Moving from BMW M4 back to Ram Sport 1500...'18 (with discounts) vs '19?

[Patrick B]

Okay, so this is about my second post on here, and I'm literally torn in the direction to go.

I've had my 2016 BMW M4 for about 2.5 years, and while it's an awesome car, I really never get the chance to enjoy it the way it's meant to be driven (it's basically my daily driver / commuter, rarely go to the track, etc). My wife isn't thrilled with it, since it's low, uncomfortable, loud, cramped, etc.

So I've been looking at picking up a truck for about 6 months now. Looked at the Raptor, but even at MSRP in Canada, they're just past the $90K mark optioned up the way I'd want it. And yes, I did spend that much on my M4 (about $94K), I'm thinking the days of me spending $90K+ on a vehicle are behind me (getting closer to retirement age....slowly).

Also, I've generally been a Dodge / RAM fan, as I've had several Dodge pickups in my lifetime (along with one F-250 and one Chevy).

Here's my debate. The current deals on 2018's in-stock are pretty good in Canada....up to 25% off MSRP, 1-year of maintenance (1 or 2 oil changes...no big deal), and of course, immediate delivery.

Or, do I wait for the 2019s, which have US pricing but no Canadian pricing currently, and likely no discounts anytime soon (along with late availability on some items, such as e-Torque, and the RAM Boxes).

Or do I just keep my M4 and use my wife's Ford Escape to haul anything around.



Patrick

 

[Eightd21]

You could opt to lease an '18 then get into a 5th gen in 2020 or 2021. I'm not sure about Canadian rebates, but in the states there are currently some great rebates and incentives on '18s.
I assume it'd be similar up there, as they're also likely trying to move their inventory of 18s.

Though, there are a lot more new niceties and safety features on the 2019s. That's worth bearing in mind. I also don't think you'd manage to get anywhere near $90k, even in Canada, for a 1500.

 

[joeygster]

I'd hold out for the new 5th Gen but get the 2020 model once things settle down a bit with the new model (lack of incentives etc) and let them work out any of the kinks you always get in the first year of a new model.

You either get a bit more fun & mileage out of the M4 or like Eightd21 said you could lease a 2018 for 2-3 years then flip into the new generation model.

 

[TruckNut]

M4 is nice and a Ram won't ever scratch that itch, but in a straight line they're fun to drive . You know; Canada, here, wherever you buy, the dealers are going to be "enjoying" their time in the sun with the new latest and greatest '19. And, you can bet they'll be mighty proud of it. You could wait 'til the '20 models come out. The Escape? It will do a lot, but it's not a truck if you happen to need a working hauler. That said, the deals will flat out be better on the 2018's, and either interior would win your wife over. These are comfortable luxurious trucks. Other than the e-torque system which is not currently available (read: still testing), you're getting the same Hemi V8 and an updated ZF 8 speed. Current one is a gem. So how much do you want the new style and 4 "?? But get rid of the M4? Maybe you can talk her into the truck and a cheap used Mini, ha ha. Good luck.

 

[Pull Ya]

This might sound really dumb, but bear with me for a minute. Do you park in a garage at home? The reason I ask is that the 19 models are 4" longer than the 18's. While that may not seem like a lot, it would make the difference in my garage as to whether I park inside or outside----and outside ain't never going to happen. My 16 Sports barely fits so if you add another 4" it won't fit. Just something else to think about----
Jay

 

[Patrick B]

This might sound really dumb, but bear with me for a minute. Do you park in a garage at home? The reason I ask is that the 19 models are 4" longer than the 18's. While that may not seem like a lot, it would make the difference in my garage as to whether I park inside or outside----and outside ain't never going to happen. My 16 Sports barely fits so if you add another 4" it won't fit. Just something else to think about----
Jay

No garage at home....both the M4 and Escape live outdoors year-round, so garage fitment isn’t an issue.

