As much as I really, really liked the recently redesigned Ram Rebel, I didn’t love it. I recognize its new, twin-turbocharged “Hurricane” straight-six engine was very effective, but it gave off a sense that it wasn’t nearly as rebellious in character as I’d come to expect from a Rebel. But the 2025 Ram 1500 RHO, which runs the same engine, takes a sledgehammer to my hang-up and proves this new truck can still have fun.
First thing’s first: the elephant in the room
The 2025 Ram RHO gives up the fire-breathing “Hellcat” supercharged V8 that powered the very visually similar Ram TRX up until last year. In its place is the High Output version of the new “Hurricane” 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight-six that’s begun to make its way through the Stellantis lineup. Here in the Ram RHO, it has a pair of big Garrett turbochargers hanging off the sides, making 540 horsepower and 521 pound-feet of torque in this application. Fine, whatever—putting aside the fact that it’s one of the most powerful six-cylinder engines ever built, five-hundred-and-change horsepower isn’t exactly new or novel, especially in this segment of Jurassic dune destroyers. What matters here is that the Ram RHO shows the Hurricane can be hilarious. The beloved Hellcat may be gone, but its spirit isn’t forgotten when this high-output Hurricane roars.
Despite paying homage, the two engines couldn’t be further apart, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The new engine especially in this application, breathing through a raucous exhaust system, delivers character in spades, just not the hulking V8 bellow we’re used to. Instead, it sounds and feels an awful lot like a certain other straight-six that we’re so very fond of around here, complete with a deep-throated bwarr and the same, hard brrrat punctuating every lightning-fast upshift. If you told me this was a skunkworks project to cram a BMW engine into a Ram, I’d believe you. The result is a roaring good time.
Just like those certain other straight-six cars we’re so very fond of, the Ram RHO is quick, alarmingly so for something this huge. With launch control enabled, it can violently scoot from zero to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds, and even without that, it always feels like a weapon. You might be worried about turbo lag given that this mill is being force-fed 28 psi of boost, but the engine’s natural bottom-end torque is strong. It works in tandem with the venerable ZF-built eight-speed automatic—once again like certain other straight-six cars we’re so very fond of—and a shorter 3.92 rear axle ratio to provide urgent response at all times. I was a little worried it would naturally default to a very demure drive mode to try and save fuel, but no. The RHO is always on, always feeling like an ancient reptilian beast ready to pounce.
What else is new for 2025?
Beyond the new engine, which works far better in this application than myself or anyone else around our office expected, the Ram RHO is largely unchanged from the TRX preceding it. It’s been very subtly tweaked with new LED lighting and minor nips and tucks to the grille and bumper, but you’d be hard pressed to pick them out right away. That isn’t a problem; the TRX was a handsome hulk of a truck, and the RHO remains so. We all loved the 18-inch silver beadlock wheels, which pop nicely against the Flame Red paint and black accents all around.
Ram also subtly tweaked the RHO’s cabin and amalgamated some option packages. I can’t imagine who’d drop six figures on a truck like this and then not spend another seven bills on this truck’s Level 1 Equipment group, which includes everything and the kitchen sink: leather and suede everything, carbon fibre trim, massaging front seats, a 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, heads-up display, power tailgate, surround view cameras … the list goes on for a while and it’s kind of a no-brainer.
The RHO’s overall layout looks more or less the same as last year’s truck—which again, is a good thing. The only key visual difference is a slightly larger 14.4-inch touchscreen, running the same UConnect 5 software as before. It’s definitely the most complicated of all the current trucks, but also arguably the most flexible, capable, and easy enough to figure out, if not always the snappiest.
Another new tech trick is Hands Free Driving Assist, which expands on the already effective adaptive cruise control; it isn’t quite as robust as Ford’s BlueCruise and GM’s Super Cruise, but it’s a fine start. It performs quite well at staying between the lines, especially given how little margin for error there is due to the RHO’s sheer width, but it tends to wander a tiny bit through bends.
Performance, driving impressions, and yes, fuel economy
The suspenders under the RHO have been slightly tweaked, too. It’s the same setup as before, with massive active Bilstein shock absorbers over coil springs, but it’s been adjusted slightly to suit the balance of the new truck. The new engine means there’s 150 fewer pounds hanging over the nose, so the RHO changes directions a little easier than the TRX and rides a bit softer as a side benefit. It’s impressive how well it all works together; the RHO is completely unfazed by anything, turning the worst of conditions into gentle waves courtesy of its long travel and smart damping.
Like any Ram, the RHO rides, drives, and handles exceptionally well. The steering is nicely weighted, feels direct, and neatly performs the balancing act of feeling substantial and being easy to live with. In a similar vein, the brake pedal is reassuringly firm, borrowing even more of the soul from the certain other straight-six cars we’re so very fond of. I didn’t think I’d enjoy driving this 6,500 pound elephant nearly as much as I did. It’s kind of remarkable what Ram achieved with the RHO, even though at its core, it’s a compromise.
Hear me out: the Ram RHO exists because the TRX and its Hellcat power went the way of the dinosaurs. However, it does not for one second actually feel like a compromise. My favourite thing about the Hemis and Heck-kitties of yesteryear was their chest-pounding bravado and an overall sense of humour that I thought got lost in transition to this new family of Hurricane straight-six engines. I adored the Charger Hellcat not because it was fast or particularly good at anything other than ruining tires, but because it was funny.
This 2025 Ram 1500 RHO is a damn good time in the same way. It’s hilarious not just because it’s huge, red, and stupid quick, but because of how it goes about being huge, red, stupid quick. It looks like a Ram and sounds like an M4; the absurd cognitive disconnect of those two sensations somehow existing in harmony never gets old. There’s practical benefits to this wackiness: being lighter means that payload and towing capacity both rise to 1,520 and 8,380 pounds, respectively. Fuel economy is still, uh, substandard, but less egregious to a point where it’s not completely and totally irresponsible to operate on your own dime. I observed 18.2 L/100 km over my week with it, even with generous use of the remote start. You’d have to constantly baby a TRX to get anywhere near that.
Final thoughts
Nevertheless, the Ram RHO is still faster than it has any right to be, rides and handles better, and it can work harder for less money. This loaded-to-the-gills truck comes in at $138,630 as-tested. Sure, that’s exceptionally pretty penny, but a comparably equipped TRX was almost 10 grand more up front and cost far more to operate. Being a six-cylinder factory Baja truck puts the RHO directly in line with Ford’s “base” V6-powered F-150 Raptor, on paper for quite a bit less money, but the Ram outguns and handily outclasses it. I adore the RHO because it takes the absolutely absurd premise of a properly luxurious truck that can outrun a BMW, outclass a Mercedes, tow four tons, and literally-but-not-quite-literally fly—and make it all (kind of) make sense.
The 2025 Ram 1500 RHO is delightfully ridiculous, but it doesn’t feel like the wrong kind of ridiculous to live with and use every day. That’s one of the most impressive feats of engineering I’ve ever seen.
