2025 Ram 1500 Road Test and Review

2025 Ram 1500 Warlock ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Whoever said “you don’t mess with success” hasn’t spent much time around full-size pickup trucks. For decades, these trucks have been unqualified hits. And yet, America’s leading truckmakers keep taking chances on innovations in design, technology, and amenities. Work trucks with long beds became smooth-riding, four-door luxury vehicles – and customers loved it. Weight-saving aluminum bodies replaced steel, and truck owners overcame their concerns about repair costs. And turbocharged six-cylinder engines took their place alongside traditional big-displacement V8s. 

The 2025 Ram 1500 jumps aboard the latter trend. Americans are used to six-cylinder turbos in their trucks, thanks to nearly 15 years of “EcoBoost”-powered Ford F-150s. But Ford still offers a V8 among its engine options. The newly updated 2025 Ram 1500 stops at six cylinders, from the base model all the way up to the top of the line. For this review, we recently spent a week testing the new six-cylinder Ram. Keep reading as we explore this truck’s pros and cons to see if it’s the right big pickup for you.  

That Thing Hasn’t Got a Hemi

When the 2002 Dodge Ram introduced a V8 engine with a hemispherical combustion chamber, the engineers were looking to burn fuel into power as quickly as possible. And the marketing folks fell in love. For years, the catchphrase “that thing got a Hemi?” became part of popular culture. And it came to define the Ram’s attitude of brash speed. 

Now it’s gone. Ram’s parent company, the international conglomerate Stellantis, decided the brand was ready for a modern alternative. Enter the Hurricane. This 3.0-liter inline six is available in two configurations: SO (standard output) and HO (high output). Even the base SO Hurricane makes 420 horsepower and 469 lb-ft of torque. The HO explodes to 540 hp and 521 lb-ft. You can also still buy a base 3.6-liter V6 non-turbo, carried over from last year. It generates 305 horsepower and 269 lb-ft of torque. 

2025 Ram 1500 Warlock ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Speed, Not Gas Mileage

You might assume that Ram dropped two cylinders from the Ram because it wanted better fuel economy. We’ve also heard speculation that the Hemi wasn’t meeting modern emissions requirements. But the big change for 2025 is speed. 

The old Hemi V8 made 395 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque, and it helped the Ram reach 60 mph in less than 7 seconds. By many standards, that’s plenty quick for a truck. The new Hurricane blows past that, needing only about 5 seconds in standard form and barely 4 seconds as the HO. 

The flip side of that is that mileage didn’t improve. Our test truck, with the standard-output Hurricane engine and four-wheel-drive, got an EPA-estimated 17 mpg in the city, 24 mpg on the highway, and 19 mpg combined – a wash with the Hemi’s 18 mpg city, 22 mpg highway, and 19 mpg combined. (And we averaged just 17 mpg, possibly due in part to our test truck’s off-road tires.) The Hurricane’s smog-emissions rating improved slightly, but it emits slightly more CO2 than the Hemi. At least the standard Hurricane is happy with regular-grade fuel while the Hemi wanted costlier midgrade. The HO engine averages 17 mpg combined on premium fuel, while the base V6 gets 21 mpg on regular. 

2025 Ram 1500 Warlock ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The Gentle-Ride Truck

Once the brash, rough truck of its class, the most recent Ram 1500 generations have staked out another niche: the gentlest ride. A coil-spring rear suspension – rather than the typical big pickup’s leaf springs – helps the truck glide down the road. Even our tested off-road-focused Warlock model, without the optional air suspension, proved steady on smooth pavement while shrugging off bumps. 

The Ram is capable, too. Depending on the configuration, it can tow up to 11,550 pounds or haul a payload of up to 2,370 pounds. (Different Ram models lead at either towing or payload, though; you can't get both max capacities in the same truck.) The Ram can power through challenging off-road conditions, too. It doesn’t lead the pack in these areas, but it holds its own while leading the class for the on-pavement experience. A hands-free driving system is newly available to take on General Motors’ Super Cruise and Ford’s BlueCruise, too. 

A new model called the RHO is built for the most extreme off-road conditions. It’s a spiritual successor to the Ram TRX, which used a supercharged “Hellcat” version of the Hemi. The RHO has the TRX’s high-speed off-road prowess, and it’s nearly as fast while getting 25 percent better gas mileage. But it shares the 540-hp HO Hurricane engine with other Ram models, making it less of an exclusive halo vehicle.

2025 Ram 1500 Warlock ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Fresh Face

The current-generation Ram 1500 dates back to the 2019 model year, and to us, this generation looks tame compared to the brawny trucks sold from 1994 to 2018 (and through last year as the Ram 1500 classic). It lost the defining feature of a hood that bulges up above the fenders, replaced by the same rectangular front end as any other pickup. 

The 2025 model freshens the appearance slightly. The grille is larger and slightly revised, and the headlamps now include LED lighting on upper trim levels. Ram says the updated truck “is instantly recognizable while incorporating a sleeker, more aerodynamic appearance.” (The word Ram in big letters on the grille is certainly a clue.) If you want an in-your-face design, the current Ram might look dull; to other tastes, its restraint is a breath of fresh air. Different Ram trim levels provide different grille styles that range from black plastic on base models to black trim on off-road-themed models to a heaping of chrome on luxury versions. The RHO also has a widened stance, like the old Ram TRX. 