M4 is nice and a Ram won't ever scratch that itch, but in a straight line they're fun to drive . You know; Canada, here, wherever you buy, the dealers are going to be "enjoying" their time in the sun with the new latest and greatest '19. And, you can bet they'll be mighty proud of it. You could wait 'til the '20 models come out. The Escape? It will do a lot, but it's not a truck if you happen to need a working hauler. That said, the deals will flat out be better on the 2018's, and either interior would win your wife over. These are comfortable luxurious trucks. Other than the e-torque system which is not currently available (read: still testing), you're getting the same Hemi V8 and an updated ZF 8 speed. Current one is a gem. So how much do you want the new style and 4 "?? But get rid of the M4? Maybe you can talk her into the truck and a cheap used Mini, ha ha. Good luck.

That’s one of the thoughts I’ve been having, but honestly the itch that the M4 scratches is one that’s likely to get me arrested. Seriously though, it’s a wickedly fun car, but from a practical perspective it’s not terribly useful.

My inclination is similar to yours, in that I’m thinking of picking up a heavily discounted ‘18, and having some money to modify it a little (or a lot), and then look at a used toy sports car in a few years. Maybe a 10 year old Aston Martin Vantage or something like that....

My wife came for a test drive with me yesterday on the 2018 I’m looking at (Hydro Blue Sport), and she liked the truck quite a bit....much more so than my M4. And even myself, as a die-hard BMW fan, the interior of the 2018 Ram is pretty good, and extremely comfortable (again, more than my M4).

It sounds like the ‘19s are going to remain pricey and not worth the price delta for a couple of years (as a brand new model, I was also thinking about version 1.0 bugs...leaking pano roofs, buggy software in the 12.0 UConnect, whatever may come up). FCA has not had the greatest reputation for build quality lately, though to be honest, neither has Ford (another factor that pushed me away from the Raptor).


Patrick

 

[raggdoll]

I sure miss my Vette's, had a few Z's, coupes and roadsters. Hope to get back into one for a summer car, but right now enjoying my 18 Sport.

 

[Patrick B]

I sure miss my Vette's, had a few Z's, coupes and roadsters. Hope to get back into one for a summer car, but right now enjoying my 18 Sport.

Okay, so this is a question that’s appropriate to ask then. What made you switch from a Vette (or Z-car, which I honestly looked at as well prior to the M4) to the Ram?

Any regrets in the Ram as a daily driver vs a sports car?


Patrick

 

[Jeff CA]

I would buy an 18 since, as mentioned, they are around 25% off, and 19s will be near sticker. There are no revolutionary changes to the 19s that warrant a ~$20k net premium price. Although the 4" longer WB wouldn't create any garaging issues for you, it would manifest itself during u-turns and other sharp turns.

Another minus with 19s is that unless you scrutinize the order sheet, you will wind up with smaller diameter tires than 4th gens. Example: the "upgraded" off road package comes with 32" tires, not 33", the way most Rams come today. This is a trick to increase aerodynamics and fuel mileage. If I were worried about those, I'd buy a Prius!

The powertrains are essentially carryover, which is the final nail in the coffin for me to not buy a 19.

I owned an open track Mustang, and my Laramie has been my favorite vehicle I've owned, because it can do it all! You will love a Ram coming from an M4.

 

[mohemipar]

If it were me I would either get an ‘18 on big discount or wait for 2020. 2020 will be the second MY, so some bugs will get worked out if there are any. And by 2020 the discounts will start to ramp up again. If you and your wife liked the interior of the ’18 then you would love the new 5th gen. I wouldn’t be afraid to say the new Limited/Longhorn interiors would make your M4 blush. Even the lower trims like Big Horn have been improved. Laramie is much nicer. The 1500 ride quality is very nice, and I have heard the 5th gen is even better than the 4th believe it or not. If I were you I wouldn’t rush into anything, but check out both the 4th gen and 5th gen trucks. Test drive both and think about long term plans, which it seems like you are already doing.


