2026 Ram 1500

The headline 2026 change is the return of the 5.7L HEMI V8 with eTorque mild hybrid (395 hp) after its absence from the 2025 refresh; it is the representative volume configuration on Big Horn/Laramie. The 3.6L Pentastar V6 eTorque remains the nominal base engine at 305 hp, with the twin-turbo Hurricane inline-six spanning 420–540 hp above it.

The returning HEMI's 410 lb-ft is mid-pack for a full-size half-ton — level with the F-150's 5.0L V8 and above the Silverado 5.3L's 383 lb-ft, but well short of the Hurricane SO's 469 lb-ft, which is the real torque story in this lineup short of the 521 lb-ft HO.

Instrumented testing of the 5.7L HEMI eTorque in the DT-generation 1500 has consistently landed in the low-6-second range — competitive with a 2.7L EcoBoost F-150 and quicker than a 5.3L Silverado. The Hurricane SO drops that to the mid-5s and the 540-hp RHO to the mid-4s.

Both headline engines deliver smoothly: the HEMI is a long-refined, linear V8 and the Hurricane twin-turbo six pulls hard from low rpm with little lag, while the 48-volt eTorque belt-starter system makes stop/start restarts nearly imperceptible. Marks come off for the base Pentastar V6, which sounds strained when worked hard, and for noted turbo-six coarseness at high load.

The ZF-derived TorqueFlite 8-speed automatic is used across the entire 2026 lineup and is among the better-regarded gearboxes in the segment — decisive, smooth, and unhurried in gear selection, without the part-throttle hunting that draws criticism on GM's 8-speed.

Strong towing in absolute terms but the weakest maximum among the domestic full-size half-tons — roughly 1,700–1,900 lbs behind the F-150's 13,500 lbs and the Silverado/Sierra's 13,300 lbs. The published maximum comes from the Hurricane Standard Output rather than the returning HEMI.

Payload is mid-pack for the class — comparable to the Silverado's ~2,260 lbs and Sierra's ~2,240 lbs, and modestly behind the F-150's 2,440 lbs with the HD Payload Package. As with rivals, the headline figure belongs to a light 2WD configuration rather than the volume 4x4 crew cab.

Ram offers a complete core towing suite — integrated trailer brake controller, tow/haul mode, Trailer Reverse Steering Control, trailer-detection blind-spot monitoring, trailer TPMS and multi-camera coverage with auxiliary trailer-camera provisions. It sits just behind Ford and GM, which add onboard scales / Smart Hitch and a larger catalogue of camera views.

Four-wheel drive is available across the entire trim range and standard on Rebel, Tungsten and RHO, with a two-speed transfer case, available electronic locking rear differential and available four-corner air suspension that raises ride height on demand — sophisticated hardware by half-ton standards.

The lineup carries two genuinely credible off-road trims: the Rebel with 33-inch tires, skid plates, an electronic locking rear differential and available air suspension, and the 540-hp RHO desert-runner with Bilstein remote-reservoir dampers, 35-inch tires and roughly 11.8 inches of ground clearance. That is Raptor-class credibility, comfortably ahead of a Tundra and on par with a Raptor or ZR2.

Four distinct gas powertrains for 2026 — Pentastar V6, the returning 5.7L HEMI V8, and the Hurricane twin-turbo six in standard and high output — two of them with 48-volt eTorque mild-hybrid assist. There is no full hybrid, PHEV or diesel within the 1500 nameplate itself; the electric 1500 REV and range-extended Ramcharger are scored as separate entries in this dataset.

EPA combined figure for the 5.7L HEMI V8 with eTorque in 4x4 Crew Cab form — the headline 2026 powertrain, reinstated after Ram dropped the V8 for 2025, and the direct analogue of the 5.3L V8 4WD configuration used to represent the Silverado/Sierra. It lands 2 MPG ahead of GM's volume V8 (17 combined) but well behind the F-150 PowerBoost hybrid (25 combined 2WD).

EPA city figure for the volume 5.7L HEMI eTorque 4x4. The 48V eTorque mild-hybrid system buys smoother, more aggressive stop-start and a small launch assist — worth roughly a MPG in town versus a non-eTorque V8 — but it cannot drive the truck on electricity, so stop-and-go is where the Ram concedes most to the F-150 PowerBoost (22 MPG city 4x4, 25 MPG city 2WD).

EPA highway figure for the volume 5.7L HEMI eTorque 4x4. Cylinder deactivation and the tall eighth gear make highway cruising the HEMI's best case, and 22 MPG beats the 5.3L Silverado/Sierra (20 MPG hwy) while trailing the F-150's 2.7L EcoBoost 4x4 (24 MPG hwy).

Range is a genuine Ram advantage in the half-ton class: the 26-gallon standard tank already tops GM's 24 gallons, and the optional 33-gallon tank is the largest in the segment, pushing a HEMI 4x4 past 600 miles and a V6 4x2 toward 700. The Silverado/Sierra manage only ~408 mi on their standard tank at 17 MPG combined.

