No truck with a RAM badge has ever been as luxurious or lavish as this new twin-turbo high output pickup
February 22, 2024 at 00:01
The 2025 Ram 1500 isn’t entirely redesigned, but it signifies a significant change for the brand. Gone is the exposed steel on the bumper and last year’s HEMI V8 engine. Instead, you’ll find a sleeker body design with a cleaner looking plastic fascia and a twin-turbocharged inline-six 3.0-liter engine that offers both increased power and improved fuel efficiency. Inside, the cabin features upgraded materials, enhanced technology, and increased attention to detail.
Of course, with all of these improvements, the facelifted 1500 is now more expensive than ever before with a starting price of $40,275. In fact, there’s an all-new range-topping trim dubbed the Tungsten that starts at $87,155. Those figures are before destination and handling ($1,995) too.
While we’ve known about many of the features on paper since November, this was our first chance to get up close and personal with the pickup. Our testing consisted of piloting the new Tungsten both in the dense urban jungle of Austin, Texas, but also out in the rural areas like Dripping Springs, Bee Cave, and Bear Creek. Here’s what we learned about the Ram’s new flagship pickup truck.
Our 2025 Ram 1500 Tungsten came fully loaded with an as-tested price of $90,535 before delivery fees. Part of that price is the standard High-Output version of the Hurricane 3.0-liter straight-six twin-turbo engine under the hood. It develops 540 hp (403 kW) and 521 lb-ft (706 Nm) of torque and sends it to all four wheels via an eight-speed Torqueflite 8HP75 automatic gearbox.
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More: 2025 Ram 1500 Debuts As A Twin-Turbo City Slicker With Fancy Tungsten Trim
Photos Stephen Rivers/Carscoops, Stellantis
That drivetrain package also includes a two-speed transfer case and multiple operating modes such as 4WD Auto, 4WD High, 4WD Low, neutral, and locked. Ram also offers three different axle ratios including 3.21, 3.55, and 3.92 so that buyers can select the best one for their intended usage. Notably, only the 3.92 is available on the Tungsten.
Interestingly, it hasn’t released details on exactly how the High-Output Hurricane engine performs in terms of fuel economy. Ram does say that the base 3.6-liter V6 Pentastar engine should get 24 mpg on the highway, so we expect the H/O Hurricane to get less than that. The normal SST version of the Hurricane engine might end up near that 24 mpg mark though. When properly equipped the Ram 1500 can tow up to 11,580 pounds.
Luxury All Around
Where the Tungsten really intends to stand out is in the cabin. Ram made a big point about that name too. Tungsten, known for its rarity and strength, is the strongest metal globally with the highest melting point. It’s often used in drill bits and Ram used that as inspiration for some of the interior design. The same knurling pattern one would find on a tungsten carbide bit is littered throughout the cabin.
More: What Do You Want To Know About The Ram 1500 Tungsten?
You’ll find it on the VIN plate sitting proudly in the middle of the center armrest, on the plastic gear selector, on the plastic trim of the steering wheel, on the badges in the floor mats, on the door cards, on the center console, and in other places. We wish it were made of real metal instead of cheap plastic but at least it adds some flair the same way Chevrolet did in the Trax we drove last year.
What’s unquestionably high class though is the seating in the Tungsten. Up front you’ll find 24-way adjustable heated, ventilated, and massaging seats with luxurious leather upholstery. They’re nearly identical to the ones found in the Jeep Grand Wagoneer and they truly elevate the Ram into flagship territory.
The rear seats are comfortable and luxurious as well, though they lack some of the flashy tech found in the front buckets. Rear occupants even benefit from rear-facing speakers integrated into the back of the front seats. All passengers will enjoy the expansive panoramic sunroof that comes standard on the Tungsten.
In addition, the Tungsten comes standard with a 14.5-inch portrait-oriented infotainment system rocking Uconnect 5. It’s paired with a 10.5-inch infotainment system for the front passenger and a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster. A full-color heads-up display is also available.