I have a 392 Charger and Ram 2500. While the Charger isn’t an M4 it is monstrously fast and handles better than people think. The Ram in comparison is of course much different, but it’s not as bad as you’d think lol. Bottom line is, neither one can scratch the itch of the other (if that makes sense) unfortunately. The Ram is certainly not slow but not even close to the Charger. And the Charger is just SO easy to drive, park and maneuver around. But in the Ram you feel like you can do anything, you can see over everyone except the big trucks, you can pull down a building with it if you wanted, drive through a small swamp and then stop at Home Depot and buy a bunch of ****, toss it in the bed then still stop at a restaurant on the way back and never care about any of it. Having big tires on the truck is very nice with all the potholes around here. Some holes that would otherwise swallow an entire car tire don’t even phase my truck.


I would go into it knowing that the Ram is never going to give you the same “exhilarating” feeling you get with the Bimmer or any performance car. But you will get a lot of things with the Ram that the M4 cant give you.


Personally, daily driving an M4 would give me anxiety. Even the Charger makes me worry from time to time and it is a much cheaper vehicle.


Not sure if it is a Ram or nothing, but you could also consider looking into the SRT Jeeps or SRT Durango. Then you get more truck-like attributes plus damn good performance. Just a thought. Will be more expensive than a Ram though.

 

[Reddington]

I came from an S4 to my RAM. Much for the same reasons as you - with 2 kids the S4 just got small and cramped. The S4 is a wonderful automobile to drive and honestly, living in WNY, might be the best one package car out there right now. Especially with the manual transmission - I loved it. But right now, it was not the right vehicle. I would grab an 18 and wait a year or 2 on the new one. The 18's should be about perfect and like you said, discounted heavily.

 

[bbdmac]

I have to agree with others. I have an 18 Tungsten Limited that I drive in the winter months as a daily driver and I have to walk past my 16 Z06 vette each day when passing through my garage. As much as I love my new Limited and all it's features I definitely miss driving the Z06 and can't wait for the roads to clear up to get it out there. The bottom line is that they both have their uses and I'm sure you'll miss that M4 when it's gone. But as everyone else said, I'd wait on the 19 and grab the discount on the 18 model before they're gone.

 

[Patrick B]

I have to agree with others. I have an 18 Tungsten Limited that I drive in the winter months as a daily driver and I have to walk past my 16 Z06 vette each day when passing through my garage. As much as I love my new Limited and all it's features I definitely miss driving the Z06 and can't wait for the roads to clear up to get it out there. The bottom line is that they both have their uses and I'm sure you'll miss that M4 when it's gone. But as everyone else said, I'd wait on the 19 and grab the discount on the 18 model before they're gone.

I’m sure I’ll miss the M4 on days when I feel like corner carving, but I did neglect to mention that my preferred summer toy is my ‘13 HD CVO Ultra Classic. Given the choice on a sunny day between a rip in the car and a ride on the bike, I’ll take the bike every time.

And in the winter, I’m pretty confident that the Ram is a better vehicle than the M4. Due to the remote start, if nothing else.

 

[Patrick B]

If it were me I would either get an ‘18 on big discount or wait for 2020. 2020 will be the second MY, so some bugs will get worked out if there are any. And by 2020 the discounts will start to ramp up again. If you and your wife liked the interior of the ’18 then you would love the new 5th gen. I wouldn’t be afraid to say the new Limited/Longhorn interiors would make your M4 blush. Even the lower trims like Big Horn have been improved. Laramie is much nicer. The 1500 ride quality is very nice, and I have heard the 5th gen is even better than the 4th believe it or not. If I were you I wouldn’t rush into anything, but check out both the 4th gen and 5th gen trucks. Test drive both and think about long term plans, which it seems like you are already doing.


I have a 392 Charger and Ram 2500. While the Charger isn’t an M4 it is monstrously fast and handles better than people think. The Ram in comparison is of course much different, but it’s not as bad as you’d think lol. Bottom line is, neither one can scratch the itch of the other (if that makes sense) unfortunately. The Ram is certainly not slow but not even close to the Charger. And the Charger is just SO easy to drive, park and maneuver around. But in the Ram you feel like you can do anything, you can see over everyone except the big trucks, you can pull down a building with it if you wanted, drive through a small swamp and then stop at Home Depot and buy a bunch of ****, toss it in the bed then still stop at a restaurant on the way back and never care about any of it. Having big tires on the truck is very nice with all the potholes around here. Some holes that would otherwise swallow an entire car tire don’t even phase my truck.