At the EPA's 15,000 mi/yr standard and 19 MPG combined, the volume HEMI 4x4 burns roughly 790 gallons of regular a year. That is about $300/yr cheaper to feed than the 5.3L Silverado/Sierra (~$3,100) but roughly $300/yr worse than the F-150 PowerBoost hybrid, and the Hurricane HO's premium-fuel requirement adds a further penalty on top of its worse economy.

Three of the four 2026 engines — the 3.6L Pentastar V6, the returning 5.7L HEMI V8, and the 3.0L Hurricane standard output — run on 87-octane regular, so the overwhelming majority of buyers pay pump-cheapest prices. Only the 540-hp Hurricane high output in the RHO and Tungsten requires premium, and that is a low-volume halo engine rather than the common upsell that GM's premium-preferring 6.2L V8 represents. No diesel is offered any longer, which costs Ram the long-range, low-cost-per-mile option GM still sells.

The fifth-generation (DT) Ram 1500 Crew Cab carries a 4-star NHTSA overall rating — 5 stars in the side barrier and pole tests, 4 stars frontal, and 3 stars rollover, the usual result for a tall full-size pickup. The 2025 refresh and the 2026 powertrain changes (Hurricane inline-six lineup plus the returning 5.7L Hemi V8) did not alter the cab structure, so the generation result carries into 2026.

The DT Ram 1500 has not earned a Top Safety Pick in this generation and is the weakest crash performer of the domestic full-size three. It posts Good results in the driver-side small overlap, original moderate overlap, and roof strength tests, but the passenger-side small overlap comes back below Good and the updated moderate overlap front test — the rear-occupant restraint protocol that punished every full-size pickup — lands in the Marginal/Poor band. Trim-dependent headlights and unremarkable seat-belt reminders would block the award independently.

The 2025 refresh pushed a real safety bundle down to base Tradesman, and 2026 carries it: forward collision warning with active braking and pedestrian detection, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-path detection, drowsy driver detection, and rear park assist are standard lineup-wide. That standard blind-spot coverage is a genuine edge over a Silverado/Sierra Work Truck. Adaptive cruise with stop-and-go is the gap — it is bundled higher up rather than standard on the work-truck trims.

Vehicle-to-vehicle forward collision mitigation on this platform performs adequately in the daytime and pedestrian detection is fitted, but Stellantis systems have not demonstrated the nighttime pedestrian capability that earns top marks under the tougher updated IIHS front crash prevention protocol, and the Ram 1500 lacks a published updated-protocol pedestrian result to lean on. Scored to segment-typical rather than credited with performance it has not shown.

Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-path detection is standard on every 2026 trim, and Ram's trailer-aware implementation extends the detection zone along the length of an attached trailer once the trailer length is entered — exactly the coverage a tow rig needs, and standard rather than bundled into a trailering package. It stays alert-only, with no active steering or braking intervention, which caps it below the best in class.

Lane departure warning with lane keep assist is standard, but it is a reactive nudge system rather than true centering; continuous lane centering arrives only with Active Driving Assist on the trims and packages that offer it. Reviewers describe the base system as acceptable on straight highway and prone to late, coarse corrections through curves — mid-pack for the segment.

Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go handles full-speed-range following and traffic restarts smoothly and forms the base layer under Active Driving Assist, and it is well regarded for a truck of this size. It is bundled rather than standard on the work-truck trims, and gap-holding is less polished than Ford's BlueCruise-integrated ACC.

Ram offers Hands-Free Active Driving Assist on the 1500 — genuine eyes-on, hands-off highway driving with a driver-attention camera — which puts it ahead of trucks with no hands-free option at all. But it is Stellantis's first-generation system: mapped-road coverage is a fraction of Super Cruise's, it does not perform automated lane changes, and it is restricted to upper trims and option packages. Third of three among the domestic full-size pickups.

Lighting is strongly trim-dependent: entry trims run basic reflector units while the adaptive LED projectors that produce the good beam pattern sit on Laramie and above. IIHS evaluations of this platform have come back in the Marginal-to-Acceptable range depending on configuration, with only the premium lighting reaching Good — so the volume Big Horn/Lone Star buyer gets a mid-tier result.

Natural sightlines are typical modern full-size pickup — high belt line, long flat hood with a large forward blind zone, and thick A-pillars — but Ram compensates better than most: a 360-degree surround-view camera and the full-display digital rearview mirror, which replaces the blocked view past rear headrests and a loaded bed with a clean camera feed, are both offered. Both are optional or upper-trim content, so a Tradesman leaves the lot with a single rear camera.

