Gen 4 vs Gen 5

[KeithP]

July 2017: purchased a new 2017 1500 4X2 Crew Cab, 5.7 HEMI / 3:92 gears / 5’7” bed / Lone Star “Silver” package / Delmonico Red. I passed this truck on to my son in Aug 2019.

October 2019: purchased a new 2019 1500 4X2 Crew Cab, 5.7 Hemi / 3:92 gears / 5’7” bed Lone Star / Delmonico Red. The “Silver” package was not available in 2019 so did my best to match it as close as possible.

December 31 2019: drove my, now son’s 2017, for the first time since I gave it to him and....OH MY the difference. The 2017 has 38k on the odo so it’s far from worn out. The steering is much more responsive, the ride is much stiffer, the accelerator is much more responsive, the engine and road noise is much greater.

The 2019 is smoother and more quiet. The instrument cluster and 8.4 screen is more refined and simply is more aesthetically pleasing. The steering differentiation does favor the 17 in my opinion. It may be the 275/60/20 on the 17 vs the 275/55/20 on the 19, it may be the difference in suspension or a combination of both. The ride is definitely better in the 19 as is the overall quietness of the truck. I like the acceleration of the 17 better but will still give the 19 more break in time before calling that one.

I’ve driven both on long road trips now. The 17 wore me out, the 19 did not.

So Gen 4 vs Gen 5 really boils down to what your personal preference is in your truck. I’m an older guy who keeps on the asphalt 95% of the time so I favor the quiet smooth ride. I’ll keep my Gen 5. If you like the more “truck” like feel and you spend a lot of your time off asphalt or you simply like a more aggressive feel to your vehicles, you’ll probably prefer the Gen 4.

Either way; I think they are both great trucks. I don’t regret owning either. It’s just a matter of personal use and preferences.

 

[bluebeast1562]

I too went from a Gen 4 to Gen 5, 2013 to 2020. Of course the 13 was the Express vs the 20 being the Bighorn. Night and day, don't get me wrong, the 13 was a great truck, no major issues to speak of, not full of tech advancements but for the base Ram, was good for me. Now the 20, ride is about right, more tech but not to much to make it annoying.

 

[Reverse]

We currently have both a 4th gen (my former daily driver - now my wife's daily driver - 165,000 miles), and a 5th gen (my current daily driver - 1500 miles).

I like most things about the new truck. I don't really want to directly compare luxury features in them since the older one is Big Horn and the newer one is a Limited.

I do agree that the 'seat of the pants' feeling is that 4th gen is faster, although that may just be subjective since it's noisier than the 5th gen. What I do not miss is having no telescoping steering wheel, that alone is worth a lot to me. The ride in the 5th gen is much better, but is has air suspension, and the 4th gen does not. Lighter (and dampened) tailgate is nice. Don't personally care for the higher bedsides, I still think the lower bedsides on the 4th gen look better. Having a cabin air filter again is nice, I thought it was ridiculous that our Big Horn doesn't have one.

Overall, 5th gen is a definite upgrade, but I can see how some prefer to save money and get the 4th gen - it's still a good truck.

 

[19Jake]

5th gen's a definite upgrade

no contest

 

[Octane]

I too went from a Gen 4 to Gen 5, 2013 to 2020. Of course the 13 was the Express vs the 20 being the Bighorn. Night and day, don't get me wrong, the 13 was a great truck, no major issues to speak of, not full of tech advancements but for the base Ram, was good for me. Now the 20, ride is about right, more tech but not to much to make it annoying.

I have a 13 Ram express,only Ram I've ever owned and it is such a good steering,good handling truck.It surprised me since I've owned other makes and actually prefer the Ram.If I could improve it at all I would like a 3.92 antispin rearend in it instead of the 3.55.

 

[TestPilot57]

I went from a '15 Sport w/4C Air to a '20 Laramie with 4C Air and it is night and day more refined. Even with the Borla S-Type cat-back on the '20 compared to the Mufflex Magnaflow DOD18 muffler replacement on the '15 my wife says the '20 is much quieter. OK, the exhaust is DEFINITELY LOUDER, but the overall impression is that it's quieter. I believe it was Car and Drive that said they tested the G5 1500/5.7 and found it 1DB quieter than a 2018 Mercedes S-Class. That, my friends is beyond amazing, it's stupendous!

