When choosing a pickup truck to buy, you’re going to want to pick a truck that has the most bang for its buck. However, a lot of people have a narrow-eyed mentality when it comes to truck shopping, thinking that most pickup trucks are the same. The truth of the matter is that pickup trucks are just as variable as a sedan or SUV. Take the 2020 Ram 1500 vs 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 for instance, each pickup truck has features and factors that set it apart from other models and brands, even though outside and inside it’s very similar in shape. These can range from aesthetic differences to performance to comfortability. There are plenty of different variables that come into play with designing a pickup truck outside of the cost to produce. And like it or not, these factors will matter when it comes to how you feel driving your vehicle.
Ram
Ram is a far more recent pickup truck manufacturer than its competition. Nonetheless, Ram has largely taken the industry by storm in providing an experience defined by excellent performance and safety, creating trucks that perform in nearly any condition. One of the more recent models to enter the used pickup truck industry is the 2020 Ram 1500.
Chevy
Chevrolet, on the other hand, has been in the market longer than Ram. Starting out making luxury cars, Chevy has built a long-standing reputation in comfort and speed, which has made its way to their lines of pickup trucks as well. The 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 is one of Ram’s biggest competitors in the used pickup truck industry.
Performance: Off-Road or On-Road?
Performance is largely the defining factor in how a pickup truck sells. If a truck isn’t able to drive well compared to the competition, it’s not a surprise when that model of pickup truck fails in the competitive market. Luckily, both the 2020 Ram 1500 and the 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 perform very well on the road. Nonetheless, each performs well in a very different way, which will make a big difference in the overall experience of driving.
The 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 is not just one type of vehicle, but a large variety of different vehicles suited to different jobs. This is because the Silverado can offer a large variety of different engine types: from the V-6 suited for speed to the diesel inline-six suited towards versatility. In this way, there’s a Silverado suited for any type of off-road or on-road condition. That said, the Silverado does suffer from a very narrow usage of versatility in this manner, and performance suffers overall as a result of only having a select few types of suitable terrain. This is in addition to a slightly worse fuel economy compared to the 2020 Ram 1500, costing more at the pump than the competition.
On the other hand, Ram is a brand defined by versatility and performance. The 2020 Ram 1500’s V-6 and V-8 engine systems, which are assisted by a 48-volt hybrid electric support system, offer more torque than Chevy’s Silverado. This is in addition to the rear coil-spring suspension, light steering, and better braking, making the 2020 Ram 1500 perfect for both off-road and on-road conditions. Fuel economy, however, can vary depending on the engine type and vehicle, so make sure to inquire about this before purchasing a 2020 Ram 1500.
Comfort
Comfort is also a very important part of choosing a pickup truck to buy. Naturally, if you want to purchase a truck, you want to feel good driving it. While performance helps to show the quality of a vehicle’s drive, another large reason driving a truck is enjoyable comes down to whether the truck is set up to be comfortable. This can include optional features, such as massaging and heated seating, or could come in the form of integrated designs meant to enhance the overall experience, like better suspension.
Customizability Makes a Chevy
The 2020 Chevy Silverado is armed to the teeth with optional features to enhance comfort. Chevrolet largely made its name as a luxury automotive company, so it makes a lot of sense that the pickup trucks of the company would also carry themselves with a lot of luxurious features to add to a flare of comfort to their driving experience. The Silverado does this very well, by offering a very customizable experience.
Among the available features are a heads-up display, ventilated seating, wireless phone charging ports, and a wide variety of other optional comfort enhancements. The icing on the cake is that these features are ultimately optional, meaning that you can balance your purchasing decision between comfort and pricing. In other words, the level of comfort will vary depending on the amount you’re willing to pay, making the 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 a luxury pickup truck everybody can afford.
Ram’s Luxury Experience
Ram has historically favored luxury pickup trucks less, focusing more on performance and safety rather than comfortability. This has changed with the 2020 Ram 1500. In this iteration of the model, Ram decided to offer more comfort features. Granted, the 2020 Ram 1500 isn’t as customizable as the Silverado, but the truck does offer a very comfortable experience when it comes to the optional features. Most of the models offer leather seating as an option, making for a more comfortable off-road drive than the Silverado’s vinyl seating. There is also plenty of storage room for a long road-trip found in the vehicle’s many cubby spaces.
This is in addition to the truck’s overwhelming size compared to other vehicles of its class. It’s not a secret that the 2020 Ram 1500 is a huge truck, which means that the truck offers a lot of personal space for the vehicle’s passengers. Ultimately, this translates to a very comfortable journey, as cramped leg spacing will no longer be an issue for people of longer stature, as well as providing extra room for baggage on overnight trips.
Safety: Can You Trust Your Truck?
Safety is perhaps the single most important factor in purchasing any vehicle. Unfortunately, it’s also the more biased factor in advertising a vehicle. Granted, this does make a large degree of sense. After all, companies aren’t going to advertise any safety defects. Luckily, IIHS offers unbiased testing results for every vehicle and makes the results of these tests open to the public.
IIHS did rate both the 2020 Ram 1500 and the 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 very favorably with good ratings in most categories. However, there were some notable safety results in both models that should be made known before you consider purchasing a vehicle from either company. When it comes to the 2020 Chevy Silverado, the vehicle passed all tests aside from the headlights crash avoidance test; the Silverado received a poor result in this test. On the other hand, while the 2020 Ram 1500 received a few middling results in its evaluation, it was overall better than the Silverado. In addition, the Ram’s LED headlights offered a far better safety rating in its test than the Silverado’s headlights.
Conclusion: Which Truck Wins?
When it comes down to it, choosing a pickup truck to purchase largely comes down to personal preference. Each model offers something unique, so it can be a difficult process to choose just one. However, both the 2020 Ram 1500 and the 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 are winning trucks in their own ways. The 2020 Ram 1500 is a clear winner in performance and versatility, with an engine that can power through nearly any terrain. On the other hand, the 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 is a far better luxury vehicle, able to offer more optional comfort features than the 2020 Ram 1500.