The Crew Cab is one of the best car-seat environments in any pickup: roughly 45 in of rear legroom — the most in the full-size class — with tall, near-square rear door openings, a flat floor, and reclining rear seatbacks that make rear-facing installs and three-across attempts genuinely workable. Lower anchors sit in the seat bight and take some digging, and the center position is belt-only, which keeps it out of the top band; Quad Cab buyers give up meaningful rear space.

The volume 2026 Ram 1500 configuration is the Crew Cab in Big Horn/Laramie trim with front bucket seats, seating five; the optional 40/20/40 split front bench raises capacity to six on work-oriented trims. Unchanged from the DT generation's established configuration.

Mid-pack front headroom for a full-size half-ton — comfortably above the Ford F-150's 40.8 in but well short of the Silverado/Sierra's 43.0 in. Figure is the sunroof-delete measurement; the available dual-pane panoramic roof trims it.

Ram's published front legroom of 40.9 in is the outlier of the full-size class on paper — roughly 3 in behind the F-150 (43.9 in) and 3.6 in behind the Silverado/Sierra (44.5 in), which drops it below the segment normalization floor of 41 in. In practice the deficit is less dramatic than the number implies (seat-track travel and the low, reclined driving position mean reviewers rarely flag front-seat room), but the framework scores the published SAE figure.

Crew Cab rear headroom of 39.8 in trails the F-150 and Silverado/Sierra (40.1–40.4 in) by a fraction of an inch — a difference no rear passenger will notice given the seat's generous recline.

Best-in-class second-row legroom among full-size half-tons — 45.2 in tops the F-150 SuperCrew (43.6 in) and Silverado/Sierra Crew Cab (43.4–43.6 in), and the rear bench also reclines, which no direct rival offers. Saturates the truck normalization band, which tops out at 45 in.

The volume Crew Cab pairs with the short 5'7" box (67.4 in floor length), essentially matching the F-150 SuperCrew's 5.5-ft bed (67.1 in) and a touch shorter than the Silverado/Sierra short box (69.9 in). The 6'4" box is available on Crew Cab; Ram offers no 8-ft box on the 1500, which caps this item well below trucks with long-bed options.

Short-box cargo volume of 53.9 cu ft is competitive with the F-150's 5.5-ft bed (52.8 cu ft) but meaningfully behind the Silverado/Sierra Durabed short box (62.9 cu ft), which is both longer and deeper. The optional RamBox side bins add lockable volume outside this measurement.

The storage benchmark of the full-size class and the clearest area where the Ram out-thinks its rivals. The center console is enormous with a fold-flat work surface and a deep bin, the rear seats fold up to reveal in-floor storage compartments plus under-seat bins, and the RamBox Cargo Management System puts lockable, drainable, lit bins in the bedsides — a feature no competitor matches. The available split-swing Multifunction Tailgate adds bed access flexibility.

Consistently among the best-seated pickups sold in the US. Upper trims offer 24-way power front seats with multicontact massage, and the Crew Cab's reclining rear seatback — unique among full-size half-tons — transforms long-haul comfort for back-seat passengers. Even mid-grade Big Horn cloth seats draw praise for cushioning and support over long stints.

The segment's ride benchmark, and structurally so: the Ram 1500 is the only full-size half-ton with a coil-spring rear suspension as standard (its rivals all use semi-elliptic leaf springs), with four-corner air suspension optional. The result is a settled, absorbent unladen ride over broken pavement that leaf-sprung competitors cannot match without a load in the bed, with no meaningful penalty in body control.

Long regarded as the quietest cabin in the full-size half-ton class. Active noise cancellation and acoustic-laminated glass (front, and side glass on upper trims) combine with the coil-sprung rear axle's reduced impact harshness to keep wind and road noise unusually low at highway speed. The reinstated 5.7L Hemi V8 adds intentional exhaust character under throttle but does not intrude at cruise.

Comfort equipment is deep and starts early in the range: heated front seats and heated steering wheel arrive on Big Horn equipment groups, with ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, dual-zone automatic climate control and remote start available or standard from mid-trims up. Limited and Tungsten add massage and a genuinely luxury-grade climate suite. Slightly behind the very best only because the richest features remain option-group-gated rather than standard.

The fifth-generation (DT) Ram 1500 offers no regular cab, so the lineup opens with the Tradesman Quad Cab 4x2 at roughly $41,000 with destination — undercutting the F-150 and Sierra entry trims but above the Silverado WT, which has a cheaper regular-cab body style to open with.

Big Horn (Lone Star in Texas) is the Ram 1500 volume trim, and the Crew Cab 4x4 configuration most buyers order lands near $55,000 as typically equipped — between the F-150 XLT SuperCrew (~$54,500) and Silverado LT Crew (~$56,500).

Ram 1500 running costs sit modestly above the F-150 and GM twins: parts and dealer coverage are commodity-grade, but Consumer Reports predicted reliability for the 1500 trails the class and both the Hurricane twin-turbo six and the reinstated 5.7L Hemi carry heavier service items than a base V6.

