With the updated and upgraded 2025 1500 series, Ram Trucks is taking a swing at the throne occupied by the Ford F-Series – which got its 2024 F-150 refreshed just in time for the fall show season at NAIAS. But they might just go all out and attack at all levels.
The 2025 Ram 1500 series – which doesn't look all that changed from the outside compared to the current iteration – is much more than a simple facelift. While it's subtle on the outside, it has a completely redone interior, adding a passenger-side display, and the powertrains are entirely new, with just one exception.
Compared to the 2024MY, the only mill that soldiers on is the base 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 equipped with the eTorque mild hybrid system. Above it, instead of the Hemi V8s, now sit a pair of 3.0-liter inline-six Hurricane engines with 420 hp or 540 hp for the H/O (high output) version. Sadly, Ram is waving goodbye to the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 and especially the 6.2-liter supercharged V8 with 702 hp from under the hood of the 2024 Ram 1500 TRX.
Indeed, those who were planning to buy the regular Hemi V8 will surely be happy with the 420 or 540 Hurricanes. The TRX fans, on the other hand, might not feel that the upcoming 540-hp Ram 1500 RHO is enough to mitigate the Ford F-150 Raptor and Raptor R threats. On the other hand, the company also proposes a 'jack of all trades' version for next year – alongside the all-electric Ram 1500 REV, they also resurrected the Ramcharger moniker.
The 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger is not a two-door full-size SUV from Dodge anymore but rather a light-duty pickup truck that's better than both the hybrid, 437 or 469-hp Toyota Tundra i-Force Max as well as the multitude of EV trucks – Rivian R1T, GMC Hummer EV, Ford F-150 Lightning. And that's easy to see why – it has two electric motors and a 92-kWh battery pack, eAWD, an independent, adjustable air suspension all around, better payload and towing ratings than the gas-powered versions, plus a 3.6-liter V6, and a generator acting as range extenders, so you don't have to worry about range anxiety!
But wait, as there is more. According to the rumor mill, the Brazil-made Ram Rampage unibody compact pickup truck is coming to America to rival the best-selling Ford Maverick and the premium Hyundai Santa Cruz. And we are still not finished. After the UAW strike ended, the leaders announced they secured a deal to keep the Belvidere, Illinois plant moving forward – and it will be home to a new vehicle, a mid-size truck.
So, as it turns out, Ram Trucks is attacking the throne of full-size light-duty trucks, wants a piece of the unibody compact sector, and is (finally) ready to propose an alternative to the upcoming N400 Toyota Tacoma, next-gen Ford Ranger and Ranger Raptor, all-new Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, plus the Nissan Frontier and Honda Ridgeline. According to the rumor mill, the Jeep Gladiator adventurer will get a more traditional workhorse from Ram Trucks – and it could be the fabled Dodge Dakota revival.
Well, if that won't happen in the real world, no worries; it has already occurred across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators. The latest proposal comes from Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, who has also taken up the task of revealing the Ram Dakota revival – with a little bit of AI assistance, as far as we can tell. Cool or not?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News