2023 Ram 1500 Interior and Cargo

The base Tradesman lives up to its name by offering standard heaty-duty vinyl seats in Diesel Gray and the option of black cloth at no extra charge, although you have to add the Tradesman Level 1 Equipment group, adding $1,695 to the price. Moving up to the Tradesman HFE gets you black cloth upholstery. The Big Horn/Lone Star trim comes standard with the six-seater layout, with the interior color scheme consisting of Black/Diesel Gray. It's possible to upgrade to the five-seat configuration with front bucket seats, but it requires adding any of three optional packages ranging in price from $1,305 to $3,845, as well as $595 for the actual seat trim.

The Laramie trim is no longer available in Mountain Brown/Light Frost Beige, just in plain black leather. It's a six-seater, and there's a $1,295 charge for the five-seat configuration, but you have to add either of two packages to get it, which will cost you at least an additional $2,605. Alternatively, you can opt for leather/vinyl combination upholstery, but also only in conjunction with the additional package choice and in the five-seat configuration only.

The Rebel is only available in five-seat configuration, with a black interior with cloth/vinyl upholstery and lots of red accents on the dashboard and steering wheel. The door panels and the sides and backs of the seats and headrests are red too, and the seat faces, door pulls, and center console feature red stitching. It's possible to specify black leather/vinyl upholstery, but this removes the standard G/T package and you lose all the red trim - but the truck then costs nearly $3,000 less. You can also add leather bucket seats in black with a black and red interior color scheme, but it requires the Night Edition package, retailing at $2,045, which means you lose the diamond-finished two-tone 18-inch wheels and they're replaced by black 18s.

The Limited Longhorn comes standard with a Black/New Saddle leather interior and lots of real wood trim. You can opt for premium leather, but this requires packages to the value of nearly $8,000 to be added. The top-spec Limited trim is offered only with premium leather in black. The wood trim is replaced with carbon-fiber-effect accents. Indigo and Sea Salt quilted leather seats, door inserts, console, and instrument panel, a suede headliner, A-pillar trim, and sunvisors, a metal pedal kit, and a jeweled shifter knob can be specified, but only as part of more than $7k worth of additional packages; most of these items are standard on the Limited Elite special edition, which also gets a unique gauge-cluster theme. The (RAM)RED special edition is all-black inside with red "RAM" badging on the center console and premium leather upholstery.

The Ram 1500 is available in two bed sizes which both accommodate far more luggage than the trunk of a normal car. The shorter 5.7-foot bed is 67.4 inches long, has a depth of 21.4 inches, is 66.4 inches wide at its widest, and is 51 inches wide between the wheelhouses. That results in a cargo capacity of 53.9 cubic feet. The 6.4-foot bed is 76.3 inches long and has a 21.5-inch depth but the rest of the measurements are the same as above. That means 61.5 cubes of cargo capacity. There are numerous options available for the bed, including the multi-function tailgate ($1,095 from Laramie and up), the RamBox lockable cargo-management system at $995, tonneau covers, and a spray-in bedliner. The truck has a maximum payload capacity of 2,300 lbs.

Interior storage is generous in both five- and six-seater configurations. In five-seater configuration, the Ram is equipped with a massive configurable storage bin underneath the armrest. Crew Cab models also come with under-seat storage under the second row for small items.

The Ram 1500 is meant to cater to a large audience, ranging from customers who want a utilitarian workhorse to families in search of a high-end luxury 4x4. This is reflected in the standard features, though it has to be said that Ram gives you a lot more kit at the bottom end than most of its direct competitors. Base models get manual air-conditioning, automatic headlights, a rearview camera, remote keyless entry, push-button ignition, and manually adjustable seats. From Laramie specification and above, ten-way power adjustment for the front seats is included. These front seats are heated as well as ventilated and come with a basic memory function for the driver. Other niceties include a heated steering wheel and auto-dimming interior and driver's-side rearview mirrors. Since the Rebel is meant for off-roading, this trim adds an electronically locking rear differential, underbody skid plates, and LED headlights and foglights. The Limited Longhorn adds higher-quality wood and leather, bi-function LED headlights, and a big infotainment screen, while the Limited adds blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, standard air suspension, and power running boards.

There are three different infotainment systems across the various trim levels. The Tradesman, HFE, and Big Horn/Lone Star get the Uconnect 3 system with a five-inch touchscreen display with basic Bluetooth connectivity, USB ports, SiriusXM Guardian, and a six-speaker sound system. The Uconnect 5 system with an 8.4-inch touchscreen is fitted from Laramie trim and up. This unit comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration as well as SiriusXM Radio, a 4G Wi-Fi hotspot, and a ten-speaker sound system. The Limited Longhorn, Limited, and Limited Elite special edition are equipped with a magnificent 12-inch touchscreen Uconnect 5 interface mounted vertically in the center console. It's responsive, easy to use, and allows for split-screen operation. Normally, we don't care for systems where everything, including the climate control, is integrated into the touchscreen interface, but the split-screen does a wonderful job. You can have media or navigation up top and the climate control below. No furiously swiping through the screens to turn the climate control down a few degrees. As standard, it's mated to a ten-speaker sound system, but a 19-speaker premium Harman Kardon sound system is also available - and is standard on the Limited Elite. This interface sets the Ram apart from its competitors. It would not look out of place in a Maserati.