The Ram 1500 is the weakest residual performer of the domestic full-size trio — persistent factory incentives and below-average reliability scores depress used values relative to the F-150 (~60%) and Silverado (~58%). The 5.7L Hemi's return for 2026 should firm up V8 builds somewhat but does not close the gap.

Ram's basic limited warranty is 3 years/36,000 miles — the industry floor, identical to Ford, Chevrolet and GMC full-size trucks and far behind Hyundai/Kia-style coverage.

Powertrain coverage is 5 years/60,000 miles on gas 1500s, matching Ford and GM but well short of the 10-year outliers that anchor the top of the normalization band.

Ram includes no complimentary scheduled maintenance — no free first oil change of the sort Chevrolet and GMC provide — leaving 5 yr/60,000 mi roadside assistance and short Uconnect 5 connected-services and SiriusXM trials as the only included perks.

$55,000 volume-trim price minus its estimated resale value after 5 years (55% retained, or about $30,250) leaves about $24,750 in depreciation. Add the projected $7,600 in 5-year maintenance and repairs, and owning this vehicle for 5 years costs about $32,350 in total.

The signals split sharply. Consumer Reports has rated the DT-generation Ram 1500 at or below average predicted reliability for several consecutive years, with owner complaints concentrated on Uconnect/electrical faults, eTorque mild-hybrid components, and the optional air suspension. Against that, the Ram 1500 is one of the strongest full-size pickups in J.D. Power's dependability work, repeatedly finishing at or near the top of the Large Light Duty Pickup segment. 2026 is the second year of the 2025 refresh so launch-year risk has passed, but the newly reintroduced 5.7L Hemi and the still-young Hurricane inline-six keep this mid-band — ahead of the Silverado, behind the F-150.

Ram is a bottom-third brand in Consumer Reports' annual reliability rankings, dragged down by the electrical and build-quality problems that run across the Stellantis lineup. J.D. Power is kinder — Ram has posted at- or above-average brand dependability in several recent VDS cycles, and the truck-only lineup avoids the problematic crossover and EV launches that hurt other mainstream badges. Net: better than Jeep, clearly behind Ford and Chevrolet, and nowhere near the top-5 band.

This is the weakest part of the Ram 1500 case. The fifth-generation DT truck has accumulated a heavy recall load since 2019 — fuel-pump failure causing stalling, backup-camera and Uconnect software campaigns, tailgate and seat-belt hardware, and steering/ADAS electronics — and Stellantis as a corporation has run near the top of the industry in annual recall volume. Nothing here is a single catastrophic fire-risk campaign on the scale of the worst domestic examples, but the cadence is elevated versus the segment and long-running TSBs for Hemi lifter tick and Uconnect faults compound it.

2026 is an unusually mixed year because Ram reversed course and put the 5.7L Hemi V8 back in the 1500 alongside the Hurricane inline-six it had been dropped for. The Hemi is a two-decade-old, deeply understood engine with a large high-mileage population — but also a well-documented MDS lifter and camshaft wear failure mode that independent shops see routinely. The 3.6L Pentastar V6 is genuinely proven, and the ZF-derived TorqueFlite eight-speed is one of the more durable automatics in the industry. The 3.0L Hurricane twin-turbo I-6 is the question mark: only a few years into service across Ram and Wagoneer, with early owner reports flagging turbo and timing-component concerns and no high-mileage record yet. Averaged across what buyers actually order, this lands mid-band.

The class benchmark, and has been since the 2019 redesign. The 2025 refresh carried into 2026 pushed it further with a 14.5-inch Uconnect 5 display, a reworked dash architecture, and the new Tungsten flagship trim using quilted leather, real metal, and open-pore wood. Even volume Big Horn/Lone Star trucks get better soft-touch coverage on door tops and dash than equivalent Silverado or F-150 trims. Reviewers routinely use the Ram cabin as the reference point that rival full-size pickups are measured against.

Better than the Ram brand's overall reputation would suggest. Sterling Heights Assembly builds the DT to a standard that reviewers generally describe as solid, and Ram has performed respectably in initial-quality benchmarking — noticeably stronger than sibling Stellantis brands like Jeep. The gap to the top of the class is scattered rather than structural: recurring owner reports of interior rattles, trim alignment around the larger screen surround, and Uconnect software glitches that register as quality defects in initial-quality surveys even when nothing is physically loose.

Coverage is genuinely strong — roughly 2,300–2,400 Ram rooftops within the combined Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram footprint, which is dense in exactly the rural and small-market areas where full-size trucks sell hardest. The reason this sits well below Chevrolet and Ford rather than alongside them is the service experience: Stellantis brands have persistently finished below the mass-market average in J.D. Power's Customer Service Index, and the group's parts-backorder problems have produced well-publicized cases of trucks waiting weeks for components.

