$oC@l CTD

My observations.

'07 Ford F-350 4x4, Long Bed King Ranch. Best ride, I thought. Drove pretty good, had BY FAR the best interior and features. Had a pretty good stock sound system in it. Powertrain wise...Even though it has twin turbos, it felt the most laggy and weak to me. I did NOT like the power. Tranny shifted decent, but that engine needs work, in my opinion.

'07 GMC Sierra 3500, 4x4, Long Bed SLT (somethin or another, whatever the loaded job is! LOL) Second best ride. Second best interior. Drove well. Had a decent sound system in it. Powertrain wise...had the quickest acceleration and the Allison shifted well. Didn't feel laggy like the Powerstroke.

'07 Dodge Ram 3500, 4x4, Long Bed Laramie. Although it had the worst ride, I felt like I was driving a truck (which I WANT) the most when I was in this vehicle. The Infinity sound system was pretty good, the creature comforts were PLENTY for what a truck owner needs I think. The seats were the least comfortable of the three. Powertrain wise. I think that the Duramax accelerated quicker, but it didn't feel as "powerful" as the Cummins. The new 6-speed shifts well (comparable to the Allison) and the STOCK exhaust brake is a tower's dream come true!

I tested all three in tow-haul mode. All three were single rear wheel vehicles. I tested all three with A/C off, windows down so that I could hear/observe better.

If I had to choose between the three, I would STILL go with the Cummins. Oh yeah, I almost forgot...looks, hands down goes to the Dodge. Those newer Chevies and Fords are BUTT ugly I think...Man, what I would give for that King Ranch comfort in my truck though!

zontral

I agree the 6.4 feels laggy, but i don't think it's from the turbos. I thought it was more some time of engine management or something. All of the big three have great trucks. but I won't be buying anyone of them soon until I see how all this emmisions junk affects them in the long run.

woodrat

As much as I am not a Ford fan, I've always thought the interiors in Fords were far and away better quality than Dodge provides. Much nicer doors and latches and handles and so forth too.

Boz007

If you drove a 6.4L twin turbo ford, you drove an 08 not an 07. Just FYI.

$oC@l CTD

I understand...Only reason that I posted '07 was because of the year...I don't know why/how anybody can claim "'08" for a vehicle that was manufactured and released in '06...that's all...either way I look at it...I wouldn't own one of the new "Super" Duties. Funny thing is, the guy that was SUPPOSED to be selling me a new Ford asked if I would take him for a ride in my Dodge...so I did and because he knew NOTHING about trucks, OR diesels for that matter, I turned things on my Dodge up a bit and ended up getting the truth out of him...let me know what ya'll think of this statement: "Well, the only reason that I work here is because "So and So" Ford in San Diego was the first place to call me back when I applied. The truth of the matter is that I would MUCH rather have a new Cummins!"

Box5

lol^. my uncle works for a ford dealer and wants to switch to somthing else to. but in all honesty i think it's more because nobodies buying them anymore, atleast at his dealership in denver.

$oC@l CTD

I wonder if it's the flames that they throw, the injectors that fail, the head gaskets that blow, the lack of power...or perhaps the $58,000 price tag in the window that is causing folks to run in the other direction?

bamataco1

Thats very interesting,do you recall the sticker prices on these trucks?
I did the same thing a year or so ago,when I was looking to buy. And I obviously went with the Dodge. I also thought the same of the trucks to.

$oC@l CTD

Sticker price on the Laramie was $51,000 or so, if I recall correctly, but because of the Navistar/Ford issue and the twins and all that extra junk that Ford isn't really willing to bite the bullet on, the incentives aren't NEARLY as good as they are for the Dodge. Sticker price on mine was $47,700 and I talked them down to $38,500...good luck to anybody out there talking Ford out of nearly $10,000 on a King Ranch...I REALLY liked the King Ranch, but for that price and the power being so doggish, I would never buy one.

vander

I did just this very thing, test drive of all three brands, about 3 weeks ago:

2008 Ford F350 4x4 TD DRW Crewcab Longbed Lariat auto

2007 Chevy 3500 4x4 TD DRW Crewcab Longbed LT? auto

2007 Dodge 3500 4x4 CTD DRW Crewcab longbed Laramie auto

I am in the market for a real tow vehicle, as I am upgrading my race car trailer from an open steel trailer to a 35ish foot gooseneck trailer, and my Avalanche can't cope with that, so I was out for my first set of test drives.

