If the 4.7 was a big advance over the power of your old truck, you really should have driven a Hemi.

Basically I bought my truck this past July for the same reason you mentioned: you can't get this much truck for the same price from any other manufacturer. I drove the others too - it's foolish to buy any vehicle without trying them all first.

 

It's like politics, religion or sports teams. Not everyone is going to agree. I've owned trucks from all of the Big Three, and also Toyota. They all have their good and bad qualities. Is one far better than the others? Not really. I buy what I like, and with that said, I'm on my second Ram.

 

I'm glad to see this post yielded some responses. I have to say the Dodge is growing on me. From what information I've gathered here (and also reading another Dodge forum) I think the 4.7 is a workhorse. While clearly not as powerful as the larger hemi the 4.7 when geared right, coupled with the 5 speed automatic is a very well thought out combination of engineering. Only downfall from the relatively small displacement motor is fuel mileage. The reason is the engine needs to rev to make power and thus burns more fuel while doing so. Once in top gear with the 5 speed auto if you maintain 67-72 mph (highway travelling)its actually respectable MPG's. A real breakthrough is that Dodge finally has a transmission that wont crap out prematurely as did the 2nd gen Ram's.
I'll tell you one thing I do have to question though- I was under the Dodge changing the oil whenI first got it and started just looking around the undercarriage at my "new" used vehicle. I recall seeing a batch of wires on the drivers side coming out of the lower part of the cab that were obviously factory but made me think..........Hmmm I'd feel better if these wires were encased in splitplastic sheething like GM's. I guess its not a problem but its not what I'm used to. What I'm really saying is I don't TRUST the Dodge yet. If it remains as good as its been for the 2000+ miles I have it so far than I will be ready to settle in for a long term(5 years?)with the truck. So far all is very good. BTW the stockexhaust note is very nice. I heard it from outside the truckwhen my friend pulled it out of my driveway this afternoon. Definetly gets the testoterone and grin level up.

 

ford trucks looks nice but that's about it. I'm not a big brand specific guy I buy waht I think looks good and has what I want. for me that's dodge. I think the dodge trucks look the best and they have the options that I want. good engine choices with standard shift, which ford and chevy and toyota and nissan do not have at all. chevy is the only other to offer stick in a half ton but it's with a v6 that is a pure dog. so that's why I like dodge. IMO you can get a vehicle from any company and it could be a complete POS. some are just that way. although rarely does it seem that one company makes just complete garbage. I could buy an f150 and it coudl be the best truck ever and then buy a dodge and perhaps it would be terrible. you never know buying a vehicle is a huge crap shoot. ever wonder what happens if the guy building engines at ford or chrysler or chevy factory is having a bad day lol. you'd be muffed from the get go.