The controls are much smoother (check the rotary shift knob - the 4G was like a Harbor Freight ratchet, compared to the 5G Snap-On). Even the auto door locks - you can hardly hear them; on my 4G I could tell from inside the house when I remote started it if the sequence "took" because I'd hear the doors lock. With the 5G I have to wait to hear it actually crank.

Tailgate release - not only is it remote enabled, it's dampened. You could take it on a covert ops maneuver and the bad guys would never guess you deployed it.

The 5G v 4G is like Caddy v Chevy. Same parents, but somehow, different DNA.

 

[mikeru]

I recently traded in a 2017 Rebel for my current 2020 Laramie. Here are a few of my observations if anyone is interested:

1. Ride quality - There is really no comparison in the difference in ride quality. Admittedly, I'm comparing a Rebel with 10 ply A/T tires to a Laramie with 6 ply A/T tires. Also, the Rebel had air suspension, while the Laramie has conventional springs. Not really an apples to apples comparison, but the 5th gen just rides and drives so much better. I agree with the Caddy vs Chevy analogy. My Rebel also had a strange tendency to "wiggle" or felt loose under hard acceleration, like when passing on the highway. I got used to it over time, but it really surprised me the first time it happened. Not sure if it was the air suspension, the A/T tires, a combination of the two, or something else. The tires were aired up correctly, lug nuts were all tight, nothing loose or broken in the suspension. I never figured out what was wrong, but several others in the Rebel forums complained of the same thing. My 5th gen is rock solid under the same conditions. Solid win for the 5th gen.

2. Interior - I liked the interior my Rebel had. Seemed like mostly top quality materials, and it had good fit and finish. The seats were comfortable, but my main complaint was the vinyl they used for the seat material was too grippy, and was easily marked/abraided. The interior in my 2020 Laramie is a huge improvement. The cockpit has a "familiar feel", but is much more refined. More soft touch surfaces, more comfortable seats, better floor mats, better center console, and a much better looking dash. I also agree that even the shifter knob feels more refined. Win goes to the 5th gen.

3. Exterior - The 4th gen exteriors look great, if not slightly dated. I liked the lower bed sides. But I always thought the bed didn't quite "go" with the cab. Body lines don't really match up top. Still, it's an attractive package. I have to admit that I wasn't a fan of the 5th gens when they were first introduced. Mostly I didn't like the front end. Something about the headlights having large "cheeks" underneath looked a little goofy. But, over time the new look grew on me. I'm still not a huge fan of the front fascia, but it's much more attractive with color matched grille and bumpers. The rest of the truck is a home run for me. Calling this a tie.

4. Mechanical - Not really a lot of difference here. With the exception of the e-torque, the powertrain options are pretty much the same. I have the e-torque on my Laramie, but I disable the auto stop/start every time I start it up. The biggest difference here is the payload and towing capacity has increased on the 5th gen. I'll give the 5th gen the edge here because of that.

5. Lighting - There's really no comparison on how much better the lighting is on the 5th gen. Headlights are actually functional now. Tail lights look much more modern. And interior lighting is better as well. I have nothing good to say about the 4th gen headlights or tail lights. The interior lighting was adequate, but nothing to write home about. Advantage 5th gen.

So as you can see, I'm very satisfied with my upgrade, and have zero regrets about it.

 

[Hendrix De Leon]

I too went from 17” Sports to 2020 Laramie With Night package. I used to love the look of the 4th gen sport. For me it just looks mean. But now having the 5th with all the blacked out look, it’s growing on me fast. I feel that my 4th gen has better throttle fell than my 5th but then again , I do have a heavier truck. 5th gen def rides a lot better than my 4th. Overall it’s hard to beat the new features of the 5th. Luxury ride and interior, sluggish throttle prob easy fix with some kind of pedal commander or diablo sport.