FYI: The updated 2025 Ram 1500 boasts a potent powertrain, impressive towing capabilities, and cutting-edge safety features, but faces criticism for fuel efficiency, safety chain design, and missing tech features compared to its competitors.
2025 Ram 1500: Power and Practicality with a Few Drawbacks
The Ram 1500 continues to assert its dominance in the light-duty pickup truck market, offering a formidable combination of power, towing capabilities, and advanced safety features. However, it also comes with some notable downsides, such as its fuel efficiency and certain design quirks.
Unmatched Power
The 2025 Ram 1500 stands out for its impressive power, rivaled only by the Raptor R in the light-duty segment. Its high-output twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six engine delivers a whopping 540 horsepower and 521 pound-feet of torque. This marks a significant boost from its predecessor’s V-8 engine, surpassing it by 145 horsepower and 110 pound-feet of torque.
Towing Capacity and Experience
While the Ram 1500 doesn’t boast the highest towing capacity in its class—the Ford F-150 leads with a maximum of 13,500 pounds—it still offers a remarkable towing experience. The 2025 model has seen a reduction in its maximum tow rating to 11,580 pounds from the previous 12,750 pounds. Despite this, the truck remains a reliable choice for towing thanks to its self-leveling suspension and ability to integrate trailers with safety systems seamlessly.
Pros: Exceptional Towing Experience
High Horsepower and Torque
With its powerful engine, the Ram 1500 has no trouble towing a 5,000-pound boat and trailer, effortlessly maintaining speeds over 70 mph. The throttle is particularly sensitive, so caution is advised to avoid sudden maneuvers that could destabilize the trailer. Thankfully, the tow mode adjusts the shift points and throttle mapping for safer, smoother towing.
Self-Leveling Suspension
One of the standout features of the Ram 1500 is its four-corner air suspension, which automatically levels loads for a smoother ride. This system responds instantly to changes in load, maintaining vehicle stability and eliminating rear sagging, a common issue in other pickups.
Integrated Safety Systems
Ram’s safety tech quickly integrates with the trailer’s systems. The truck’s digital gauge cluster immediately recognizes the trailer length and incorporates it into the blind-spot monitoring system, ensuring safer lane changes and turns.
Cons: Areas for Improvement
Fuel Efficiency
The powerful engine comes at the cost of fuel efficiency. In towing conditions, the turbo six-cylinder engine averaged 9.3 mpg over 144 miles—marginally better than the 9.5 mpg achieved by the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 but still less efficient than some competitors like GM’s 6.2-liter V-8, which averages just over 12 mpg.
Safety Chain Connections
Connecting safety chains to the Ram 1500 can be challenging due to its unique design. The complex boxed assembly and awkward cutouts make it difficult to securely attach the chains, an area where Ram could take inspiration from Ford’s simpler, more user-friendly design.
Lack of Certain Tech Features
Despite its impressive array of features, the Ram 1500 lacks some of the advanced towing technologies found in competitors. For instance, it doesn’t have a boost gauge, camera views for the side of the trailer while turning, or a system for hands-free driving while towing—features available in the Ford F-150 and GMC Sierra.
Price and Conclusion
The 2025 Ram 1500 Tungsten model, with its luxurious feature set, is priced at $89,070 base and $90,505 as tested. Despite its shortcomings, the combination of power, safety features, and advanced suspension makes it a desirable option for those serious about towing.
Donald Smith, Editor of Automotive.fyi
