Ram debuted its next generation of pickups at this year’s Detroit auto show with the new 1500. While it has an interesting mild hybrid powertrain, enough payload capacity to haul all the tiles and sheets of plywood your heart desires and look sharp on your way to work, new Ram buyers will spend most of their time in the truck’s cabin, host to some interesting new features. 

The 2019 Ram 1500’s optional 12-inch touchscreen is big enough to handle your navigation and your music at the same time.

1. The 12-inch touchscreen

Ram’s new optional touchscreen is bigger than you’d ever think you’d see in a pickup. The 12-inch screen runs Fiat Chrysler’s Uconnect software and controls just about everything from the seat heaters to adjusting the truck’s suspension. The screen is big enough to run two applications at once, such as your Sirius XM radio on the lower half with the navigation directly above it. Or, if you want to see most of your trip on the map, you can run just one application to take up the entire screen. It’s available on Laramie and Longhorn models but comes standard on Limited-trim trucks. 

The CD player is still alive and well in the 2019 Ram 1500 — it even has instructions on how to use it.

2. A CD player

No, the CD isn’t a new development, but a 2019 model-year vehicle with a CD player is pretty novel, and the 2019 Ram has one. It even has instructions (ed note: rad). This will be nice for the few people who have opted out of having a smartphone or an iPod, but we’re still waiting for Ram to bring back the in-car turntable for our true uncompressed listening pleasure. 

The RamBin is only part of the 2019 Ram’s drastically increased interior storage. If you need to haul tools to a job site or snacks for a road trip, the Ram should fit the bill.

3. Storage

While your 1978 D100’s storage was limited to the bed, whatever you threw behind the bench seat and the glovebox, the 2019 Ram isn’t. Storage is vast and plenty with the new Ram, which features space in the center console, glovebox, RamBins behind the seats and a few bins here and there to store change and other small objects. Ram says there’s 151 liters of storage (5.3 cubic feet here in ‘Murica), which Ram claims is twice the competition. What that means in the real world is you’ll have enough space to stash stuff for road trips.

The center console can be configured 12 different ways, depending on your need. It also has a handy protractor built into the plastic lid — in case you need to reference an angle. There is also a handy “full” line so you don’t accidentally crush anything — or if you do, you can’t blame Ram.

Taking a note from parent company Chrysler’s minivans, the new Ram features storage behind the front seats. The RamBin isn’t exactly new — it showed up on previous-generation trucks — but it’s 5.5 inches longer than last year, just in case you needed to stash a small ax that was too big for your 2017.  

Like this Ram Rebel, the other trims of the Ram 1500 affect the interior styling just as much as the exterior.

4. Style

As we mentioned in the truck’s debut, there are a lot of ways to buy this new Ram. You can still get a genuine workhorse with the Tradesman-trimmed rigs, but most will be middle-pack double-duty Laramie, Big Horns and Rebels. Still, whatever you pick, it’s reflected throughout the cabin. The interior of the 2019 Ram Rebel sports aggressive red accents to remind you that you picked the brazen Ram of the bunch.

The top-end Limited rigs have soft leather, accent stitching, limited badges on the interior and lots of wood trim. Ram engineers also said that all the metal you touch is real metal — while that’s a small concession for a truck, it’s still nice to know that it’s not full of chrome-plated plastic. The Ram also offers a panoramic sunroof, which is about as luxurious as you’d want a pickup to be.

This active tuned mass module is one of the tools Ram engineers use to keep the cabin ultra-smooth and quiet.

5. Sound deadening

A pickup used to be a workhorse designed to haul something from point A to point B with as little discomfort as possible. The 2019 Ram is more luxe-wagon than junk hauler. Trucks used to not have much in the way of sound deadening or any need to isolate the driver from the world around them. The 2019 Ram does and should do it well with its acoustic glass, active noise canceling (on Hemi-equipped trucks) and active-tuned mass modules on the frame. The noise canceling works with the frame-mounted mass modules to keep the cabin free from drone and unwanted road noise.

That may sound like overkill, but it makes a lot of sense. Most folks don’t use their truck just as a tool but rely on it for daily use, too. Regardless, if you want to make the most of the 900-watt 19-speaker premium sound system, it helps. 

Check out our other 2019 Ram 1500 stories, and stay tuned for a first drive in the coming months.