2025 Ram 1500 First Drive: Rock You Like A Tungsten Hurricane

An overhauled powertrain and trim lineup makes the 2025 Ram 1500 noteworthy. This full-size pickup gets parent company Stellantis' Hurricane treatment, a new rare-earth-inspired luxury version, and more of everything for this mid-cycle refresh. To showcase the Ram 1500's talents on-road and off, and the Ram brand's claimed goal of hitting that aspirational "everything to everyone" — by which they mean, suitable both for city dwellers and for those who buy a truck for truck purposes — Austin's a perfect setting. Upbeat city vibes along with and country not far off the path, it also has the benefit of being warm in February, which helps immensely.

For the 2025 Ram 1500, the goal is to offer "more luxury than a European sedan." Initial impressions based on our experience are that Ram actually knows what it's talking about. Furthermore, Ram has announcements on deck planned for every month this year, including a new sport truck and the Ram REV EV truck.

Every truck maker wants its potential buyers to feel understood, whether those shoppers live in a city with weekend wilderness aspirations or they're truly rural at heart. Let's take a look at the latest upgrades for the Ram 1500.

The Ram 1500 was last fully redesigned for the 2019 model year. Ram scrapped the diesel V6 engine for the 2024 model, and the 2025 refresh goes a significant step further by letting go of the 6.2-liter supercharged V8. That's no surprise — anyone who currently owns a Ram truck is probably aware of the engine overhauls that first hit the Dodge and Jeep brands — but both are still an icepick to the neck of the Biggest Baddest Trucks genre, at least in theory. 

Ram doesn't seem all that concerned about it. The pair of V6 Hurricane engines we first saw in the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer deliver V8 power, and the rest of the 1500's benefits and features are pretty good, too. It's one of the more comprehensive mid-cycle updates we've seen in recent memory, and one that genuinely seems well-suited to what buyers want, instead of what the automaker wants to believe buyers want.

Aside from the new Tungsten trim level, which we'll cover in more detail, exterior updates to the Ram 1500 are on the subtle side. Mark Trostle, Ram's head of exterior design, explained in the pre-drive briefing that the brand "didn't need to change everything on it" because truck owners "love the faces on their trucks." To that end, each of the 2025 Ram 1500's eight trims has a distinctive look, but the body itself sees few changes. The Tungsten is the brand's first "fascia truck," eschewing the standard steel bumper in favor of a sculpted front end. The Rebel model has a bolder look to match its off-road skills, thanks to an emphasis on its width rather than its height, anchored by black accents and 18-inch wheels with 33-inch tires.

The Ram 1500 features glam interior accommodations and tech across the lineup. The emphasis is on premium finishes and functionality, according to Ryan Nagode, Ram's head of interior design. The new Tungsten is again the most noteworthy of the group, with an exclusive interior color scheme and 24-way power front seats dressed in leather. If the Tungsten is out reach, the Limited model's 12-way power seats have decadent massage settings.

The 1500's most premium available surfaces are painted and then laser-etched for a subtle yet glam two-tone texture, though the look and feel are well-curated across the lineup.

Digital real estate, in 8.4-inch, 12-inch, and 14.5-inch versions, is elegant and customizable, and houses Uconnect 5, the latest version of the Stellantis family's well-liked infotainment interface. For off-roading in the Rebel trim, the relevant settings have their own cluster of physical controls, and when the trail camera is available, the option pops right up in the main display. That's particularly nice because when you need the trail camera, you're not usually in a position to take the time to go looking for it. Competitors, take note.

Ram really walks a fine line between offering and forcing too much tech. For example, the 1500 offers a 10.25-inch passenger-specific touchscreen to access navigation, entertainment, and exterior cameras, and it's well integrated and unobtrusive. Ram also introduces a smartphone-as-key feature this year — use the app to access the truck, and grant or revoke access to friends and family — but it's not the kind of thing that you'll feel like you're being forced into paying for and a fool if you never use it, which goes a long way toward making an objectively expensive truck feel like a smart buy. Available dual wireless charging is a nice touch.

