If I was looking at a brand new truck Id buy a Dodge.
My ideal spec would be 4 door, short bed, 4x4, 5.7 without etorque.
Recently they were doing 2 different 4 doors one was slightly longer, they called them the quad cab and crew cab I believe. It wasnt a drastic difference like the megacab. I never noticed a difference, but my brother who just bought a few year old one, said it was a big difference and was actually a major spec he hunted for, because he always carries people and a car seat in the back seat. I dont know if the brand new ones still have the 2 different cabs.
He does handyman stuff and wanted the rambox, he ended up passing after hearing a bunch of reports of them not sealing. The common answers among owners was after a while the flex in the bed ruins alignment just enough for them to not seal. I had never heard this, but he said he saw it constantly from owners groups.
Im not a fan of the etorque. I will admit I havent seen one or seen any problems with one, but I am very jaded about supplemental hybrid systems because of all the problems I saw with the Yukon and Tahoe hybrids. It seemed like a major reduction in reliability when you got some miles for only a small benefit in fuel economy. Plus the new Hemis have plenty of power already, so the etorque isnt a gamble id be willing to make.
I think the newer dodges have the best ride of the big three even without the air suspension. They also have the nicest interior.
The 5.7 is a tried and true motor, as an owner of an Gen V LT, the 5.7 is the better motor for truck stuff. The GM LT stuff is generally reliable, but very early very catastrophic valvetrain failures are more common than Im comfortable with. Plus you still have the late life lifter failures. The Hemi also suffered from the MDS lifter failures, but I saw them at a much lower rate than the GM stuff. My dad had an early Hemi and around or slightly after 400K miles it was still running fine and had plenty of power but he had it pulled for a rebuild, they rebuilt but said the bearings and bores were in great shape and almost everything they checked was still within service specs. He is not nice to his vehicles or that good about regular maintenance. For probably the first 10 years he owned it, it towed 4-5 times a month, and not just like a single pallet of drywall, we're talking about other vehicles, large campers, and a fully loaded pallet of construction equipment and materials, and the new one has about 20% more power, 3 extra gears,a nd god knows how much electronic wizardry, thats why I dont see the need for the etorque system.
I wouldnt consider the 3.6. First because it doesnt work as well in a truck as the power numbers would lead you to think. Second, it hasnt been very reliable. Earlier ones were plaqued with lash adjuster and rocker failures that can wipe a cam, the later ones still have that problem but to a less degree and now Im seeing valve problems, which are requiring head replacement. Third, if you are buying now, you are buying at the top of the market. Base model trucks havent done so well historically in depreciation. Buying now you are probably going to pay a premium and Id want to spec something that when the market corrects wont take a 40% hit in value. Before Covid craziness I was seeing a really big difference in the most popular specs and the base model specs from trucks from the big three, around here the most valuable ones were 4x4 4 doors with the highest spec motor, next was 2 door short beds with the best motor, way at the bottom was the base engines. In dodge I was seeing V8 4x4 tradesmens (base trim) selling for considerably more than fully loaded V6s.
As far as concerns, I worry about the ZF trans. I havent seen many failures, but for my use which is keep it for a long time, put a ton of miles on it, and work it hard. I worry about the cost of a rebuild. The 545RFE was already quite expensive to rebuild, but it did last almost 400K miles (it never really died) and was incredibly robust, so it wasnt the end of the world. The fact that the filter is integrated into the pan, and it uses an expensive fluid is pretty aggravating though. I believe most setups that use a zf trans like that have an aftermarket solution to make them separate. Its not a deal breaker though as almost any new vehicle you buy will have at least one component that is expensive to service.
Im torn on the air suspension, Ive seen some rather expensive failures. Quite a few on the Gran Cherokees, not as many on the rams, but still seeing it. I do really like it when its working though.
None of this may matter to you, Im not the type that wants a truck as a luxury vehicle that is also very capable. I want a truck to work like a truck and be easy and inexpensive to maintain, because I put a ton of miles on them.
