Internal styling has greatly improved from Dodge Rams of the past. Components, trim, materials and surfaces have all exceeded past Rams. I was most impressed with the comfortable seats, although my taller friends (over 6’2”) complained about a lack of front legroom. The multi-functional center armrest is large enough to hold a small laptop in one section and just about anything else in other sections.
The beefy floor mounted gear lever/selector is a sporting touch that goes well with the character of this vehicle. It does eliminate floor space (which can be regained on other models) but it is an easy sacrifice given its feel. The 4WD system can be left in “auto” providing full time, on road traction. 4WD Auto, 4WD Lock and 4WD Low can be selected using the dash mounted rotary dial easily.
Off road driving in my tester was fairly straight forward. Unfortunately, I had the stylish 20 inch wheels with road biased rubber making serious rock-hopping ill-advised. Still, deep rutted roads, offset/off camber hills and thick mud were no problem. The HEMI’s torque pulled me out of 2 feet of watery mud bog slurry with little drama. Most notable was the ease of which the big Ram held its composure in snowy and ice covered roads. The 4WD Auto setting worked flawlessly.
In real world driving, day to day traffic and parking situations, the Dodge Ram can be a bit intimidating for the uninitiated. The driver sits extremely high and the width of the truck feels slightly exaggerated. Traffic was easy to traverse and the immediate response of the HEMI made sneaking into other lanes easy. It takes time to understand where true corners are and how much lane space the truck takes.