For a Texas girl like me, the Lonestar package and this Patriotic Blue are a match made in heaven. (Photo by Erica Mueller)
A new vehicle is like a new relationship. For the first couple of weeks, you are so infatuated the truck can do no wrong, have no flaws and is utterly perfect in every way. But you know over time you’re going to find things that bug you, or options you wish you had. So after a month of being a Ram 1500 EcoDiesel owner, I think I’m ready to share a few of the things I absolutely love as well as some things I’d change the next time around.
Yes, I’m still in love with the way it looks, and I wouldn’t change a thing about the Lonestar appearance package. My biggest issue right now is wanting to buy all of the cool-looking accessories Mopar offers and having to pass up all the cool mod shops because I don’t have a 4×4.
In short, the two-wheel drive truck is saving me a lot of money.
Real-life fuel economy in the 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel has been a little less than advertised, but still better than a lot of midsize SUVs on the market and easily beats any full-size SUV. We’re averaging 24-27 MPG driving back and forth to town. We have a 25-mile commute to get anywhere local, and my husband has been using the truck to drive a couple of hundred miles a week to jobs in other towns. We haven’t really tested true highway fuel economy yet — in fact, I don’t know that this truck has ever driven on an interstate.
A week after we bought this truck, we had a loaner to drive. This particular model was one my husband had wanted to buy, but he had compromised a bit so I could get the truck I really wanted. After driving both of them back to back, he announced that he liked the 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel better than the other light-duty truck, and he was glad we had bought this one. In his words: “This truck definitely feels bigger and more capable.”
We are already scheduled for our first oil change, thanks to the proactive Ram Care team at our local dealership. We’ve put about 4,500 miles on the truck since we bought it and we are looking forward to our first experience with Ram Care. The truck had a small paint chip when we bought it, so we’ll be having the team take a look at that and scheduling a time to get that fixed, too.
I am so glad our truck came with a spray-in bed liner and tinted windows. These things were not in the listing or included in the listing price. They were a bit of a surprise to us when we checked out at the dealership, and at the time I was irked to be forced to pay for something I hadn’t planned to pay for. I would have added these things soon myself so having them already there has been nice. The kids benefit from the tinted windows, and my truck bed is protected.
When it comes to this being a family vehicle I couldn’t be happier with it. The kids have plenty of room in the back seat, even with the baby’s big convertible car seat. And the latch system for the car seat is the easiest I have ever used. The brackets are so accessible that I don’t even mind when we need to remove or replace the car seat.
I have a whole list of upgrades I’d like to add to protect and personalize my 2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. The first of these will be all-weather floormats from Mopar. The second will probably be a 3- or 4-fold soft bed cover so that I can use the truck bed on rainy days. In the future, I’d like to add some aftermarket under-seat storage in the back seat to keep things from rolling around. I’ve seen a few solutions that look promising. And my husband is eager to get a dashcam.
When I ask myself what I’d want if I were buying again, the list is short. It’s unimportant stuff, but I do think it would be nice to have wireless charging and a memory seat/mirrors for the driver since my husband and I both drive the truck on a regular basis and there is a huge height difference between us. I don’t think it’s even an option on trucks, but I would love to see built-in retractable sunshades for the rear-seat side windows. A lot of minivans and SUV’s have these, and they’re amazing for a baby who can’t figure out why the sun is in her eyes.
Related posts:
2020 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Lone Star Edition: 5 reasons why she bought it