2025 Ram 1500 Warlock ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Choose Your Screen

The current Ram 1500 has always stood out for its interior quality. True, our Warlock test vehicle (priced from $54,505) has more hard plastics than upper Ram models. Even the driver’s door armrest is unpadded – something that would disappoint us even at a third of this price. But an overall sense of luxury shines through. Moving parts like the rotary gear selector glide smoothly. A rubber cover fills the gap formed by the tilting steering column. And, of course, if you buy an upper-trim Ram, you get a coating of rich leather upholstery on the dashboard and door panels. 

Top-tier Rams get a coating of screens, too. This year, Ram rolled out a newly available 14.5-inch central touchscreen that’s paired with a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a 10.25-inch touchscreen on the passenger side of the dash.  

If that makes you cringe instead of applaud, fear not. Our Warlock comes with the Ram's base 8.4-inch touchscreen with simple graphics, easy-to-use physical controls, and analog gauges. And a middle-ground 12-inch vertical screen carries over from last year, albeit with a more powerful processor for quicker responses. 

2025 Ram 1500 Warlock ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Plenty of Space

Like other full-size half-ton pickups, the Ram 1500 has big, comfortable seats with lots of room. Crew cab models like our test vehicle have huge backseats, while lower trim levels are also available as a Quad Cab – an extended-cab truck that still has four forward-opening doors but less rear legroom. In an odd quirk, every Ram 1500 includes a proximity key sensor with push-button starting, but the sensor unlocks the doors only on upper-level Rams. In most cars, the same keyfob can start the car and unlock the doors from your pocket or purse, but Ram elected to save a few dollars on door handles – even at prices that can top $60,000. 

Our test vehicle came with a front bench seat that boosts total seating capacity to six. We found that even a tall adult can fit there, but their knees will block the dashboard controls. And if you end up parked with an obstacle blocking one of the front doors, you can slide across to enter or exit through the other side of the truck. At other times, you can fold down a giant center armrest with cupholders and a storage bin.

For cargo, the Quad Cab has a 6-foot-4-inch-long bed, which is also available on lower trim levels of the crew cab. Most crew cabs, like our test vehicle, have a 5-foot-7-inch box. An available multifunction tailgate can either open outward in two parts or drop down like in a conventional pickup. Top-trim Rams add a power tailgate this year. 

2025 Ram 1500 Warlock ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The Price of Admission

The 2025 Ram 1500 starts at $40,275 for a base Tradesman Quad Cab with rear-wheel drive and vinyl seats, though it also includes advanced features like adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, and lane-keeping steering assistance, plus a six-speaker stereo. 

A host of other trim levels can take your price tag toward six figures. At that point, the new top Tungsten trim level includes the maximum screen sizes, a 23-speaker Klipsch Reference Premiere stereo, hands-free highway driving, a panoramic sunroof, the ability to use your phone as a key, and a surround-view parking camera. 

In addition to a wide range of features, you can also get off-road-focused models at multiple stages of the Ram range. The Warlock, like our test vehicle, is derived from a well-optioned Tradesman. The midlevel Rebel, priced from $64,195, is an off-road version of the leather-upholstered Laramie. And the RHO, priced from $69,995, offers top-of-the-line performance on and off the pavement – and at a much more attainable price than last year’s $96,000. 

The Ram is built in Michigan, but many of its parts come from outside the U.S., including a Mexican-built engine. This could raise the truck’s price if auto tariffs continue. 

Ram vs. the Competition

As a full-size half-ton pickup, the 2025 Ram 1500 faces off against the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 (and its GMC Sierra 1500 twin), the Ford F-150, and the Toyota Tundra. 

The Ram has the smoothest ride and the quickest engine of this segment. It’s a relaxing ride even by the modern standards of cushy pickups. But it doesn’t have the highest possible towing and payload capacities. Some buyers will also appreciate how the F-150 slots an engine between the Ram’s base V6 and its standard-output turbo. The F-150 and Tundra have available gas-electric hybrids that cut fuel consumption without reducing power, and the Silverado and Sierra have class-exclusive diesel engines. The F-150 and the GM trucks are more widely available with hands-free highway driving. And except for the Tundra, the rest of the class is available with a classic rumbly V8 engine (though all also have smaller-displacement turbos available). 

The Ram also doesn’t have an electric option to compete against the Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra EV, Rivian R1T, or Tesla Cybertruck. A fully electric Ram 1500 REV is due out in 2026, while a class-exclusive plug-in hybrid called the Ram 1500 Ramcharger is coming later this year. It promises 145 miles of all-electric range for daily use, plus a gas engine to use as a generator when it’s more convenient to fill a gas tank than recharge the battery. 

2024 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 ・ Photo by Brady Holt

A Luxury Truck That Doesn’t Feel Fragile

The 2025 Ram 1500 is a technical marvel. It’s simultaneously comfortable, capable, powerful, and decently economical. Even a rugged Ram feels like a high-end vehicle – a balance that rival pickups have struggled to achieve. This truck doesn’t need to be rough to feel tough. 

Also, while the new turbocharged V6 may lack a V8’s character, but it checks all the boxes on paper. Ram has hinted recently that a Hemi V8 might return as well, based on customer feedback, but we’re happy with the truck already on sale. 

Other trucks have greater bragging rights when it comes to towing and hauling. And Ram has fallen behind on hybrids and EVs, at least for now. But otherwise, Ram offers a well-rounded package that’s a particular standout in everyday use – especially if you like to go fast. 

2025 Ram 1500 Warlock ・ Photo by Brady Holt