Ram has done away with its full-size pickup's optional gas V-8 engine
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00 Hi, I'm Alexander Stocklosa, deputy editor of Motor Trend, and we're here today with
00:10 the 2025 Ram 1500.
00:13 Now, outwardly it may look pretty similar to the 2024 model.
00:17 However, working under the hood is a big, big change, and it's not just for Ram, for
00:21 the full-size segment generally.
00:23 You cannot buy a 2025 Ram 1500 with a Hemi V8.
00:29 It's just gone.
00:30 Instead, you get the choice of one of two outputs for the same Hurricane 3 liter twin-turbo
00:36 inline six.
00:38 The standard output beats the old Hemi on power.
00:40 The high output, as installed in this new range-topping tungsten trim level, just blows
00:46 it out of the water entirely.
00:48 So let's get this out on the road, see how the new six handles this very large truck,
00:53 and give you some impressions.
00:56 So inside the Ram 1500 are a few small but noticeable changes.
01:02 There's this new digital display.
01:04 This display continues, but it's a little bit better arranged.
01:08 And then new for 2025, and ported over from more luxurious Jeeps, is this passenger side
01:14 screen.
01:15 So it's not visible to me from the driver's seat, but to a passenger they can follow along
01:21 navigation information.
01:24 Other smaller things, there's dual wireless phone chargers available, and some new trailer
01:31 backup assists as well.
01:33 Otherwise, it's the same upscale Ram interior that we've come to expect.
01:38 This one is even more elevated, being the new for 2025 tungsten trim.
01:43 So you get all the stitching, and it feels pretty close to a Jeep Grand Wagoneer in here,
01:48 and this is a truck, so pretty impressive.
01:54 So the big question is whether this new Hurricane inline six can truly replace Ram's Hemi V8.
02:01 Right off the bat, I don't think this is going to be a very hard transition.
02:07 Even the entry level standard output Hurricane puts out about 420 horsepower, which is significantly
02:16 more than the old 5.7 liter Hemi V8, and it's 395 horsepower.
02:22 We are currently in a tungsten truck here, the new highest level trim.
02:27 That means it's got the high output Hurricane engine, which is putting down 540 horsepower
02:33 and 521 pound feet of torque.
02:36 So basically we're just blowing away the old Hemi, as we'll demonstrate here for a little
02:41 bit of fun.
02:45 Sounds great, there's a little bit of a turbo blow off, and we're up to speed.
02:50 Yeah, we'll miss the V8 for the noise, but this has its own sound that's pretty good,
02:57 and the pickup is amazing.
02:58 It just feels like a nice, modern, tight engine.
03:02 Twin turbos, virtually no lag, and just sharp throttle response.
03:08 There's a little bit of an interesting lope at idle.
03:11 It's almost like they tuned that in to give it a trucky kind of vibe, but it's not intrusive.
03:16 There's no vibration.
03:17 Again, this is a very smooth engine.
03:20 Very powerful, really satisfying, and again, you're getting a lot of bang for your buck
03:24 because that upgrade engine in standard output form is more than you got with the old Hemi.
03:32 Obviously the engine isn't the only change, but it is the biggest.
03:35 There's some revisions here and there.
03:37 Luxury quotient has gone up already over the considerably luxurious limited trim with this
03:42 tungsten, but the engine is a huge deal.
03:46 A full-size truckmaker not offering a traditional gas V8 is an even bigger deal.
03:51 We think this Hurricane engine lineup eviscerates that as a concern.
03:54 It is just wholly up to the task for this truck, and it will make you forget that there
03:59 isn't a V8 available.
04:01 So will customers miss this V8?
04:04 Maybe.
04:05 We won't because this Hurricane in line six really pushes the Ram 1500 forward.
04:11 You layer into that these styling revisions, the much more luxurious tungsten trim, some
04:16 of those extra display technologies trickling over from like Jeep's brand.
04:22 Yeah, it's a better 1500.
04:25 Is it going to be a better 1500 without a V8?
04:28 Absolutely.
04:28 (dramatic music)