Ram 1500 Sport Hemi vs Range Rover L322 TDV8
Discussion
Evening chaps.
Talk me into or out of this please! I'm currently looking at various land Rovers to replace my old Disco, and the choice keeps swinging from G4 Disco 3 to FFRR TDV8 and back again. However......
I really really fancied a Ford Raptor, but I had to concede that they are just too big over here due to the flared bodywork and comedy suspension. They are also exceedingly expensive.
I therefore thought the dream of a yank truck was dead, until I spotted on ebay a lightly used Ram 1500 Sport 5.7 Hemi, on LPG, for the same price as a Rangie. Having checked out the dimensions, the Ram is positively svelte, with only the 2ft extra length being any different from a big Euro SUV.
My parents think it am daft for wanting an LHD car in an RHD country, but i don't personally see the problem - especially as its automatic anyway. Additionally, my man maths suggests that a hemi on LPG will be about the same, if not slightly less, per mile to run than a 28-30 mpg diesel SUV.
The truck I have seen has the added advantage of being a facelift model with a tactile interior rather than the Fischer Price effort of the up-to-08 model years.
Whilst I currently do 5000 miles a year, mainly for things like vintage vehicle shows, the odd bit of heavy towing, sleeping in on bleak airfields, 4x4 response duties and some light off roading; from this summer I will start commuting a 70 mile round trip for work.
So what do we think.... am I off my rocker or do I have a point here to convince my parents (whose house the vehicle will be kept at and who will use it occasionally whilst I'm at uni, and thus have final say on what is sensible)?
Talk me into or out of this please! I'm currently looking at various land Rovers to replace my old Disco, and the choice keeps swinging from G4 Disco 3 to FFRR TDV8 and back again. However......
I really really fancied a Ford Raptor, but I had to concede that they are just too big over here due to the flared bodywork and comedy suspension. They are also exceedingly expensive.
I therefore thought the dream of a yank truck was dead, until I spotted on ebay a lightly used Ram 1500 Sport 5.7 Hemi, on LPG, for the same price as a Rangie. Having checked out the dimensions, the Ram is positively svelte, with only the 2ft extra length being any different from a big Euro SUV.
My parents think it am daft for wanting an LHD car in an RHD country, but i don't personally see the problem - especially as its automatic anyway. Additionally, my man maths suggests that a hemi on LPG will be about the same, if not slightly less, per mile to run than a 28-30 mpg diesel SUV.
The truck I have seen has the added advantage of being a facelift model with a tactile interior rather than the Fischer Price effort of the up-to-08 model years.
Whilst I currently do 5000 miles a year, mainly for things like vintage vehicle shows, the odd bit of heavy towing, sleeping in on bleak airfields, 4x4 response duties and some light off roading; from this summer I will start commuting a 70 mile round trip for work.
So what do we think.... am I off my rocker or do I have a point here to convince my parents (whose house the vehicle will be kept at and who will use it occasionally whilst I'm at uni, and thus have final say on what is sensible)?
Thanks Chaps!
I'm thoroughly set on the Ram now, just got to hope I can get my Disco repaired and shifted in time for it to still be for sale!
Pickup owners... who do you insure with? I presume it has to be classed as a commercial? How much is it relative to a normal SUV?
I'm thoroughly set on the Ram now, just got to hope I can get my Disco repaired and shifted in time for it to still be for sale!
Pickup owners... who do you insure with? I presume it has to be classed as a commercial? How much is it relative to a normal SUV?
Edited by ChemicalChaos on Friday 13th March 02:24
Stu R said:
FWIW LHD is no problem in the UK, especially with Rams as they've usually got the bench seat you can slide across at McDonalds / Toll booths etc 
I was pondering this, but the facelift ones with the tactile interior have a centre console with a gear selector and cubby bin. I'm not interested in a pre-facelift as the interiors look utterly dire and irretrievably cheap and tacky. Ballbags! The truck I was watching on ebay has been pulled by the seller, presumably due to a deal being struck.
At £22k for a 5.7 Laramie on LPG with 50k miles, it was exceptional value and I can't find another one like it either over here or on US ebay (especially by the time import, vat, sva and lpg conversion are factored in)
At £22k for a 5.7 Laramie on LPG with 50k miles, it was exceptional value and I can't find another one like it either over here or on US ebay (especially by the time import, vat, sva and lpg conversion are factored in)
Ah, f
k it.
There's now a very nice 06/07 Laramie on ebay for a much lower price, again with prins lpg and still "only" 80k miles (so nothing for a yank truck). Compared with the hassle of finding, importing and converting my own 09+ truck, maybe I could live with the tacky plastic for a year or two whilst waiting for another uk based new shape truck to come up.
Anyone know if the difference of 350/400bhp pre/post facelift is a simple remap, or it is an engine hardware update? I gather they both have the cylinder deactivation tech as standard.
k it.There's now a very nice 06/07 Laramie on ebay for a much lower price, again with prins lpg and still "only" 80k miles (so nothing for a yank truck). Compared with the hassle of finding, importing and converting my own 09+ truck, maybe I could live with the tacky plastic for a year or two whilst waiting for another uk based new shape truck to come up.
Anyone know if the difference of 350/400bhp pre/post facelift is a simple remap, or it is an engine hardware update? I gather they both have the cylinder deactivation tech as standard.
Thanks for the help everyone.
I ended up having a quite large argument with the parents who told me I was being utterly stupid wanting something that long and tall (the bit about it being 2" wider than an RR seemingly not registering with them), and that I could find somewhere else to park it if I went and got one.
Sadly (he says, in a relative fashion), I have instead pulled the trigger tonight on a very nice 4.4 V8 L322 after noticing they were half the price year for year of a TDV8 and cost less per mile to run on gas....
I ended up having a quite large argument with the parents who told me I was being utterly stupid wanting something that long and tall (the bit about it being 2" wider than an RR seemingly not registering with them), and that I could find somewhere else to park it if I went and got one.
Sadly (he says, in a relative fashion), I have instead pulled the trigger tonight on a very nice 4.4 V8 L322 after noticing they were half the price year for year of a TDV8 and cost less per mile to run on gas....
Gassing Station | Yank Motors | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff