Koz
New member
My buddy calls me up yesterday to set up a time so he could drop off his dog. We watch each other's dog for vacation; he was off to Colorado (Ski trip). So guess what he pulls up in, yes a loaded 05 Hemi GC Limited. He traded in a 03 4.7 GC.
We spent about an hour comparing the options on both our vehicles. We then test drove each other's trucks. He never really told me exactly how much he paid for it, he mumbled something about $45K, a trade in, the stealer paying off his 03 loan, and having to throw in some extra down payment to keep his payments the same. He felt good that got a new truck and was making the same payments, whatever.
First off his GC was white, which looked kind of dull/commercial like. The GC only had 650 miles so I couldn't stomp on it, but you could feel it had balls. The throttle didn't feel as responsive/sensitive as my Runner (05 V8 Limited). The brakes didn't have the initial bite as the Runner, but felt good. The ride was quiet but the suspension didn't absorb the bumps as well as the Runner. I didn't get to compare the handling because of the weather and having only 650 miles. We will be doing a better comparison when its broken in.
Behind the wheel there is a very different feel, it feels like you are sitting in a cockpit. I felt enclosed because the door line is very high and a tight feeling sitting between the doors and the center console. It felt/looked somewhat smaller everywhere, front and rear seats, and the cargo area. The interior materials looked well coordinated but (And this is a BIG but) the finish and quality of the panels were horribly cheap. Do you remember when you put models together? They would have all the plastic parts attached to a plastic skeleton. When you detached the pieces the little tabs would have to be trimmed with a exacto knife. Well there was a little tab on the main plastic panel in the center of the dash/console. Not for nothing but the plastic that is used on the Limited GC is probably the cheapest quality plastic I have ever seen in a vehicle. There is no comparing the Limited Runner's interior to the Limited GC, I wouldn't even compare it with the SR5. Don't get me wrong the GC's interior looks well designed and coordinated but the quality is ?.
Most comparisons don't like the Runner's controls but if the GC is what they like something is wrong. I think what happens is most people just look at the controls and decide how they like them by their first impression. Example; The GC has a dial temp control for each zone (Two zone), which looks cool but there are little temp numbers around the dial. Again, looks cool but hard to determine the exact setting. The Runner has a plain digital readout, very practical and precise. The Nav. controls in the GC are all manual, meaning there is a little button for every function. Not only is it hard to find the right button (which is just a matter using it more) but you have to push the function button then push the enter button. To select something on the map display you have to use a joy-stick type control and then push the enter button. By comparison all the functions on the Runner's Nav are a matter of one touch to the screen. It can't get any simpler then that. Also the GC's Nav has so many function buttons that they take up a third of the screen space. The screen on the GC is somewhat smaller then the Runner. The runner's screen is almost the full size of the opening.
Some of the features of the GC I did like were; the memory seats, the height adjustable pedals, bluetooth phone feature in the radio, rain sensing wipers, self dimming side mirrors (but too small), the dash display to show which gear you
We spent about an hour comparing the options on both our vehicles. We then test drove each other's trucks. He never really told me exactly how much he paid for it, he mumbled something about $45K, a trade in, the stealer paying off his 03 loan, and having to throw in some extra down payment to keep his payments the same. He felt good that got a new truck and was making the same payments, whatever.
First off his GC was white, which looked kind of dull/commercial like. The GC only had 650 miles so I couldn't stomp on it, but you could feel it had balls. The throttle didn't feel as responsive/sensitive as my Runner (05 V8 Limited). The brakes didn't have the initial bite as the Runner, but felt good. The ride was quiet but the suspension didn't absorb the bumps as well as the Runner. I didn't get to compare the handling because of the weather and having only 650 miles. We will be doing a better comparison when its broken in.
Behind the wheel there is a very different feel, it feels like you are sitting in a cockpit. I felt enclosed because the door line is very high and a tight feeling sitting between the doors and the center console. It felt/looked somewhat smaller everywhere, front and rear seats, and the cargo area. The interior materials looked well coordinated but (And this is a BIG but) the finish and quality of the panels were horribly cheap. Do you remember when you put models together? They would have all the plastic parts attached to a plastic skeleton. When you detached the pieces the little tabs would have to be trimmed with a exacto knife. Well there was a little tab on the main plastic panel in the center of the dash/console. Not for nothing but the plastic that is used on the Limited GC is probably the cheapest quality plastic I have ever seen in a vehicle. There is no comparing the Limited Runner's interior to the Limited GC, I wouldn't even compare it with the SR5. Don't get me wrong the GC's interior looks well designed and coordinated but the quality is ?.
Most comparisons don't like the Runner's controls but if the GC is what they like something is wrong. I think what happens is most people just look at the controls and decide how they like them by their first impression. Example; The GC has a dial temp control for each zone (Two zone), which looks cool but there are little temp numbers around the dial. Again, looks cool but hard to determine the exact setting. The Runner has a plain digital readout, very practical and precise. The Nav. controls in the GC are all manual, meaning there is a little button for every function. Not only is it hard to find the right button (which is just a matter using it more) but you have to push the function button then push the enter button. To select something on the map display you have to use a joy-stick type control and then push the enter button. By comparison all the functions on the Runner's Nav are a matter of one touch to the screen. It can't get any simpler then that. Also the GC's Nav has so many function buttons that they take up a third of the screen space. The screen on the GC is somewhat smaller then the Runner. The runner's screen is almost the full size of the opening.
Some of the features of the GC I did like were; the memory seats, the height adjustable pedals, bluetooth phone feature in the radio, rain sensing wipers, self dimming side mirrors (but too small), the dash display to show which gear you
