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Truck owners are some of the most loyal auto enthusiasts out there. Consumers who buy trucks tend to be loyal to the brand, and Ram owners are no different. In fact, the Ram brand has been moving upward in recent years, with experts and consumers alike paying more attention to the redesigned and updated truck.

In a recent survey, Ram owners were asked to rank the best things about their trucks. The results were unexpected, though. One of the things that Ram owners ranked lower was something that the experts ranked much higher.

Front angle view of new silver 2023 Ram 1500 TRX pickup truck, highlighting how much a fully loaded one costs
2023 Ram 1500 TRX | Ram

Ram owners were asked to rank their truck in 10 categories

Ram owners were given 10 categories and were asked to rank them according to what they liked best about their truck. According to JD Power, Ram owners overwhelmingly loved the exterior styling of their truck. Following that was driving feel and powertrain.

In 2020, Ram brought back the EcoDiesel engine option, which brought gas mileage up from 17 mpg to about 25 mpg. Fuel mileage was the thing that ranked lowest on the list, and it looks like Ram listened to their consumers on this one.

As a whole, Ram owners placed interior styling in fourth place, despite Ram having redesigned or upgraded many parts of the interior.

Experts placed interior styling of the Ram much higher, and raved over the design of the cab. There’s an obvious disconnect between the experts’ ranking and what the owners like best about their truck.

What do the experts say about the Ram 1500’s interior?

JD Power called the 2022 Ram 1500 with the Limited 10th Anniversary Edition interior package “one of the best.” Both front and rear seats are heated. The seats themselves are wide and comfortable, with “excellent overall support” and lots of legroom.

For the rest of the interior, there’s quilted leather, metal pedal covers, and a 19-speaker surround-sound Harman Kardon system. Ram goes all out with a faux suede headliner and even a bejeweled shift knob.

In 2022, all Ram trucks, except for one, came with a new Uconnect infotainment system. This system can connect to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto wirelessly, but also has features and settings that are well worth the time to get to know. For example, that includes options like automatically deploying the power running boards.

The infotainment system ranked ninth for Ram owners, but the recent changes may bring it up the list. The crew cab even offers additional storage, with Ram Bins underneath the rear floor mats.

Overall, it’s a massively appealing interior on an already eye-catching truck.

There might be a simple explanation for the disconnect

So why the disconnect? There may be a simple explanation for it. Ram owners, by and large, didn’t spring for the more luxurious trims. Most of the surveyed owners didn’t have the more luxurious trims, this means they might not have had access to some of the more upscale amenities.

Ram owners ranked their trucks high on powertrain and drive feel, along with exterior styling. It could be that Ram owners were looking more for a working truck, and didn’t want to spring for interior detail that they didn’t need. Nearly 90% of Ram buyers were male, and the average age was 56.

The truck that was tested came to about $77,000. JD Power points out that the average owner likely didn’t spring for those upgrades in part because, at the time the truck was bought, the Ram was still producing its previous generation Ram 1500. Those except for the most recent Ram owners who opted for all the upgrades wouldn’t have had the tested interior.

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