As one of the three best-selling vehicles in America, the Ram 1500 supports a deep OEM Mopar channel and a large aftermarket, and the Hemi V8 is a powertrain essentially every independent shop in the country can service. Routine maintenance runs at or near the full-size-truck average. Two things keep it out of the top band: Stellantis parts-supply and backorder issues have been a real and repeated owner complaint, and the DT's option content — air suspension, eTorque mild-hybrid hardware, the 14.5-inch display — carries out-of-warranty repair costs meaningfully above what a basic work-truck configuration implies.

The 2025 refresh made a 12.0-inch Uconnect 5 touchscreen standard across the lineup, replacing the old 8.4-inch base unit, and 2026 carries that over. The volume Big Horn/Laramie configuration scores on the 12.0-inch panel, but the class-leading 14.5-inch screen is the headline number buyers see on upper trims.

Uconnect 5 is consistently rated the best infotainment system in the full-size truck class — quick to boot, quick to respond, with a logical tile/card layout and split-screen multitasking. Crucially the refresh kept real hardware: volume and tuning knobs plus a physical HVAC control bank below the screen, so the big display never becomes a chore.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto are standard on every 2026 Ram 1500 trim because they ship with Uconnect 5, which is itself standard fleet-wide — no work-truck exception and no upper-trim paywall.

Uconnect 5 pairs TomTom-sourced native navigation with an improved natural-language voice assistant and built-in Amazon Alexa, and the nav integrates trailer-aware routing. It works well enough, but like most non-Google-built-in systems most owners still default to CarPlay/Waze for daily routing.

The 2025 refresh replaced Harman Kardon with a Klipsch Reference Premiere system — a 23-speaker, roughly 1,229-watt setup that is one of the strongest premium audio options in any pickup — with a mid-tier Alpine system in between and a merely adequate 6-speaker base.

A 10.25-inch reconfigurable full-digital cluster is offered and is crisp and well laid out, but on the volume Big Horn the standard binnacle is a 7-inch TFT flanked by analog gauges, with the full-digital display arriving as an option or on Laramie and above.

Uconnect 5 supports over-the-air updates for infotainment software and maps, and Stellantis has pushed some module-level updates, but this is not the regular feature-adding whole-vehicle OTA cadence that Ford's Power-Up, GM's Ultifi or Rivian/Tesla deliver.

The Ram connected-services app covers the core set — remote start, remote lock/unlock, vehicle locate, vehicle health reports and send-to-navigation — reliably enough, but the useful tiers are subscription-gated after the trial and there is no mainstream phone-as-key offering on the 1500.

Device power is a genuine Ram strength: USB-C and USB-A outlets in both rows, an available wireless charging pad (with a second pad offered on top trims), a 115-volt/400-watt household outlet in the cab, and available in-bed power through the RamBox system.

Proximity keyless entry, push-button start and remote start are standard from Big Horn upward and a power-release tailgate is available, which covers the everyday convenience case well. It falls short of the top band because the base Tradesman still ships with a conventional key and Ram does not offer a mainstream phone-as-key on the 1500.

A rear camera and ParkSense front/rear sensors cover the volume trims, with a 360-degree surround-view camera, a digital rearview mirror and active park assist available above that, plus trailer-camera provisions useful for towing. Image quality and the surround stitching are good but trail GM's multi-view trailering camera suite, which offers more views and a transparent-trailer function.

Ram offers a large full-color 10.25-inch head-up display on the 1500 — one of the bigger ones in the segment — but it is confined to upper trims as an option or standard content, so a volume Big Horn buyer generally goes without.

The best car-seat environment sold in any pickup: 45.2 in of Crew Cab rear legroom is the most in the full-size class, the rear seatback reclines (no direct rival offers this), and tall near-square rear door openings over a flat floor make rear-facing installs and three-across attempts genuinely workable. Held out of the top band by truck realities rather than packaging — a high step-in height that small kids cannot manage unaided without the optional running boards, lower anchors buried in the seat bight, and an open bed that is no substitute for an SUV's dry, secure cargo hold when a stroller has to ride along. Replaces a placeholder score.

A split verdict that nets out below the class. Standard ADAS content is genuinely strong and family-relevant — the 2025 refresh pushed forward collision warning with active braking and pedestrian detection, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-path detection, drowsy-driver detection, rear park assist and a rear-seat reminder down to base Tradesman, so families buying a mid-trim Big Horn are not paying extra for the essentials. Crashworthiness is the drag: the DT Ram 1500 has never earned a Top Safety Pick, the passenger-side small overlap and updated moderate overlap tests come back below Good, and the adaptive LED projectors that produce an acceptable beam pattern sit on Laramie and above, leaving the volume trims with IIHS Marginal-to-Acceptable headlights. Replaces a placeholder score.