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As a package, it’s unbeatable in the segment. Not only is Uconnect 5 incredibly fast and feature-rich, but it also comes equipped with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay for those who prefer them. The gauge cluster is highly configurable as well, allowing owners to prioritize and place their preferred data almost anywhere on the screen.
A 23-speaker Klipsch Reference sound system is standard on the Tungsten too. It’s capable of a very wide range, but lacked some of the bass that I expect in such a confined cabin. The McIntosh package in the Jeep Grand Wagoneer offered a much more crisp and fuller sound by comparison.
Cargo space is a huge part of any truck purchase and the Ram delivers there too. The center console is positively cavernous and comes with handy little baked-in details too. Mathematical equations for those on a job site sit on the underside of the armrest and a little easter egg showing former Ram generations sits at the bottom of the console.
The Ram Boxes on each side of the bed offer exterior lockable storage and even a hidden power outlet. Under the rear seats is another space for storage in a pinch and the bed can accommodate up to 2,300 pounds of payload capacity and 53.8 cubic feet of storage.
Grabbing The Ram By The Horns
Gone are the days of a truck feeling like a bucket of bolts roughly assaulting its occupants as they drive down the road. Today’s pickups are all about offering the comfort of a sedan or SUV without giving up the capability that those who absolutely need a truck require.
Ram attacked that problem a few years back with its double-wishbone front suspension paired with a five-link rear suspension mated to a solid rear axle. That was a unique setup and it’s proven to be one of the best handling full-size trucks on the market since.
For 2025, Ram revised that suspension package with new tuning and four-corner air suspension. On the road, those refinements show up in terms of how smooth the ride quality is. The steering is quite numb on center and the sheer mass of this pickup is evident in the way that it changes direction and comes to a stop. It’s better to drive on-road than the largely similar Ram Rebel but if you don’t need a truck we’d suggest looking for something that’ll provide a more engaging driving experience.
The drivetrain is a mostly positive experience too. Mashing the go pedal is met with a noticeable lag while the gearbox picks the right cog and the low-inertia turbochargers spool up, but once that’s done the 540 hp Tungsten is legitimately quick. We didn’t have anywhere safe to test things like 0-60 times, but expect this thing to be in the 5-second range if not better.
Passing power on the highway is equally ample but again, there’s a little bit of lag, even in sport mode where the truck gears down and gets going. Sure, some of the eagerness of the old HEMI V8 is gone but ultimately the Hurricane inline-six offers more power and evidently what will be better fuel economy.
Where the Ram 1500 Tungsten was most impressive was on the highway. Not only was it big-SUV comfortable but its available driver aids made the journey less taxing. It comes standard with Ram’s Active Driving Assist, a Level 2 semi-autonomous system that we found works very well in everyday traffic. Not only is it natural but it offers easy stop-and-go usage without having to intervene to keep the truck moving.
New for 2025 is a new Hands-Free Active Driving Assist program that works just like Ford’s Bluecruise or GM’s Supercruise meaning that it’s geo-locked onto pre-programmed highways. Once on one of those, the system can do all of the steering, accelerating, and braking without constant interaction from the driver.
2025 Ram 1500 Pricing
Final Thoughts
There’s little question that this is the most luxurious and most advanced Ram truck ever built. It’s unquestionably capable, legitimately posh, and full of some of the best tech available today. We’ll have to wait to drive the Ram Ramcharger and the Ram Rev to know if the entire 2025 Ram 1500 lineup keeps up with Ford and General Motors, but the Tungsten gives us enough information to compare the top trims.
To that end, we’d say that it’s a worthy rival to the GMC Sierra Denali Ultimate and the Ford F-150 Platinum Plus. In fact, it might be just a touch above those rivals as a complete package. They all sport the same three-year limited warranty and five-year powertrain coverage. Which one you’ll prefer will likely come down to very specific usage cases and personal preferences.