2025 Ram 1500, by Eric Peters – haroonabadvital.com
Can a 3.0-liter—and six-cylinder—replace a 5.7-liter and eight-cylinder? That’s the question posed by the just-refreshed 2025 Ram 1500 pickup, which is no longer available with a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 — but is available with a new twin-turbocharged six-cylinder in two different configurations.
What is it?
The Ram 1500 is a half-ton pickup truck, available in a quad or crew cab body style. Quad Cabs come standard with a short bed (5-foot-7); The crew cab comes standard with a long bed (6-foot-4).
Regular Cab (2-door only) is no longer available.
Prices start at $42,270 for the base Tradesman model in Quad Cab configuration with 2WD.
As before, the Ram Quad Cab is also available in two other models: HFE and Big Horn (sold as Lone Star in Texas). They all come standard with the same 3.6-liter V6 (and mild-hybrid “eTorque” system) that was standard last year.
This year, however, you can opt for a new engine option – a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged engine with 420 hp or 540 hp. This is the engine that Stellantis – the parent company of Ram, Jeep and Dodge – will use in many models that previously offered V8 engines.
The 420-hp version of the Straight Six Turbo is a $2,695 option for Rams that come standard with the 3.6-liter V6; It’s standard on Laramie ($62,025) and Rebel ($66,190) models — crew cab only. The 540-hp High Output version of the new Six is standard on Limited ($77,150) and Longhorn ($77,645) as well as the premium new Tungsten ($89,150) model, which is also limited to the Crew Cab configuration and comes only with the short bed.
All-wheel drive is optional with the V6 and the 420-hp version of the new six. It’s standard with the 540-hp inline-six version.
New for 2025
The RAM loses the previously available Hemi V8 but gets a new inline-six engine, as mentioned above.
Additionally, the Ram 25 gets an updated version of the UConnect system found on other Stellantis models that includes a larger 14.5-inch primary touchscreen along with a secondary 10.25-inch touchscreen for the front-seat passenger, an available on-board power adapter, massaging seats, and a Klipsch sound system. Reference 23 speakers, dual wireless phone chargers (tungsten trim) and available Level 2+ automated driving capability.
Which is good
– The new six produces more power than the previously available V8 – and doesn’t burn any more gas than the old V8.
— An available two-piece (and three-way) tailgate greatly improves bed accessibility.
-This truck drives like a luxury sedan – even with a slab of brick in the bed.
What is not good
-No more V8.
-Limited cab configurations – just two – and one of them (Quad) limits your trim options to just three.
– An eight-foot bed is not available – which means this full-size truck has almost the same length Beds like a midsize truck with a 6-foot bed.
Under the hood
The Rams Quad Cab/base still comes standard with the same 3.6-liter V6 engine that was standard last year. This engine is coupled with a mild-hybrid system called eTorque that shuts down the engine during idling and coasting and when the truck is not moving, with a 48-volt electrical system to power accessories during these times and a belt drive system to quickly restart the engine when its power is needed.
Ram’s previously optional 5.7-liter V8 has been discontinued — because it is no longer “compliant” with the latest federal regulations. Or it wouldn’t happen soon, so I had to go. (It’s also why the Challenger and Charger sedans were discontinued last year; without a V8, these cars were like hamburgers without hamburgers.)
Replacing the displacement is a new 3.0-liter Straight Six Turbo that’s about half the displacement—just 3.0 liters—but makes more power than the 5.7 Hemi: 420 horsepower versus the previous 395. It also produces much more torque: 469 lb-ft (at 3,500 rpm) versus just 410 lb-ft (at 3,950 rpm) of the departing Hemi V8.
There’s also an optional high-performance version of this engine that delivers even more power: 540 horsepower and 521 pound-feet of torque (also at 3,500 rpm). The new six has enough of both to allow you to tow nearly 12,000 pounds with this platform.
An eight-speed automatic transmission is standard as before. The last two gears (7th and 8th) are overdrive gears (0.84 and 0.67 respectively) which reduce engine speed at highway speeds and thus also reduce fuel consumption at highway speeds.
On the road
The new inline-six pulls harder than the old V8, but it doesn’t voice Like that. There is a silent crescendo instead of the previous bellow. When you press the engine start button, you get less engine noise.
But the power is there, and you can feel He – she.
Gently press the throttle and you’ll get instant, powerful acceleration. The six feels twice as big and makes you forget it’s almost twice as small as the V8 you can no longer get.
It’s also smooth – something you are no feel.
At the sidewalk
The fact that Ram is no longer available in regular cab/long bed (8-foot) configuration reflects the fact that half-ton trucks are really an alternative to the two-ton luxury sedans you can’t get anymore.
Even full-size new cars – models like the current Mercedes S-Class Sedan – are small sedans compared to what full-size meant – in America – before American sedans downsized (which happened because of the push for American sedans to downsize). Comply with government-mandated “corporate” fuel economy standards that apply to Passenger cars But no Light trucks).
The ’25 Benz S-Class sedan is just 208.2 inches long — or about two feet shorter than a large American car, like a 225 Buick Electra or an early 1970s Cadillac DeVille sedan. Ram is 228.4 It’s inches longer and rides on a 140-inch wheelbase — versus just 126 inches for a “full-size” Mercedes, which seems paltry (by comparison).
The Ram also seats six people versus five and has that bed in the back as well as a hitch in the back. Making it far more practical and useful than any large American sedan ever.
The rest
These new six are not just a replacement for displacement; It’s an impressive (and attractive) drive in its own right.
But will the same regulatory pressure that effectively forced the retirement of the Hemi V8 eventually force the retirement of its replacement?
Absolutely, yes.
Logic is merciless. If a V8 produces a lot of CO2, they’ll inevitably say the six does too. So this great six will probably only be around for a few years before they are retired as well.
Bottom line
Beef is still what’s for dinner. But for how long is anyone’s guess.
See the Ram 1500 this week.
Eric’s latest book, “Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!” It will be available soon. To learn more about Eric and read his previous columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
Image source: On Unsplash
