2009 Dodge Ram
Even though sales are slumping across the board, pickup trucks still comprise a huge part of the new vehicle market. The 2009 model year sees two all-new pickups: the perennial best-selling vehicle Ford F-150 and the upstart Dodge Ram 1500. After comprehensive drives of both, we’ve waded through the myriad combinations of equipment to see how they stack up against each other.
Style and design
2009 Dodge Ram
Style and design: Ram
Ride and handling: Ram
Towing and hauling: F-150
Price: F-150
Warranty: Ram
Base powertrain: tie
Mid-level powertrain: F-150
Premium powertrain: Ram
Ford’s design for the 2009 F-150 is a subtle, evolutionary change, incorporating some of the bold styling cues of the Super Duty lineup. The 2009 Ram, while still recognizably a Ram, takes more chances with a contemporary new look, tighter gaps for a more finished appearance and nice touches like integrated optional dual exhaust tips.
Both trucks have exceptionally nice interiors, though the Ram’s gauge cluster is easier to read and there are more innovative storage compartments. Speaking of storage, the Ram Box, with its large, lockable, dry compartments in the hard-to-use space around the wheel wells is an idea that’s been a long time coming. However, Ford’s Super Crew does have more passenger room as well as a flat-load floor.
Powertrains
Ford has gone to an all-V-8 lineup, dropping the base six-cylinder. Last year’s midrange engine, the 248-horsepower 4.6-liter V-8 with two valves per cylinder, along with four-speed automatic transmission, becomes the base powertrain. This significantly increases towing and hauling capability with the base truck but gives up 1 to 2 mpg, depending on configuration, in highway driving to the Ram’s carried-over 3.7-liter V-6.
A 4.6-liter V-8 with three valves per cylinder is the new midrange F-150 engine, adding 44 horsepower and 26 pound-feet of torque over the two-valve. Coupled with an outstanding new six-speed automatic, it’s also the basis for the SFE (for superior fuel economy) special model, which Ford projects will attain 15 mpg in the city and 21 mpg on the highway. For a standard F-150 with the 4.6-liter three-valve V-8, EPA estimates are 1 mpg better across the board than the Ram’s midlevel 4.7-liter V-8. The Dodge 4.7 does produce another 18 horsepower over the Ford 4.6-liter three-valve, but maximum trailer weights are around 1,400 to 2,000 pounds higher with the Ford when equipped with the same rear axle ratio.
Where the Ram really shines is when it’s equipped with the next-generation 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 with 390 horsepower and 407 pound-feet of torque. The Hemi has a new variable cam timing system that increases power, improves idle quality and allows it to run in four-cylinder mode longer for better fuel economy. EPA estimates make it neck and neck with Ford’s 5.4-liter three-valve V-8; only Ford 4x4 models rate 1 mpg better in the city. One caveat is that 89-octane fuel is recommended for the Hemi, while the 5.4-liter Ford calls for regular or E85.
The 5.4-liter has seen a slight power increase to 310 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque for 2009 and is bolted to that new six-speed automatic. Leveraging the two extra gears gives the 5.4-liter a more powerful launch feel when towing and higher towing capacities than 2008, while using higher (numerically lower) rear axle ratios, which in turn also improved fuel mileage.
Ride and handling
Dodge’s innovative use of a five-link coil spring rear suspension has provided a more compliant ride akin to a full-size luxury SUV, as well as sharper handling characteristics. Truck leaf spring suspensions are made to perform when loaded, so ride quality when empty always suffers. The 2009 Ram doesn’t bounce around on bumps like the typical pickup, and disconcerting wheel hop when cornering over road imperfections is greatly reduced.
To Ford’s credit, 6-inch-longer leaf springs have noticeably improved ride quality over the 2008.
Towing and hauling
By the numbers, the F-150 has significantly higher towing and hauling ratings. A look at the construction of the frames shows the F-150 has the most substantial frame of any current light-duty pickup. An impressive comparison of competitive trucks on the durability roads at Ford’s Michigan Proving Grounds proved the F-150 is the most solid feeling in extreme conditions.
While the Ram’s link coil suspension is controversial to some, towing ratings remain the same as 2008. Ford’s ratings were already higher than Dodge in ’08 and the ’09 package has brought them up even higher. Dodge says if you’re towing at the limit, you should move up to a Heavy Duty, while Ford says it is building in extra capacity for occasional use and that some F-250 buyers are coming back to F-150s.
When towing 8,000-pound trailers with the Ram and F-150, the Ford did feel more stable, though the Ram’s performance was adequate. The tow/haul mode on the F-150’s six-speed gives an instant downshift when you touch the brakes, while the Ram five-speed’s tow/haul downshift is slightly delayed. Ford calls its “more intuitive,” though we preferred the Dodge setup in this regard.
The verdict
From the beginning, Dodge predicted more than 70 percent of Rams would sell to personal use buyers, while the F-150 primarily targets work-truck customers.
Once upon a time, each brand’s pickup trucks were essentially the same, with progressively heavier duty underpinnings as the only difference between weight ratings. At some point, the manufacturers started to differentiate “light duty” from “heavy duty” lineups. The 2009 Ram 1500 is the first light duty pickup to emerge as a distinctly different product from its heavy-duty siblings. For a hardcore work vehicle, the F-150 is still tops among light-duties, but nothing beats a heavy-duty pickup for heavy hauling.
But if you’re not heavy hauling all the time, why suffer the indignities of living with a truck? With the Ram you don’t have to. Both manufacturers were thoughtful enough to provide 2008 models for comparison drives, and nobody driving an F-150 now will be disappointed with the improvements. The 2009 Ram 1500, however, is a greater leap forward and has more potential to win over new buyers.
In light of the current economic climate, the volatility of gas prices and tanking truck sales, it’s time for pickups to adapt or perish. We’ve seen the future of the light duty pickup, and that future is the 2009 Ram 1500.
VIDEO: Jill's bloopers