The strongest multi-hour family cabin in the half-ton class. The reclining second-row seatback is unique among full-size trucks and transforms the back seat on a long day, the coil-sprung rear axle delivers the settled ride leaf-sprung rivals cannot match, and the cabin is the quietest in the segment. Rear amenities are deep for a pickup — USB-C and USB-A in both rows, a 115-volt/400-watt household outlet, available heated rear seats, dual-zone automatic climate — and in-floor rear storage bins plus the lockable RamBox bins give family gear somewhere dry and secure to ride. Short of the top only because there is no rear-seat entertainment option and the bed itself is neither weatherproof nor secure without a tonneau. Replaces a placeholder score.

The most relaxing full-size half-ton to commute in, which still only earns a mid-band score because the baseline is a 20-foot truck. The coil-sprung ride and class-best cabin isolation cut fatigue markedly, the TorqueFlite 8-speed shifts without the part-throttle hunting that plagues GM's box, Uconnect 5 is the segment's best infotainment and kept real volume and HVAC knobs, and adaptive cruise with Stop & Go handles traffic crawl smoothly. Against that: a long flat hood with a large forward blind zone, thick A-pillars, no one-pedal-style low-speed refinement, and a published 40.9 in of front legroom that is the outlier of the class and pinches tall drivers on a long commute. Replaces a placeholder score.

Expensive per commuting mile even by full-size truck standards. The volume 5.7L HEMI eTorque 4x4 Crew Cab returns 19 MPG combined — level with GM's 5.3L V8 but far off an F-150 PowerBoost's ~25 MPG — for roughly $2,800 a year in fuel at the EPA's 15,000-mile standard. The 48-volt eTorque belt-starter cannot propel the truck and buys a MPG or two rather than a hybrid's 5-6. Non-fuel running costs compound it: insurance and five-year maintenance both run above the class, Ram includes no complimentary scheduled maintenance where Chevrolet and GMC do, and the weakest residuals of the domestic trio mean depreciation dominates the per-mile bill. The one genuine relief is that three of the four 2026 engines take 87-octane regular. Replaces a placeholder score.

A Crew Cab 4x4 is roughly 233 in long and 82 in wide with a turning circle in the mid-40-foot range — awkward in structured garages, tight lots and older city streets no matter how good the driver is, and the tall belt line and long flat hood leave a substantial forward blind zone. Camera and sensor help is what lifts it off the floor of the band: ParkSense front and rear sensors cover the volume trims, and a 360-degree surround-view camera, a full-display digital rearview mirror and active park assist are available above that. The catch is that the genuinely useful aids are options a volume Big Horn buyer may not have ticked. Replaces a placeholder score.

A real work truck that is nonetheless the least work-focused of the domestic full-size three. Maximum towing of 11,580 lbs is strong in absolute terms but 1,700-1,900 lbs behind the F-150 and Silverado/Sierra, and it belongs to the Hurricane standard output rather than the volume HEMI. Payload is mid-pack at best, with typical 4x4 crew-cab trims landing near 1,600-2,000 lbs. The bigger structural limitation is configuration: the volume Crew Cab pairs with a 5-foot-7 box (53.9 cu ft, well behind the Silverado Durabed's 62.9), there is no 8-foot box anywhere in the 1500 range, and the DT generation offers no regular cab at all — the two body styles fleet and trade buyers most often want. Powertrain under load is competent, with the HEMI's 410 lb-ft adequate and the Hurricane SO's 469 lb-ft genuinely strong. Replaces a placeholder score.

The weakest link in the Ram's use-case case and the reason fleet buyers still default to an F-150. The DT generation has carried a heavy recall load since 2019 — fuel-pump failure causing stalling, backup-camera and Uconnect campaigns, tailgate and seat-belt hardware, steering and ADAS electronics — and Consumer Reports has rated it at or below average predicted reliability for several consecutive years, with complaints concentrated on exactly the components hard use punishes: electrical, eTorque mild-hybrid hardware and the optional air suspension. The returning 5.7L HEMI is a known quantity with a huge high-mileage population but carries a documented MDS lifter and camshaft wear failure mode, and the Hurricane six is still unproven under sustained load. Credit where due: a vinyl-floor, cloth-seat Tradesman is a properly wipe-down work spec, the steel body resists jobsite dents, and Mopar parts depth means any independent shop can service it. Replaces a placeholder score.

Ram out-thinks the class on jobsite storage and falls behind it on jobsite power. The RamBox Cargo Management System — lockable, drainable, lit bins built into the bed rails — is unique among full-size half-tons and is the single best place in any pickup to keep tools secure and out of the weather, backed by adjustable cargo tie-down rails, a spray-in bedliner, an available multifunction split tailgate and deployable bed step, a hose-out vinyl floor on Tradesman, and a fold-flat console work surface. What keeps it out of the top band is onboard power: a 115-volt/400-watt cab outlet plus available in-bed RamBox power is an order of magnitude short of Ford's 2.0-7.2 kW Pro Power Onboard, which has become the class's defining work feature and can run corded tools directly. The absence of an 8-foot box or a regular cab also narrows the upfit envelope, though sales volume guarantees a deep aftermarket. Replaces a placeholder score.

