Tested! The 2025 Ram 1500 Standard Output Is Better Across the Board
This refreshed fifth-generation Ram isn’t perfect, but it does a lot of things right.
Pros
- Powerful, smooth engine
- Nice transmission except in super-sporty driving situations
- Interior loaded with features
Cons
- Pricier than before
- Brake feel and performance need improvement
- We’d prefer grippier tires on pavement
The refreshed-for-2025 Ram 1500 pickup truck takes the fifth-generation model up a notch from the original version that hit the market for the 2019 model year. That means it still rides on the high-strength steel frame introduced in 2018 and features a larger cabin than before—and boy, is it loaded with plugs, storage bins, features, and screens galore—along with upgraded electronics. This thorough midcycle refresh adds revised exterior styling including new-look bumpers, head- (now LED as standard) and taillights, and larger grilles. For longtime Ram fans, perhaps the more significant news for the 2025 version is that it marks the end of the line for the Hemi V-8. (If you want a full rundown of all the changes made to the 2025 Ram lineup, read our First Drive story here.)
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New Engines
When it comes to pure combustion-engine, Hemi-bettering models, Ram now offers customers a choice of two 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-6 engines, alongside the all-electric Ram 1500 REV and the upcoming plug-in hybrid Ram 1500 Ramcharger. And don’t forget the Ram RHO if you’re looking to perform some dune-jumping antics.
Ram differentiates the engines by output and somewhat by name, though each is dubbed an “SST,” for straight-six turbo. There are “standard-output” and “high-output” versions, each of which is derived from the lower-output Hurricane engine line that made its debut in Jeep’s Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. In Ram 1500s, the standard-output version makes 420 horsepower and 469 lb-ft of torque, while the high-output SST peaks at 540 hp and 521 lb-ft. For comparison, the now-discontinued 5.7-liter Hemi eTorque V-8 made 395 hp and 410 lb-ft.
Of course, you pay a price for the improvements, especially as you climb the trim ladder into trucks featuring the new engines. The 2025 Ram Rebel’s base price jumped by $4,845 versus its 2024 price, the Laramie by $3,990, the Limited by $9,395, and the Limited Longhorn by $14,255.
Other Basics
Don’t fret if you don’t need that much punch or want to pony up quite that many ducats: Ram still offers the 305-hp, 3.6-liter Pentastar eTorque V-6 as standard on Tradesman and Big Horn models, and the base price of an entry-level Tradesman’s starting price increased by less than $2,000 while the volume-selling Big Horn’s actually decreased by $105. You can, however, option those trucks with the standard-output SST 3.0-liter, which also comes standard on Rebel and Laramie trims. As for Limited, Limited Longhorn, and Tungsten models, they all get the big-boy high-output 540-hp twin-turbo six-cylinder.
As for general configurations, the 2025 Ram 1500 remains available in two- or four-wheel drive, Quad Cab (only Tradesman and Big Horn) or Crew Cab forms, and with bed sizes of 6 feet, 4 inches or 5 feet, 7 inches. And as we noted in our First Drive story, the axle ratios are unchanged (3.21, 3.55, and 3.92 are available), as are choices of open, limited-slip, and electronic locking differentials. The multifunction tailgate and class-exclusive RamBox bedside storage cubbies are still here, and there’s a new power lift and lower tailgate function.
Put to the MotorTrend Test
We got our hands on trucks to quantify the performance of both SST engines, so check back soon for our report about the high-output model. For this test, we’re talking about the 2025 Ram 1500 Crew Cab Laramie 4x4 with the 5-foot, 7-inch bed.
In our straight-line acceleration testing, the Ram 1500 Laramie ran from 0 to 60 mph in 5.0 seconds and through the quarter mile in 13.7 seconds at 98.3 mph. Those are big-time sports-car numbers from a distant but not entirely ancient or forgotten past, and they’re certainly impressive for a full-size truck creeping up on three tons and which features the lineup’s midlevel engine offering.
You don’t notice turbo lag entering the equation, and the strong engine sounds good, too. Sport mode allows you to defeat the traction- and stability-control systems—but only in four-wheel-drive auto mode. If you switch to two-wheel-drive mode, you can only turn off traction control, but that’s generally OK—we recorded our best time while using Sport and 4WD auto, as there is too much wheelspin in rear-drive mode. Meanwhile, the familiar TorqueFlite 8HP75 eight-speed automatic gearbox as usual provides quick and snappy shifts.
More than once during our closed-course testing we said something like, “great power,” about the standard-output engine, which was meant as almost nearly as much of a compliment about its smoothness and linearity as it was its outright speed production. We noted the same characteristics during our road drives of the Ram 1500 Laramie, on both city streets and freeways. If there’s one area of potentially sporadic annoyance, a few passengers we took for rides noted an at-times jittery ride on some of Los Angeles’ poor road surfaces. But that’s likely more to do with folks who aren’t used to regularly driving pickup trucks, as overall the Ram remains a smooth-riding full-sizer relative to the competition.
Other Numbers
In contrast to our happiness with the engine and the truck’s straight-line performance, braking and handling left us less impressed with the 2025 Ram 1500 Laramie standard-output pickup.
