In addition to over-the-top capability off the beaten path, the Ram TRX is a surprising performer on the road. For reference, did you know that the Helltruck is one-tenth slower to 60 mph than the Porsche 718 Cayman S?
According to Ram, 12.9 seconds are needed for the TRX to cross the quarter-mile finish line from a standing start. The question is, how does the supercharged V8-engined pickup fare against a more specialized vehicle?
Enter the Can-Am Maverick X3 Turbo RR, a side-by-side that weighs a lot less and features more suspension travel than the most off-road-oriented pickup in the segment. The Fast Lane compared these two on the blacktop and dirt to surprising results, and spoiler alert: the Maverick came out as the victor.
On a paved road, the Ram launched to 60 miles per hour in 4.78 and 4.73 seconds, respectively, while the Can-Am couldn’t do better than 5.52 and 4.94 seconds. Over a distance of 440 yards, the TRX won once while the Maverick crossed the finish line first by mere inches on the second try.
These results are pretty much mirrored on the dirt. The Can-Am crosses the line by quite a considerable margin first time out, but the 702-horsepower pickup got revenge by just a nose on the second run. As for the final test, Andre Smirnov of The Fast Lane decided to pitch these bad boys against each other on a dirt course that favors the much lighter Maverick X3 RR.
As you would expect, the Can-Am finished the lap much faster than the half-ton truck thanks to greater agility and no fewer than 22 inches compared to 14 inches of rear-wheel travel. Despite the segment-leading output figures, the 6.2-liter blown TRX couldn’t do better than 49.83 seconds compared to 45.03 seconds for the Maverick with a three-cylinder Rotax turbo engine.
On that note, which of these two completely different vehicles would you pick for a weekend away from the urban jungle? If you ask me, I couldn’t resist the temptation of flooring a supercharged HEMI off the beaten path in Baja Mode.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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