The best mile-eater in the half-ton class and the Ram's single strongest use case. It is the quietest cabin in the segment thanks to active noise cancellation and acoustic-laminated glass, rides on the only standard coil-sprung rear axle in the class (four-corner air optional), and offers the best seats — up to 24-way power with multicontact massage — plus a reclining rear bench that no direct rival matches. Range is a genuine structural advantage: the 26-gallon standard tank already tops GM's 24, and the optional 33-gallon tank is the largest in the segment, pushing a HEMI 4x4 past 600 miles between stops. Fatigue-reducing tech is deep too, with adaptive cruise with Stop & Go, available Hands-Free Active Driving Assist, a 10.25-inch head-up display and a 23-speaker Klipsch system. It stops short of the ceiling because the hands-free system is a first-generation effort with limited mapped-road coverage and no automated lane changes. Replaces a placeholder score.

A genuine adventure enabler at both ends of the range. Four-wheel drive is available on every trim with a two-speed transfer case, an available electronic locking rear differential and four-corner air suspension that raises ride height on demand, so even a volume Big Horn 4x4 handles forest roads and boat ramps without hesitation. Above that sit two credible off-road trims — the Rebel on 33-inch tires with skid plates and an e-locker, and the 540-hp RHO with 35-inch tires, Bilstein remote-reservoir dampers and roughly 11.8 in of ground clearance, which is Raptor-class. For toys, 11,580 lbs of towing covers most boats and travel trailers, the 115-volt outlet and RamBox bins serve a campsite well, and the class-largest fuel tank matters where stations are sparse. Marked down slightly because the volume trim is not the Rebel, and the air suspension's service record makes it a liability far from a dealer. Replaces a placeholder score.

Exceptional, and the clearest area where the Ram out-packages its rivals. An open bed of 53.9 cu ft (61.5 with the 6-foot-4 box) swallows what no SUV can, and the RamBox side bins add lockable, drainable, lit volume outside that measurement — the answer to the pickup's usual weakness of having nowhere secure and dry to put things. Inside, the rear seats fold up to a flat floor over in-floor storage compartments plus under-seat bins, and the center console is enormous with a fold-flat work surface. A hitch is available across the range, cargo tie-down rails are adjustable, and the multifunction split tailgate makes awkward loads easier to reach. Held just below the ceiling because the bed still needs an optional tonneau to be weathertight, short-box volume trails the Silverado's Durabed, and there are no factory cab roof rails for a rack. Replaces a placeholder score.

The DT-generation 1500 is the only full-size half-ton with a five-link coil-spring rear axle (four-corner air suspension optional), and it buys real body control as well as ride comfort — reviewers consistently rank it the most composed-riding truck in the class over broken pavement and mid-corner bumps. It is still a 5,000-plus-lb, high-CG pickup, so grip and directional agility remain segment-typical rather than genuinely engaging; scored above the leaf-sprung F-150 and Silverado but well short of the 80+ band.

Electric power steering is accurate, well-weighted at highway speed and easy to place for a truck this size, but heavily isolated with little genuine feedback — squarely the 'precise enough but numb' band and roughly level with the F-150's rack.

Stopping distances for the crew-cab DT 1500 land in the low-180-ft range from 70 mph — mid-pack for a full-size half-ton and unremarkable but adequate. Pedal feel is firm enough in normal use, though the 48-volt eTorque regenerative blending gives a slightly soft, non-linear initial bite that reviewers have noted.

The ZF-derived TorqueFlite 8-speed automatic is the calibration benchmark in this segment — smooth, decisive, and free of the part-throttle hunting that dogs GM's 8-speed and Ford's 10-speed — and the 48-volt eTorque belt-starter-generator makes stop/start restarts close to imperceptible. The reinstated 5.7L HEMI V8 is a long-refined, linear engine and the Hurricane twin-turbo six pulls from low rpm with little lag; a point comes off for the base Pentastar V6, which feels busy under load.

Cabin quietness is a signature Ram 1500 strength — active noise cancellation and acoustic laminated glass keep wind and drivetrain noise unusually well suppressed for a body-on-frame pickup — and the returning HEMI V8's burble is a deliberately pleasant noise rather than an intrusion. The Hurricane inline-six is quieter still but sounds comparatively characterless under hard load, which keeps this out of the very top of the band.

The volume crew-cab short-bed configuration turns a little tighter than an F-150 SuperCrew 5.5-ft box (47.8 ft) and marginally tighter than a Silverado Crew Short Box (46.4 ft), consistent with its shorter 144.6-in wheelbase — but it is still a long-wheelbase full-size pickup that needs real room in a parking structure. The long-bed crew cab gives up roughly four more feet of maneuverability.