I would go into it knowing that the Ram is never going to give you the same “exhilarating” feeling you get with the Bimmer or any performance car. But you will get a lot of things with the Ram that the M4 cant give you.


Personally, daily driving an M4 would give me anxiety. Even the Charger makes me worry from time to time and it is a much cheaper vehicle.


Not sure if it is a Ram or nothing, but you could also consider looking into the SRT Jeeps or SRT Durango. Then you get more truck-like attributes plus damn good performance. Just a thought. Will be more expensive than a Ram though.

Surprisingly, the only anxieties that I have with the M4 on a daily basis are that I’m going to gronch the front splitter (carbon fibre) parking it one day, or that I’m going to get busted driving it “enthusiastically” one day leaving the office.

As to the SRT JGC, I had a ‘14 just prior to the M4. Honestly a near 500 HP SUV just didn’t do it for me, and I drove it for 2 full years. Sucked in the winter (proper winter tires vs all-seasons would have solved most of this), and the throttle pedal was the laziest I’ve ever had. It felt more like a laggy turbocharged motor than a big V8. I suspect a Pedal Commander might have fixed this, but I wasn’t aware of them at the time.

It was nicely equipped, but I think if I did a JGC or Durango again, I’d go for an Overland or Limited trim instead. The SRT had no off-road ability, and 500 HP is largely wasted in an SUV. Good looking machine though....still think it’s one of the best looking SUVs on the road. I did like the interior of the SRT JGC quite a bit, which is why I also like the ‘18 RAM 1500. U-Connect seems to be more responsive now...it was horrendously buggy and slow on my SRT. The adaptive cruise control was awesome though.



Patrick

 

[mohemipar]

Surprisingly, the only anxieties that I have with the M4 on a daily basis are that I’m going to gronch the front splitter (carbon fibre) parking it one day, or that I’m going to get busted driving it “enthusiastically” one day leaving the office.

As to the SRT JGC, I had a ‘14 just prior to the M4. Honestly a near 500 HP SUV just didn’t do it for me, and I drove it for 2 full years. Sucked in the winter (proper winter tires vs all-seasons would have solved most of this), and the throttle pedal was the laziest I’ve ever had. It felt more like a laggy turbocharged motor than a big V8. I suspect a Pedal Commander might have fixed this, but I wasn’t aware of them at the time.

It was nicely equipped, but I think if I did a JGC or Durango again, I’d go for an Overland or Limited trim instead. The SRT had no off-road ability, and 500 HP is largely wasted in an SUV. Good looking machine though....still think it’s one of the best looking SUVs on the road. I did like the interior of the SRT JGC quite a bit, which is why I also like the ‘18 RAM 1500. U-Connect seems to be more responsive now...it was horrendously buggy and slow on my SRT. The adaptive cruise control was awesome though.



Patrick

Yeah I hear you. I try to save the “enthusiastic” driving for the country roads. But even just yesterday in the out skirts of town I still came up on a patrol car at a stop sign. It happens. A few hundred yards before this I may have been having some fun in the go-fast modes and the Hemi may have been roaring through the farm land, disturbing the quiet of mother nature.. Luckily I always slow down and roll up to this stop sign very calm. He takes his turn slowly and I could tell he was just watching me in his rear view mirror to see if I’d do anything stupid lol. Don’t worry sir, I see you and am not completely retarded.

Don’t damage that splitter, I could only imagine the price of an OEM replacement lol. Those M4’s are very cool though. I loved the look of the F80 M3 when it came out.

The Jeeps are heavy. And the stock tires do blow in bad weather. I think they may have since updated the throttle programming on the SUV’s. I drove a new Durango 392 and it felt very snappy, especially in sport mode. A lot like the Charger. But you do feel the weight more than in the car. Traction right out of the hole is great though.

