2018 Ram Limited Tungsten Edition: Ram pushes luxury to the nth degree

CHELSEA, Mich. — If you think you’ve seen luxury in a pickup truck before, you haven’t. Unless, of course, you were in Chelsea, Michigan, for the reveal of the 2018 Ram Limited Tungsten Edition.

“It’s the most luxurious truck on the market. Stop,” said Jim Morrison, Ram Trucks brand manager for North America. “You can’t find a truck in the marketplace that has more luxury in it than the Ram Tungsten Edition.”

The Tungsten Edition trim will be offered on the Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 single- and dual-rear-wheel; Crew Cab and Mega Cab (Heavy Duty); four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive; and short- and long-wheelbase models.

This top-tier trim will be equipped with standard features such as a suede headliner, premium leather, a Berber carpet insert, real wood interior accents, unique badging, navigation, remote start, backup camera, adjustable pedals, heated steering wheel, ventilated and heated front seats and heated rear seats. Also standard: Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

“We’re pushing luxury to the nth degree,” Morrison said.

He added that it’s very capable, considering that you can get the Tungsten Edition in the 1-ton dually, but with all the luxury accents and trappings, “you just feel like a million bucks.”

So, why use the “Tungsten” moniker? Because Ram thinks that’s the perfect analogy for this truck: Tungsten is a rare metal and one of the toughest things found in nature. It has the highest melting points of all the elements and is harder than steel.

We took a quick loop in the 1500 Tungsten Edition, which isn’t enough for a drive impression other than to say: It was smooth and comfortable.

The interior trappings seem more like something you’d find in a luxury-level sedan with reverse stitching, intricate embroidery emblems, soft-touch leather and the class-exclusive suede headliner.

“It’s got more real wood and more real leather than any other truck in the marketplace,” Morrison said. “It’s pure luxury.”

Pricing for the 1500 Tungsten Edition is $55,120.

Morrison said a heavy-duty model will start at just under $60K, and the one-ton dually with a Cummins diesel engine will hit around $75K.

The 2018 Tungsten Edition trims will be available starting in the third quarter of 2017.