The Ram 1500 is newly available with the Hurricane engines first introduced in the Jeep lineup. They're both 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged straight-sixes, with ratings of 420 horsepower and 468 pound-feet of torque, and 540 horsepower and 521 pound-feet of torque, more powerful and efficient than the company's 5.7-liter engine. Under the hood, the Hurricane family features a lightweight aluminum block with a closed deck for high pressure, and the spray bore liner optimizes fuel economy.

For a more economical option, Ram carries over the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 in battery-optimized eTorque configuration, with 305 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque. All three engines come with a smooth TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission. Both Hurricane engine options require premium fuel to achieve the quoted specs.

In rear- or four-wheel drive configuration, this truck can divide torque across the rear axle to optimize rear-wheel traction. Properly equipped, the 2025 Ram 1500 can tow up to 11,580 pounds.

Refreshes are often scrutinized for visual changes, but there's plenty new to like under the surface of the 2025 Ram 1500, too. Ram tweaked the air suspension system for better, well, everything; the electronics system also got an update with a focus on faster, more reliable, and more secure OTA updates.

Both newly available Hurricane engines deliver smooth and confident acceleration, while the High Output version, engineered to combat V8 envy, truly impresses. The website of a major car magazine, at this moment, probably features a video I filmed of my co-driver pulling a test run of dubious legality; I wasn't entirely sure he'd come back to retrieve me except I had his phone.

Ram's available Active Driving Assist system, which is comparable to Ford's BlueCruise and GM's Super Cruise, automates steering, accelerating, and braking functions on specific mapped highways and in the right traffic conditions. In our testing, the system is easy to activate and inspires confidence — to the extent that a skeptic like me can actually breathe while a big truck is going about its business. In thusly-equipped Ram 1500 models, the steering wheel has haptic sensors to ensure the driver is touching the wheel, and a sensor ensures the driver is looking forward. The adaptive cruise control can drop all the way down to a stop, and gradually speed back up if it's appropriate for traffic conditions.

Fortunately, we had no need to test the updated automatic emergency braking, which can steer to avoid a collision, and the cross-path accident avoidance, which senses and dodges obstacles in the projected course of a turn.

Get your truck dirty, friends. A fellow journalist pal at the drive event actually owns a current-generation Ram 1500 Rebel, but admitted he's never off-roaded in it because he's "a pretty boy" (his own words). That's a dang shame.

Ram sent us on a pretty technical off-road course in the updated Rebel to test its mettle. Nestled into cozy seats and surrounded by premium leather, it was a treat to experiment with the Rebel's all-terrain hardware and software. It can crawl automatically down a hill at your choice of speed, gives access to a ground-level front-facing camera at the touch of a button, adjusts the air suspension, and puts all controls right where you need them — no digging through menus. This is the Ram 1500 I'd buy if I was in the market.

The 2025 Ram 1500 Tradesman starts at $40,275. From there, the Big Horn and Lone Star trims start at $44,935, with similar equipment but different aesthetic approaches. Then, it's a jump to the Laramie at $60,030. The off-road Rebel is a compelling option at $64,195. The Limited and Limited Longhorn list for $75,155 and $75,650, respectively, and then the top-tier Tungsten carries a sticker of $87,155. Add a steep $1,995 for destination across the lineup.

Today, the 2025 Ram 1500 line-up is a lot to consider if you're in the showroom, but it's thoughtfully done. Ram expects the Big Horn to soldier on as the volume seller, and Tungsten to make up a small percentage of sales as a combination of return and conquest buyers. Ram knows the Tungsten is on the expensive side, but that pricing includes key upgrades like the premium stereo system and the Ram Box cargo management system, with no real options to add to the bottom line.

These prices are in line with the key 1500-series competitors — the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, and GMC Sierra — though all basis for comparison goes out the window if you consider EV variations of those trucks. The upcoming 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger hybrid may well upend that balance once more, when it goes into production at the end of this year.