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The 2025 Ram 1500 Tungsten is the S-Class of pickup trucks
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The V-8 is dead and a high-output turbo-6 is extremely powerful
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The 2025 Ram 1500 Tungsten has a luxury price tag of $89,070
Anyone looking for the best full-size pickup truck money can buy should head to their nearest Ram showroom.
O Ram 1500 2025 sports a redesign that sees the return of the top-of-the-line Tungsten finish. And it didn’t take nearly the entire two weeks and nearly 1,700 miles of life spent with it to be in no doubt that this is the best of the crop.
With a leather-lined cabin and speakers, all the latest technology and a highly responsive turbo-6, the Tungsten sets the bar for Ford, GM and Toyota in terms of refinement.
Ram 1500 Tungsten 2025
Ram 1500 ditches Hemi V-8 and gains Hurricane turbo-6
The Ram 1500’s V-8 is dead. Rest in peace.
Every 2025 Ram 1500 is equipped with 6-cylinder engines paired with a no-nonsense 8-speed automatic transmission. Base trucks still get the tried-and-true 3.6-liter V-6 with 305 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque, but most trucks will get a new Hurricane turbo-6. In standard form, the 3.0-liter turbo-6 makes 420 hp and 469 lb-ft of torque. That’s cool.
My top-trim Tungsten tester had the high-output version of this engine that revs boost to 28 psi. Output comes in at 540 hp and 521 lb-ft of torque. That’s 145 hp and 110 lb-ft of torque more than the outgoing 5.7-liter V-8. It’s also the most powerful engine money can buy in a light-duty pickup outside of a Raptor R with its supercharged 5.2-liter V-8, but that’s a whole different animal. While the Tundra’s hybrid turbo-6 powertrain has more torque at 583 lb-ft, it’s down on ponies at just 437 horsepower.
From a cold start, the turbo-6 sounds uninspiring and frankly a bit weak compared to the deeper burble of the 3.5-liter turbo-6 found in higher-trim Ford F-150s with their dual exhausts, but it’s fine. There’s certainly no V-8. And while I may have missed the throatier V-8 under hard acceleration, the power from this turbo-6 is intoxicating and almost overkill. There’s so much power, and the throttle tip-in can be touchy, so a progressive foot is needed to keep it smooth. Off the line, the rear tires can melt if you disengage all drivetrains. Floor the throttle as you turn in, and it’s easy to light the tires. Drift luxury truck, anyone?
The Hurricane may have more power, but it’s also thirstier. EPA fuel economy ratings come in at 15 mpg city, 21 highway, and 17 combined. That’s notably worse than the previous V-8’s ratings of 18 mpg city, 22 highway, and 19 combined with 4WD. On several highway trips spanning 200 to 300 miles each, I saw an average of 16.0 to 20.1 mpg based on varying conditions. Not great. The turbos spin and sip gas.
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Ram 1500 Tungsten 2025
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Ram 1500 Tungsten 2025
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Ram 1500 Tungsten 2025
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Ram 1500 Tungsten 2025
Ram 1500 offers luxury interior
Open the door of the Ram 1500 Tungsten and it’s hard to believe this is a pickup truck. Most of the cabin is covered in thick leather or soft-touch materials. The tops of the doors, seats, dash, steering wheel and even the door handles feature beautiful accent stitching. GM, Ford and Toyota should be taking note.
That beautiful interior is blue and white, or Indigo and Sea Salt in Ram parlance. It’s beautiful. But white on a truck is a horrible decision, as was made clear when I walked back to the truck with my hands covered in grease after sliding a hitch into the truck’s receiver. “What now?” I thought to myself.
The 24-way power-adjustable front seats with massage, ventilation and heating are as wide as the F-150’s but firmer. The radio’s volume and tuning knobs operate with a Vaseline-like smoothness, and I appreciated the redundant hard buttons for the climate control system next to the 14.4-inch touchscreen. Notably, the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster lacks a boost gauge like the Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra. This simple omission is unforgivable in a pickup truck. Like most head-up displays, the Ram’s color unit washed out as soon as I put on my polarized sunglasses, but when I wasn’t wearing them, it was crystal clear. There’s also a new 10.3-inch screen for the front passenger that my dad and wife asked, “What the hell am I going to do with that?” Netflix and cruise, I guess? The 23-speaker Klipsch audio system with 1,375 watts of power and 24 channels is easily the best sound system I’ve ever heard in a truck. There are even speakers in the front seatbacks.
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Ram 1500 Tungsten 2025
Ram 1500 aims for low-key class
While the GMC Sierra Denali has a front end that intimidates and overcompensates, the Ram 1500 Tungsten feels downright approachable. The grille and headlight designs project width, not height. I’m 5’10”, and the front end doesn’t come up to the top of my chest like the Sierra’s. The Ram just looks like a truck, not a rolling brick that’s been chiseled, and the tasteful bits of chrome don’t scream, “Look at all the money I spent!”
The Tungsten’s 22-inch wheels look good, but they degrade the ride. The Limited’s 20-inch wheels look good, have more tire sidewall, and simply ride better on the street.
As a luxury vehicle, the Tungsten’s standard four-corner air suspension can lower when the truck is put in park, and this makes entry and exit easier, even with the auto-deploying side steps. This air suspension can also self-level the truck, which means that unlike an F-150, the Ram doesn’t rear-end overhang to compensate for heavy loads. This means the truck doesn’t sit on a roll (the front end lower than the rear like an F-150), and it rides better thanks to still having coil springs in the rear instead of leaf springs.
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Stellantis Hands-Free Active Driver Assistance
Ram 1500 goes hands-free
The Ram 1500 is the second Stellantis vehicle — the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L were the first — to be available under the brand name. Hands-free active driver assistance system.
This Level 2 driver assistance system allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel and forego steering, braking, and throttle inputs to the truck on mapped divided highways. It works as advertised most of the time. But it is a whole step back GM’s Super Cruise in terms of refinement and capability, despite arriving seven years after the General’s system.
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Ram 1500 Tungsten 2025
Ram 1500 comes with a luxury price tag
The Ram 1500 Tungsten is a luxury pickup truck through and through. Out the door, the 2025 Ram 1500 Tungsten starts at $89,070, including a hefty $1,995 destination charge.
My tester cost more. The Billet Silver paint, Bed Utility Group, and Trailer-Tow Group added $1,435 to the bottom line, making it a $90,505 pickup. A similarly equipped Ford F-150 Platinum would cost just over $89,000, and a GMC Sierra 1500 Ultimate Denali would cost just over $85,000.
Somehow, Ram has gone from being the value luxury to the top of the price spectrum. But if you’re going to be the best, a price tag has to come with it. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class isn’t value-priced, but it is the standard. Likewise, the Ram 1500 Tungsten just became the Mercedes S-Class of pickup trucks.