2025 Ram 1500 Crew Cab

　　2025 Ram 1500 Review

　　New looks, tech and engines round out the 1500's updates

　　byNick YekikianNews Editor

　　Nick Yekikian has worked in the automotive industry since 2019. He has written close to a thousand car-related articles and tested and reviewed more than 200 vehicles over the course of his career. Nick is the News Editor at zzdcar and has also contributed to MotorTrend, Automobile Magazine and Super Street. When Nick isn't zipping around town in his latest used-car find, he's probably making digital art in Photoshop or playing disc golf with friends.

　　11/06/2023

　　What is the Ram 1500?

　　After Ford and Chevy recently unveiled refreshes to their full-size pickup trucks, Ram was the final member of the Big Three without major changes to its half-ton lineup. Not wanting to be left out of the party, the 2025 Ram 1500 is also refreshed with new tech and a modestly updated cabin. There’s also a new top-spec trim level called Tungsten, and it’s a pure luxury pickup. But for 2025, the biggest news isn't what Ram is adding — it's what they're taking away.

　　What's under the Ram 1500's hood?

　　Gone from the Ram 1500 lineup is the stalwart V8. As in, entirely. Not a single Ram 1500 will be powered by an eight-cylinder engine from the 2025 model year onward. But that's not neccesarily a bad thing. The 5.7-liter Hemi found under the hood of the current 1500 is ages old, with a gruff power delivery and clunky engagement. It also doesn't make sufficient power compared to its rivals. That's what Ram is aiming to fix with the V8's replacement, the automaker's new 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine named the Hurricane.

　　The new I6 will come in two power outputs. The standard version produces 420 horsepower and 469 lb-ft of torque, while High Output versions will make 540 horsepower and 521 lb-ft of torque. For context, the 5.7-liter V8 in the current 1500 makes just 395 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque, making even the entry-level I6 more potent. It's worth noting that the TRX — the most powerful production pickup ever made as of this writing — will be discontinued after 2024 and will be replaced with a new 1500 called RHO. Details are slim for now, but this new trim will effectively replace the TRX as the brand's most capable sport pickup and will use the 540-hp variant of the I6.

　　How's the Ram 1500's interior?

　　Because this is just a refresh, the inside of the 1500 hasn't changed too much; the general layout of the interior is very similar to the pre-refresh 1500. But, just to make sure the 1500 is keeping up with the Joneses, there is a new (optional) 10.25-inch passenger screen on higher trims, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, and a larger center touchscreen display — up to 14.5 inches from the old Ram's 12 inches. A new row of permanent buttons on the touchscreen replaces a few functions that had dedicated physical controls (such as the height selection for models with the air suspension). The HVAC controls, however, still have both digitial and redundant physical buttons.

　　How's the Ram 1500's tech?

　　All the tech you'd expect of a modern pickup are present and accounted for in the 1500. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a vast number of USB ports (both A and C) are all standard, and a head-up display is optional. A number of optional driver aids like forward collision mitigation, lane departure mitigation, blind-spot warning, and a digital rearview mirror are all available for extra coin. The current Ram 1500 offered adaptive cruise control, but the 2025 model takes it one step further. Now available is what Ram is calling Hands-free Driving Assist, a Level 2+ semi-autonomous driving system. The system offers the capability of hands-off driving at freeway speeds and lane centering on approved roadways, though we don't know the extent of Ram's premapped roadways.

　　What are the Ram 1500's trims?

　　While detailed information on the 2025 Ram's trims isn't yet available, we do know that it will offer these trim levels: Tradesman, Big Horn/Lone Star, Laramie, Rebel, Limited, Longhorn Limited and Tungsten.

　　The Tungsten model joins the Ram lineup as the new top-spec truck for 2025. It's aimed squarely at people who want a truck that's more luxurious in nature (i.e., you won't be seeing these on job sites). The Tungsten offers a vast amount of leather — including on the window pillars and the headliner — a 23-speaker Klipsch audio system, dual wireless chargers and metal pedals. It also gets a new molded front bumper instead of a more traditional steel one. The Tungsten will easily be the most expensive truck in the 1500 lineup, but we'll have to wait a little while longer for pricing information for the 2025 Ram 1500. Expect to see these dot your local Ram dealership in the spring of 2024.

　　zzdcar says

　　There's plenty of newness here, but is it enough to finally best the F-150 in our rankings? We'll only know once we've driven it. Stay tuned.