17+ has the new UConnect 4C, which is much improved. It is much faster to load and the screen has been updated with crystal clear graphics. I have so far experienced zero bugs or issues with the one in my Charger.

I also love the look of the Jeep GC. Hope they don’t change it a lot on the next gen. If I was looking for just a good all-around SUV I would love a 5.7 Overland. Will also be interesting to see the upcoming Wagoneer. Should be a nice Tahoe competitor.

 

[NapaRam]

I say get the 18 with the discounts I haven't seen much in the 19's to warrant the extra cost versus the 18's at this point. If it's in your budget those Tungesten Limited Models are pretty darn nice!

 

[rotwiler]

I have a camaro ss with 500+ HP and tons of suspension mods, rides like it is on rails, but rarely even drive it. Love driving my 13 Ram.

 

[TerraNewf]

Have to agree with most here, get the 18 and wait a couple years for the 5th gens

 

[Patrick B]

So I pulled the trigger, and traded in my M4 for an '18 Ram 1500 Sport (Hydro Blue) 4WD, with a few dealer installed accessories. It's only been 24 hours thus far, but here are a few of my thoughts on the RAM vs the BMW.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the move. The RAM is surprisingly more comfortable (tons of space, seating position is better, view of the road is vastly superior) than the M4. That being said, the fit and finish on the RAM isn't as good as the BMW (perhaps a Limited Tungsten would be comparable, but I wanted basically a straight trade between my M4 and the RAM, and the Sport was equipped as I wanted it).

Drive-ability is pretty good, and while parking will take some time to get used to, I also like not having to worry about gronching the carbon-fibre splitter on my M4 entering every parking lot. And despite the massive size, with 4 doors it's much easier to get in and out of compared to the 2-door M4 (with fairly heavy doors). I ordered a Pedal Commander, but so far it hasn't felt like a terribly lazy throttle like I had on my JGC SRT ('14). Yeah, it doesn't have the punch of the M4, but it's not slow getting onto the highway, and if I drove the M4 the way it should be driven, it's a recipe for an expensive court date.

Tons of storage in the RAM, though this is also where fit and finish fall down compared to the BMW (again, as expected, but just a symptom of the class of vehicles). The plasticy, rubbery liners in various storage pockets don't fit perfectly, and in general the construction of storage bins doesn't have the same solid feeling that the BMW did. The heated seats are not as good as on the BMW, and neither is the steering wheel. They're okay, but the BMW did have better heated seats and steering wheel.

Voice recognition in the RAM is vastly superior to the BMW. I could never get my BMW to use voice navigation, even after 2+ years. First try with the RAM and it just worked as it should. I also like the UConnect 4C Nav system better....showing areas of interest off the current route (ie, needing fuel, restaurants, places to see, hotels, etc). That's convenient, and I like that quite a bit.

Obviously I haven't taken my RAM on a long road-trip so far, but I expect it will be quite a bit more comfortable than the M4 was. I never had any complaints about the BMW on a road trip, but I did feel the need to stretch my legs after 3 or 4 hours of driving, which did coincide with a good restroom stop anyway. The RAM just feels like I could drive until the tank is empty, and only stop then. We'll see after the first roadtrip.

Headlights need to get fixed. The projector beams in the '18 RAM are not great. The M4 had fantastic headlights, and seeing at night was easy (auto-dimming, anti-dazzle etc all worked fantastically, and incredibly bright LED lamps). I'm thinking an upgrade to LEDs or HIDs will be required for headlights and fog lights sooner rather than later.

Other than that, I'm putting a tonneau cover on this week, and getting the paint ceramic coated next week (and it will get Krown'd before winter). I may also look into a front camera for the truck as well....need to see what's involved with that.



Patrick

 

[TruckNut]

Like the color....congrats on your new toy! Nice looking rig. How does it handle compared to a non modified Ram? Those tires look meaty, and the lift with all black looks great. See why you jumped. I just traded my 2WD Sport and couldn't find a 4WD equipped the way I wanted, so I grabbed a Laramie, but I still really love the looks of the Sport. Too bad they eliminated the model for 2019. From now on it will just be a trim package.