2025 Ram 1500 Big Horn V-6 First Test Review: Big Truck, Small Engine

If you are considering buying a 2025 Ram 1500 Big Horn with the base V-6 engine, only do so if your goal is to pay as little money as possible. Or maybe just don’t. The entry-level engine just does not have enough muscle. And in today's mad world where a $64,000 full-size pickup can still have the least powerful engine in its lineup, that base engine matters.

The lowliest engine you can buy in a Ford F-150? A 2.7-liter twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V-6 making 325 hp and a massive 400 lb-ft of torque. A Chevy Silverado 1500 Custom of similar price and configuration includes GM’s entry-level 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder—which nonetheless outmuscles the Ram’s 3.6-liter non-turbocharged Pentastar V-6 engine by 5 hp and 157 lb-ft of torque.

Paying the extra $2,695 for the 2025 Ram 1500’s next-level-up (and all-new) twin-turbo Hurricane I-6 engine and its 420 hp is therefore nearly a requirement, not a consideration, for anyone keen on their truck not being a rolling roadblock. Which is too bad, because the Ram 1500 Big Horn (Lone Star if you’re buying one in Texas), which sits above the base-level Tradesman trim, is otherwise a looker, with confidence-inspiring brakes, an enormous back seat, decent interior comfort, and fine road manners.

See All 21 Photos21

An Overworked Favorite

Look, the Ram’s Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6 is a great engine in smaller and lighter vehicles, making base-model Dodge Chargers and Challengers quick enough to convince the uninitiated they’re fast (or fast enough for those who can’t afford the V-8s), and this engine ably moves Chrysler’s minivan around. But strapped to nearly 5,000 pounds of 1500 Big Horn, the V-6 loses some pluck. For 2025, the engine comes only with Stellantis’ eTorque mild hybrid tech, which includes an electric starter/generator motor on the accessory drive belt capable of assisting the V-6 at very low speeds and enabling extended engine-off periods when stopped at red lights.

In the Ram, when you step on the gas, you’ll watch the tach needle twist and hear the engine snarl through its powerband. Acceleration follows tepidly, even as the V-6 revs to its high-rpm power peak. A stoplight drag against a 30-year-old Miata is effectively a draw; by the time the Ram gets to the speed limit, the Miata is still on its quarter panel. Reaching 60 mph takes a long 8.1 seconds, well beyond base-engine-equipped competitors; even Chevy’s four-cylinder Silverado is a full second quicker to 60 mph.

This example came optioned with the tow package, but given how hard the V-6 works to motivate the truck alone, you can imagine adding a load will slow things down further. The new Hurricane I-6 would fix this entirely, even in standard output guise. The optional engine’s oomph is available far lower down in the rev range while delivering nearly 100 lb-ft more peak torque, in addition to over 100 extra horsepower—enough to push a base Ram 1500 Tradesman we also tested to 60 mph in just 4.8 seconds (a nicer, heavier Laramie needed a still-quick 5.0 seconds), easily justifying its $2,695 price. The High Output Hurricane (540 hp, 521 lb-ft) gets the decked-out (read: far heavier) Ram 1500 Tungsten to that mark in 4.4 seconds, beating almost anything in the Mopar lineup that doesn’t have a supercharged V-8.

See All 21 Photos21

Still a Big Truck

Like every other 1500 trim in the lineup besides the Tradesman HFE, the Big Horn offers the massive interior of the full Crew Cab. (It and the Tradesman, conversely, are the only two trims that offer the shorter Quad Cab option; the rest are Crew Cab–only.) The Crew’s limo-like rear legroom is excellent, and the cloth seats front and back are decently comfy. There’s almost enough room for the truck to have a mailing address, or two, considering the depth of center console and rear under-seat storage space.

The materials and finish are merely so-so in this entry-level model, and the upper glovebox door is as cheap-feeling here as it is in other 1500 models. At least the Uconnect infotainment system is reliable and navigable, making good use of the optional 14.5-inch touchscreen’s area. That touchscreen is one of the better options choices made for this particular Big Horn example.

See All 21 Photos21

Other interesting equipment that stands out in segment? Ram’s optional air springs, which are fitted to this Big Horn example. We wish they rode more softly, in line with most peoples’ luxury-car expectations for suspensions of this type, but the setup does offer height adjustability and lower settings for loading goods or better aerodynamics at highway speeds. The blacked-out features of the Night Edition package also fitted to this Ram help the Big Horn look a bit snazzier, though whether the package is worth the $2,545 is up to personal preference; remember, for a little over $200 more, you could have the Hurricane engine instead.

See All 21 Photos21

The Better Engine Is a Better Value

We all know full-size trucks are expensive, but the fact one can option a Pentastar-powered Big Horn to the same price as a base Rebel 1500 with the turbocharged Hurricane engine standard means buyers should take care when ordering. Though the Big Horn starts at $45,230, where even with its weak-ish V-6 it’s a decent value, piling on the options to arrive at our test truck’s nearly $65,000 price tag changes the calculus significantly. Either trade one of the option groups for the 420-hp Hurricane engine or simply step up to a 1500 Rebel (which also gets you some off-road gear in addition to the beefier engine), but whatever you do, don’t settle for the Pentastar V-6.