Sure, it's a little dirty today, but the Ram's interior is wearing well given its mileage. At more than 28,000 miles it's driver's seat bolster shows no wear. Because of the Ram's height I drag my backside over this bolster every time I get it or out. And I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Other areas are doing well, too.
The driver's-side window switches look and function as new. Again, not an area I'd expect wear, but they serve as another example of quality from a manufacturer who has let us down significantly in the recent past.
Overall, the Ram's interior is remarkably tight and durable. With the exception of the few places where we've simply neglected it, it looks new (or if could if it were clean).
Go home team!
Josh Jacquot, Senior road test editor
wrinklebump says:
03:22 PM, 05/17/10
Seems like IL has liked the past few Dodges, the Caravan notwithstanding. Ram, Challenger, Magnum all got pretty good reviews.
firstwagon says:
03:57 PM, 05/17/10
Looking through the posts, nothing serious went wrong with the Caravan either. At least not compared to certain other long term test cars
I think Dodges problem is more that some of the products feel cheap and low quality... more so then they actually are.
wrinklebump says:
04:11 PM, 05/17/10
Yeah now that I look at some of those posts, it seemed pretty reliable, just not that well bolted-together.
felonious says:
04:22 PM, 05/17/10
Since getting my Flex, I've been thinking about the interiors of American cars. It seems to me that they forgo all-out luxury and exotic materials in favor of something that will last a long time with little to no "wear and tear". So while the initial quality may not be on par with the Germans, it should hold up better over the long term. This is my opinion, based on my own observations - I own an Audi and two Fords.
wrinklebump says:
04:56 PM, 05/17/10
Modern American cars, maybe, but cars of 80s and 90s vintage, no. Those cars had cheap interior materials because GM, Ford and Chrysler didn't like the idea of forking over a few extra bucks per unit to make sure the A/C knobs didn't fall off.
A lot of enthusiasts that favor imports tend to disparage American cars based on that quality alone. The perceived quality gap has long been based on hard plastics.
Many of those cars weren't unreliable, just cheap. I drove a 1984 LeBaron without the reverse gear throughout high school, and the entire interior fell apart, yes, but it got me to where I wanted to. Unless I needed to go to a point directly behind me.
wrinklebump says:
05:01 PM, 05/17/10
I mean, just compare a the most expensive 1999 anything of American make to something like this: http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/ctd/1745224507.html
The Beamers' interior isn't much to look at design-wise but all the switchgear is intact, the leather looks great, the paint hasn't rusted off; it's a beautiful car. Only very recently has the big 3 produced anything at that price point remotely as well-put together.
bodyblue says:
05:30 PM, 05/17/10
Far better than the lowly Silverado. I am willing to bet that if IL got a new DGC it would be a lot better than the previous one. My buddy at work has a 2009 Avenger R/T with 3.5 V6 and it has been flawless so far. For how terrible they supposedly are, it is really a pretty nice car. It has two tone leather, nav and Boston sound all for about 21K with rebate. It looks sharp and has plenty of power. The 4 banger Sebring and Avenger are not as nice but still a lot better than they are given credit for.
zcalvert says:
06:07 PM, 05/17/10
the trick is going to be for Chrysler to stick with it and continue to build stuff like the challenger and ram that fulfill their intended rolls effectively and hold up well. there's always a lag between actual product quality and the perception of a brand by the non-enthusiast public. it seems ford has rounded that corner; hopefully chrysler can follow.
linard says:
05:10 AM, 05/18/10
The interesting thing is, while I never thought Daimler shared interior parts with Chrysler, this proves me wrong. This window/mirror pod is very much the same one (albeit less flashy and pretty) as the unit Mercedes puts it in a few of it's cars.
1487 says:
06:17 AM, 05/18/10
Chrysler's "low quality" is more about interior materials than reliability. The vehicles that have been in the IL LT fleet have been very reliable. Chrysler makes mediocre vehicles with hard plastics and they get roasted by the press. Toyota/Honda does the same and they get free passes all day long. Sit in a Pilot and then in a Chrysler vehicle and you wont find any substantive difference in ambiance or quality.
audisport says:
06:32 AM, 05/18/10
The bolsters are made out of vinyl. That's why they last. I think that it's a good tradeoff to leather for durability reasons.
jeepsrt says:
08:34 AM, 05/18/10
@audisport
If anything the bolsters are the leather and the seat pad is viny. I have 20k miles on my Jeep and while there are some wrinkles on the leather it has held up very well. I use lexol every couple of months and think that helps a lot. As for quality I agree with others that the materials look cheap but hold up well, my Toyota FJ has cuts and scratches everywhere while the Jeep is pretty durable.