Annoyingly and at times mildly disconcertingly on the street, the brake pedal feels super soft when you step on it, requiring the driver to sometimes lean harder into the pedal than is expected and to a degree that never feels intuitive. The situation didn’t improve on the test track, where either the antilock braking system is slow to activate or the Ram’s 22-inch Pirelli Scorpion Verde all-season tires aren’t notably grippy, or both.
Our full-on hard stops from 60 mph were relatively consistent, but the Ram repeatedly pulled slightly to the left. Our best stopping distance of 133 feet is nothing to bow to, especially when you consider a 5.7-liter-powered, first-year fifth-gen Ram 1500 Laramie we tested six years ago stopped in 122 feet, though the fact it weighed 137 pounds less as tested than this 2025 model might have contributed. Regardless of the cause, the combination of the soft and not reassuring pedal feel and actual stopping distance is something we want to see Ram improve.
Finally—and yes, we recognize no one buys a full-size four-wheel-drive pickup truck expecting to carve up twisting roads or racetracks—the Ram 1500 Laramie wasn’t much fun around our figure-eight handling course. We set the 4WD to auto, engaged Sport mode, turned traction and stability control off, and discovered the truck is quite good at putting down all the engine’s power. Unfortunately, the long-travel brake pedal was difficult to modulate around our track layout. Just as irritating, the Ram seems to hold onto its ABS intervention even after you release the brake pedal. There’s also a tremendous amount of understeer, and the transmission—after being so pleasant on the street—would not hold a gear.
Ultimately, we found the truck’s dynamics in this scenario made it difficult to maintain momentum around the track, and we repeatedly needed to stab the throttle to get a downshift. That said, the Ram’s 0.76 g average lateral grip around our skidpad and its figure-eight lap time of 27.7 seconds represent a decent performance among pickups, but as drivers we wanted to feel much more in control.
Nevertheless, looking back at that Ram we tested six years ago, we find quantifiable improvements in the new version despite the old truck weighing less—the latter averaged 0.74 g on the skidpad and lapped the figure eight in 28.6 seconds, trailing the 2025 Ram 1500 Laramie pickup in both tests.
I’m not sure if this is bizarre, amusing, interesting, or none of those, but I remember picking up the inaugural issue of Automobile from the magazine rack at a Meijer grocery store in metro Detroit. At 9 years old in 1986, I was already a devoted consumer of car magazines, and this new one with the funky font on the cover caught my eye immediately. Longtime Automobile editor and present-day contributor Michael Jordan despises this story, but I once used his original review of Ferrari’s F40 as source material for a fifth-grade research project. I still have the handwritten report on a shelf at home. Sometimes I text MJ pictures of it — just to brighten his day. I’ve always been a car fan, but I never had any grand dreams, schemes, or plans of making it onto this publication’s masthead. I did earn a journalism degree from Michigan State University but at the time never planned to use it for its intended purpose. Law school made more sense to me for some reason. And then, thankfully, it didn’t. I blame two dates for this: May 1 and May 29, 1994. The former was the day Formula 1 star Ayrton Senna died. As a kid, I’d seen him race years earlier on the streets of Detroit, and though I didn’t follow F1 especially closely, the news of his demise shocked me. It’s the only story I remember following in the ensuing weeks, which just happened to lead right into the latter date. By pure chance, I had earlier accepted a friend’s invitation to accompany him and his father to the Indy 500. You’ve probably heard people say nothing prepares you for the sight of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, especially in real life on race day, with more than 250,000 spectators on the ground. It sounds like clichéd hyperbole, but it’s true. And along with my renewed interest in F1 in the wake of Senna’s death, that first encounter with Indy ignited a passion for motorsports I never expected to find. Without charting the entire course here, the upshot is that it led me to a brief stint working at a racing school, and then to Autoweek, where I worked as a full-time staffer for 13 years, the majority of them as motorsports editor. I was also a tester and reviewer of road cars, a fleet manager, and just about everything in between that is commonplace at automotive enthusiast outlets. Eventually, my work there led me to Automobile in early 2015 — almost 29 years to the day that I first picked up that funky new car mag as my mom checked-off her grocery list. What else do you probably not want to know? I — along with three other people, I’m told frequently — am an avid NBA fan, evidenced by a disturbingly large number of Nikes taking up almost all of my closet space. I enjoy racing/driving video games and simulators, though for me they’ll never replace the real thing. Road cars are cool, race cars are better. I’ve seen the original “Point Break” at least 147 times start to finish. I’ve seen “Top Gun” even more. The millennials on our staff think my favorite decade is the ’80s. They’re wrong. It’s the ’90s. I always have too many books to read and no time to do so. Despite the present histrionics, I do not believe fully autonomous cars will dominate our roads any time soon, probably not for decades. I used to think anyone who didn’t drive a manual transmission wasn’t a real driver, but I was wrong. I wish I could disinvent social media, or at least somehow ensure it is used only for good. And I appreciate being part of Automobile’s proud history, enjoying the ride alongside all of you.
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