I drove the three trucks within a two hour period, back-to-back-to-back, so it was about as close of a comparison as you could get as a private consumer.

I thought the Ford was definitely the nicest interior-wise, had the nicest ride, and nicest options. It was definitely the slowest however, and I know the 2008 F350's weigh 1000 lbs more than a comparable 2007 Chevy or Dodge, so that can't help its acceleration. It's also a 5-speed auto, the other two have 6-speeds.

I drove the Chevy next, it was the noisest, and rode the roughest, although neither the noise nor the ride was horrible, just worse than the other two. It felt the fastest both from a stop and when rolling. Cheapest of the three, a little cheaper than the Dodge, way cheaper than the Ford, that's from pricing them on the internet on the mfg websites, not from the stickers of the ones I drove on the lot.

Drove the Dodge last, very nice truck overall. A little noisier and rougher ride than the Ford, but better than the Chevy. Was the smallest dimensionally than the other two (slightly shorter wheelbase, slightly shorter overall length I think). Good acceleration, both from a stop and when rolling, transmission was pretty good.

While at the Ford dealer, I also test drove an F-450 that they had there, a 2008 fully loaded King Ranch model. Very nice truck, but just a bit too much for what I'm going to be doing with it. It did have a nice feature - the 450's have a different front axle than other HD trucks, and despite being the largest truck of the four I drove that night, it had the tighest turning circle by far.

Overall, I liked the Dodge the best, and not just because I'm posting here on this forum, as I am pretty much brand independent. If the Chevy was not so noisy and rough riding, it would probably be my choice. I'm curious to see what the 2008 options and pricing are for Chevy and Dodge, as I'm going to place an order for one within the next few months.

mr T

haven't driven the new dodge with the new tranny yet and i havent driven the other brands either...i did get to sit in everyone of them however at the local autoshow...and the ford was the best looking truck inside and out...i loved the burgundy exterior and the king ranch trim inside...it just feels like an expensive luxury truck to me...dodge is still the most "big utilitarian truck" feel...very basic in every way...the chevs/gmc's almost have a import interior feel to them...2nd nicest interior I would actually give to the new Tundra...that thing is roomy and bigger inside than most people think...Ford didnt offer the king ranch in the superdutys until later 2003 right?..i think u can get a few rare 2003 trucks that have the king ranch and the 7.3...that is the best overall truck to me..unless im wrong about getting the 7.3 in a king ranch...If Ford had a reliable diesel motor in that king ranch or harley davidson package then i'd be there in a heartbeat

PaulDaisy

I drove all three "majors", and not in a fair comparison since the years were different, but I found the Ford and Chevy to be more car-like. Since I wanted a manual tranny, I found that I didn't like the 2003 Ford's short throw stick, I kept missing gears. It also felt a lot less forgiving to lugging, and in too high a gear it reacted sort of like a 4-cylinder car, stuttered and wanted me to downshift.
I did not find a Chevy with a stick, so I drove an Allison. Nice but felt truly sluggish compared to the lively stick shift. The auto was not even on my list, so I gave up on a Chevy.
Then I tried the Ram. Its old-style, long throw 5-speed felt like the tranny on the old military truck I used to drive 20 years ago: forgiving, gears jumped in themselves. When I forgot to downshift, the truck simply roared on a low rumbling note, puffed a bit black smoke and accelerated in 5th gear from 25-30 mph rolling slowly, to 75 from a stop light. I said to myself, wow, I can learn to like that!
And I did. Also, for my long and bony self, the Ram's seats were most comfortable, even better than King Ranch (though the interior on it is nice). I could not bear with its seats to even test drive the King Ranch. Sorry... There are reasons people like one over the other, some trucks simply fit some people better.
-P