2019 Ram 1500 or 2019 Ford F-150 : Which One Should You Choose?
Shopping for a three-year-old pre-owned pickup truck and wondering which one you should go for?
Looking at the best-sellers in the category is always a good place to start, so let's take a look at the 2019 model year Ford F-150 and Ram 1500. The former was in the 5th year of its generation and had ironed out some of its design flaws. However, the latter has been completely redesigned for 2019, a transformation that earned it the North American Truck of the Year award and The Car Guide's Best Buy title in the full-size pickup truck category.
“The Ram blends unparalleled ergonomics, modern design, impressive refinement and robust powertrains along with balanced performance,” wrote The Car Guide journalist Marc Lachapelle.
These honours and accolades came after the 2019 Ram 1500 took the lead in The Car Guide's comparative test, not only pitting it against the Ford F-150, but also the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, also all-new for 2019. The Ram was distinguished by its level of refinement, its powerful V8 engine and by its impeccable performance during the towing test.
In addition, the Limited version’s cabin strongly stood out when compared to the most opulent versions of its rivals. Let's not forget its eTorque mild hybridization system, which somewhat lightens the burden of the 3.6 V6 litres and the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 (optional with the latter), thus reducing consumption (by about 11% in the city).
On the other hand, the quality of its paint and exterior finish was the worst of the quartet.
The Ford F-150 finished fourth, but the gap between the Ram 1500 was only… 5%. On country roads and especially in the city, it compromised riding comfort more than the two GMs and the Ram. In terms of efficiency, it performed well compared to the V8 engines of the competition, using less fuel in city traffic, but more on the highway. That said, the reliability of this engine remains a big question mark. Even though the capacities of the 5.0-liter V8 are slightly less, it's probably wiser to opt for this one if you plan to keep the F-150 for a long period of time.
In the end, the Ram 1500 and the Ford F-150 both have great qualities. They each have their own character and each have practical or technological elements that stand out depending on what you’re looking for in a truck. Our advice? Try them out one after the other to see which model suits you best.