybrid holdouts.
Andrew Krok/Roadshow
Since the Ram 1500’s eTorque stuff would not have an effect on peak figures, the 5.7-liter’s output stays at 395 horsepower and 410 lb-ft, which is greater than sufficient to roast the rear tires with an unladen mattress if I’m too laborious on the throttle whereas turning onto a quick street. The customary eight-speed computerized transmission is a peach, making its manner up or down the gears with ease.While the Ram 1500 Limited Longhorn could possess luxury-car ranges of inside high quality, experience high quality is a bit of more durable to match. You cannot actually conceal body-on-frame building, so even the very best of trims will nonetheless incur shudders over harsh bumps and freeway operation stays boaty-floaty, though the non-obligatory air suspension could easy a few of that out. On gently curved roads within the manifold forests of Michigan, although, the Ram is a easy operator. Visibility is sweet, however keep in mind there isn’t any getting across the absolute monstrous dimensions of contemporary crew-cab light-duty pickups: Expect near-constant vigilance, lest an errant breeze ship your fenders over the dashed white traces. The throttle and brake are tuned properly, making for mushy stops and begins that prioritize consolation.If you wish to get some Truck Stuff carried out, Ram’s more than pleased to allow you to pay extra money to make that occur. My tester contains the $995 Trailer Tow Group bundle that provides reverse steering management, path tire strain monitoring and an built-in brake controller. There’s additionally a $840 Off-Road Group bundle that throws in a locking rear axle, hill-descent management and a buttload of skid plates. Kit it out proper, and you’ll drag greater than 11,000 kilos behind you — or throw practically 2,000 kilos of no matter within the mattress.Whether you are working or not, the Limited Longhorn’s seats will hold you comfy.
Andrew Krok/Roadshow
I haven’t got a cowboy joke for techUconnect. That’s it; that is the tweet. Stellantis’ long-running infotainment system will get higher and higher with each iteration, and the story stays the identical for the 2021 Ram 1500. Its honkin’ 12-inch portrait display screen is a 12 months or two outdated now, nevertheless it’s no much less spectacular or succesful, displaying a number of pages onscreen concurrently and providing easy shortcuts between numerous corners. You may even drag and drop stuff onto the dock on the backside of the display screen, in case you are like me and wish one-touch entry to a surround-view digicam. And sure, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are each accounted for.The solely bummer is that it isn’t low cost. The 8-inch Uconnect getup is customary, however the huge boy may be optioned individually for $1,395, or it may be discovered as a part of the $3,895 Longhorn Level 1 Equipment Group bundle that additionally features a 19-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, energy working boards, ventilated rear seats, wi-fi machine charging and blind-spot monitoring. Why it isn’t customary on a $56,875 pickup truck is a query for the bean counters.Gone are the times when vehicles would present up at dealerships fully devoid of newfangled security applied sciences. Most now carry not less than some customary security techniques, and within the Ram 1500’s case, that features ahead collision warning, computerized emergency braking and parking sensors. The great things is tucked away in a $1,695 Advanced Safety Group bundle that provides full-speed adaptive cruise management, lane-keeping help, computerized parking help and a surround-view digicam system.Ram’s non-obligatory portrait display screen is a beautiful infotainment setup that makes good use of that gargantuan dashboard.
Andrew Krok/Roadshow
Down to brass tacksThe 2021 Ram 1500 most intently resembles a luxurious automobile when your eyes are pointed on the window sticker. The Limited Longhorn is the second costliest trim, beginning at $56,875. With all of the bells and whistles talked about above, its out-the-door value is a staggering $71,400 — and do not forget, virtually none of that cash goes towards boosting functionality. In reality, I’m not fairly certain the place that cash goes. Yes, the leather-based could be very fancy, however on the identical time, the window switches are unchanged from once they first appeared within the Dodge Journey years in the past.The Limited Longhorn trim leans laborious on Western aesthetics, nevertheless it’s not like that is a novel selection within the phase. The Chevy Silverado has its High Country trim, however its inside design is hella dated and feels nowhere close to as luxurious because the Ram. The Ford F-150 King Ranch has about the identical degree of over-the-top campiness. Unlike some other competitor, although, it is obtainable as a full-on hybrid and never only a delicate one.In all honesty, a whole lot of truck-buyers have their minds made up already because the tribalism concerned in choosing a light-duty pickup appears to stretch past fans. What I can say, then, is that for those who’re searching for a Ram 1500 that may function each a correct work machine and a automobile soft and fancy sufficient behind the wheel to make you’re feeling particular, the Limited Longhorn is greater than as much as the duty.
Climb within the driver’s seat for the newest automobile information and critiques, delivered to your inbox twice weekly.