Hans Gruber
Member
- Joined
- May 22, 2016
- Posts
- 53
- Reaction score
- 21
- Ram Year
- 2015
- Engine
- 5.7
A little over a year ago I bought a 2015 RAM 1500 express QC 4x4.
A year in, I am very happy with this truck.
It's my first truck, so I will address a concern prospective buyers might have who are reluctant to upgrade to a fullsize truck. Driving around in traffic and on the highway the vehicle doesn't feel big or unwieldy. The big adjustment is in parking. The length of the vehicle and relatively poor turning radius compared to a sedan or coupe makes it substantially more difficult to park. But in larger lots it's easy enough. Where you are going to experience some growing pains is cramped covered parking or street parking. That's probably the biggest drawback to a truck but otherwise I don't think most drivers new to a bigger vehicle will experience much difficulty, provided they are not urbanites.
Gas mileage is slightly better than expected and stated. For the Hemi, I probably get slightly better than stated MPG for the city (15 to 17) and maybe 1 or 2 better for highway (22 or 23). If in a flat area and coast around 65 MPH, I can achieve 25 MPG or more. I've got a snugtop shell but I didn't really notice a difference in MPG from no shell. But I think I did experience a slight uptick in MPG (maybe 1 MPG) after the first 5K miles or so if new buyers are wondering if engine break-in affects mileage.
The 8 speed pared with the Hemi is a dream to drive and I have no complaints whatsoever with this powertrain. Shifts smooth and both are responsive. The Hemi sound is fantastic on the stock dual exhaust. The transmission does "learn" your driving habits so if you put around most of the time the throttle response will be a little more sluggish. Wouldn't say this is a negative, however.
I have experienced no oil consumption with the synthetic blend but when I had dealer put in full synthetic I did experience some noticeable oil consumption (1/2 quarter maybe every 3K or so). I'm not sure why this happened but I just reverted to the standard synthetic blend and the Hemi has consumed no more oil.
The cabin is quiet and one year and 15,000 miles later I don't have any complaints about rattles. In very cold weather there seems to be rattle or two but that goes away when cabin warms up. My seat does have an annoying squeak but (again) only within a temperature range (40-55 or so). I've got the cheap express interior but after one year it's holding up well and it's very comfortable. My only complaint is the squeak in the seat.
The ride is very comfortable and smooth. Luxury-like. Friends and family comment about it all the time. And, as I said, road noise is very low. I've gone on a couple 1K+ driving runs and it's the best roadtrip vehicle I've owned.
I know some people have commented about paint problems (bumps caused by painting with dust or other contaminants) but I actually have something positive to say in this respect. The paint has held up very well and I have no chips whatsoever after one year and 15,000 miles. This might seem unexceptional but I have owned several recent vehicles that have had very soft, brittle paint, which is attributed to new "green" standards requiring water-based paint. I've been pleased the RAM paint is holding up very well so far.
A did notice a few quirks. After I bought the truck I noticed the drive shaft was full of rust. This is normal but it's a little alarming if you don't know it. It's just unpainted steel and it gets full surface rust immediately. Don't fret about this. I think 4x2 models have an aluminum drive shaft so you won't see this on those models. I also noticed that my bed seemed a little off center. It was almost flush with the passenger side but was a little offset on the driver's side. I've read some customers say that dealers claim this is intentional to reduce road noise from driver's side. Regardless if this is true or not, if you notice this on your truck don't worry, it's not unusual in the least.
Just some thoughts, would love to hear more from others.
A year in, I am very happy with this truck.
It's my first truck, so I will address a concern prospective buyers might have who are reluctant to upgrade to a fullsize truck. Driving around in traffic and on the highway the vehicle doesn't feel big or unwieldy. The big adjustment is in parking. The length of the vehicle and relatively poor turning radius compared to a sedan or coupe makes it substantially more difficult to park. But in larger lots it's easy enough. Where you are going to experience some growing pains is cramped covered parking or street parking. That's probably the biggest drawback to a truck but otherwise I don't think most drivers new to a bigger vehicle will experience much difficulty, provided they are not urbanites.
Gas mileage is slightly better than expected and stated. For the Hemi, I probably get slightly better than stated MPG for the city (15 to 17) and maybe 1 or 2 better for highway (22 or 23). If in a flat area and coast around 65 MPH, I can achieve 25 MPG or more. I've got a snugtop shell but I didn't really notice a difference in MPG from no shell. But I think I did experience a slight uptick in MPG (maybe 1 MPG) after the first 5K miles or so if new buyers are wondering if engine break-in affects mileage.
The 8 speed pared with the Hemi is a dream to drive and I have no complaints whatsoever with this powertrain. Shifts smooth and both are responsive. The Hemi sound is fantastic on the stock dual exhaust. The transmission does "learn" your driving habits so if you put around most of the time the throttle response will be a little more sluggish. Wouldn't say this is a negative, however.
I have experienced no oil consumption with the synthetic blend but when I had dealer put in full synthetic I did experience some noticeable oil consumption (1/2 quarter maybe every 3K or so). I'm not sure why this happened but I just reverted to the standard synthetic blend and the Hemi has consumed no more oil.
The cabin is quiet and one year and 15,000 miles later I don't have any complaints about rattles. In very cold weather there seems to be rattle or two but that goes away when cabin warms up. My seat does have an annoying squeak but (again) only within a temperature range (40-55 or so). I've got the cheap express interior but after one year it's holding up well and it's very comfortable. My only complaint is the squeak in the seat.
The ride is very comfortable and smooth. Luxury-like. Friends and family comment about it all the time. And, as I said, road noise is very low. I've gone on a couple 1K+ driving runs and it's the best roadtrip vehicle I've owned.
I know some people have commented about paint problems (bumps caused by painting with dust or other contaminants) but I actually have something positive to say in this respect. The paint has held up very well and I have no chips whatsoever after one year and 15,000 miles. This might seem unexceptional but I have owned several recent vehicles that have had very soft, brittle paint, which is attributed to new "green" standards requiring water-based paint. I've been pleased the RAM paint is holding up very well so far.
A did notice a few quirks. After I bought the truck I noticed the drive shaft was full of rust. This is normal but it's a little alarming if you don't know it. It's just unpainted steel and it gets full surface rust immediately. Don't fret about this. I think 4x2 models have an aluminum drive shaft so you won't see this on those models. I also noticed that my bed seemed a little off center. It was almost flush with the passenger side but was a little offset on the driver's side. I've read some customers say that dealers claim this is intentional to reduce road noise from driver's side. Regardless if this is true or not, if you notice this on your truck don't worry, it's not unusual in the least.
Just some thoughts, would love to hear more from others.
