The Chevy and Ram's "chrome wheels" are actually plastic covers. Don't bother getting them on the Ram because the alloy wheels look fine alone, and our tester Chevy's wheels had a flange design that trapped sand, snow, and water. Nine arid miles out of the carwash, at speed on winding roads, the right-front wheel still had a quarter-inch-deep puddle in it when we parked.
In The House
While this quintet all have usable back seats, enough notes suggest careful attention has to be paid to how far the doors open, whether you can get your foot past the door pillar, and which seat you'd rather be in. After average-height testers whacked their heads on the Ram's inward-curving pillar and side window, one said he'd prefer to be in back of the King Cab. With the rear-swinging door, the King Cab had good rear-seat access; the Crew Cab adds another 13 cubic feet of space.
Dated or old-school might best describe the Silverado's interior, which frequently drew polarized views, such as, "clearly numbered and responsive instrumentation but off-center from the seat," on the same components. Like the F-150's, the power seat cushion adjusts independently of the manual backrest, so you may get your shoulders lodged in the headrest and still make physical adjustments after using the memory seat. Also, the Ford and Chevy have well-illuminated controls, except for the switch used to control said lighting, which itself isn't lit. The Chevy was the only truck that would LATCH three child seats in back simultaneously, but they'd be a pain to put in. Furthermore, our audiophile opined, "I can't believe Bose allowed its name on this sound system."
Most approved of the Ram's interior makeover, although it wasn't in dire need of an update. The symmetrical layout allows a better nav screen and has plenty of storage areas that are all lined so nothing rattles. There's a massive console assembly in between and a lot of high-gloss wood-like plastic trim. The front seats received good ratings, while the back was called claustrophobic and the metal cargo tray under the back seat was deemed clever. New, laminated front-side windows quell some wind noise from the nice big mirrors, though we miss the stereo controls on the back of the steering-wheel spokes.
Ford's Lariat tied the Laramie Ram for interior comfort; it had the back seat most of us preferred (even without the DVD player) and was rated the most useful cabin. Fat bucket seats reminded us of a 1970s Town Car, the whole affair decorated in a variety of contemporary colors and textures. One tester immediately gravitated to the enclosed eight-inch subwoofer under the back seat and labeled this sound system deserving of its audiophile moniker; however, distractions included glare from the chrome shifter, and the signals in the mirrors.