The 2025 refresh's cabin is widely treated as the segment benchmark: broad seat and tilt-telescoping wheel adjustment, a commanding and unobstructed forward sightline, and — importantly — physical climate and volume controls retained beneath the 12.3-in (14.5-in optional) Uconnect screen rather than buried in menus. The only real demerits are segment-wide: a high step-in that effectively requires running boards, and thick rear pillars.

The 2026 reinstatement of the 5.7L HEMI V8 exists precisely because buyers wanted the character back, and the V8 soundtrack plus a genuinely comfortable, quiet chassis makes this an easy truck to enjoy on a long drive; the 540-hp RHO is properly entertaining. It is still a comfort-first full-size pickup in volume Big Horn/Laramie form rather than something an enthusiast seeks out for a back road, so it stays mid-band — above the F-150 and Silverado, below the instant-torque electrified 1500 variants.

Ram's standard-content story is led by infotainment: the 2025 refresh made a 12.0-inch Uconnect 5 touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto standard on every trim including the Tradesman work truck, which is more generous base tech than the F-150 XL and on par with the refreshed Silverado WT. The volume Big Horn/Lone Star Crew Cab adds remote start, proximity entry, LED lighting and the core active-safety suite. It stops short of the top band because the base engine is the modest 305-hp 3.6L Pentastar V6 eTorque rather than a torque-rich turbo like Chevrolet's 2.7L TurboMax, and because the full-digital cluster, head-up display and surround-view camera all remain paid options on the volume trim.

At the mid-range price point where most full-size trucks actually sell, the Ram delivers the most perceived content per dollar in the segment: a Big Horn/Laramie Crew Cab near $55,000 buys the class-benchmark interior, the class-best infotainment system, and a coil-sprung (optionally air-sprung) rear end no rival matches for ride quality. The Tradesman Quad Cab also opens the range around $41,000, undercutting F-150 and Sierra entry pricing. It lands mid-band rather than high because Limited, Longhorn and Tungsten climb past $80,000 where the value argument thins against Sierra Denali Ultimate, and because the content advantage is partly repaid later through the segment's weakest resale and above-average running costs.

The trim ladder is the widest in the segment by price spread — Tradesman, Big Horn/Lone Star, Laramie, Rebel, Limited, Longhorn and Tungsten, plus the 540-hp RHO performance halo, running from a low-$40,000 work truck to a near-$90,000 flagship — and 2026 offers four gas powertrains (3.6L Pentastar V6 eTorque, the reinstated 5.7L HEMI V8 eTorque, and the 3.0L Hurricane inline-six in Standard and High Output tune). Body configuration is where it trails badly: the DT generation dropped the regular cab entirely, leaving only Quad Cab and Crew Cab with 6'4" and 5'7" beds and no 8-foot bed at all. Ford and Chevrolet each offer three cabs and three beds, so a fleet or contractor buyer who needs a two-seat long-bed work truck simply cannot order one.

The Ram 1500 remains a top-five US vehicle by volume and the third-best-selling full-size pickup, but it is the only one of the domestic three whose trajectory has gone the wrong way: Ram pickup volume slid from a peak above 500,000 units to roughly 350,000-375,000 as Stellantis worked through inventory and pricing problems, widening the gap to Silverado and F-150. The 2026 reinstatement of the HEMI V8 was an explicit response to customer defection over its removal and drew a strong initial order response, so acceptance is stabilizing — but a declining current-generation trend keeps this out of the leader band that F-150 (95) and Silverado (88) occupy.

Ram has built real aspirational equity since splitting from Dodge — Limited, Longhorn and Tungsten are widely seen as the most desirable luxury pickups short of a Denali Ultimate, and the HEMI and RHO give the brand genuine enthusiast credibility. Working against it: Ram sits in the bottom third of Consumer Reports' brand reliability rankings alongside the rest of Stellantis, and the 1500 posts the weakest five-year residuals of the domestic full-size trio — exactly the satisfaction-and-resale signals this item measures. Strong image at the top of the range over weaker trust underneath puts it below Ford and GMC (82 each) and just under Chevrolet (74).

This is the strongest single item in the Ram 1500's value case and the best buyer-side discounting in the full-size segment. Stellantis has run unusually aggressive Ram programs for several consecutive years — large cash allowances, subvented and periodic 0% APR financing, employee-pricing-style public events, and conquest and lease-loyalty stacking — to move heavy dealer inventory, so mainstream Tradesman through Laramie trucks routinely transact well below sticker with real negotiating room. That places it above Silverado (80) and F-150 (77). The caveat a buyer should understand is that these are the same incentives depressing the truck's resale value, and RHO and Tungsten transact much closer to MSRP.

The DT-generation Ram 1500 launched for MY2019, making 2026 its eighth model year — but it carries the most substantial recent refresh in the segment. MY2025 brought revised front-end styling, a re-architected dash with a 14.5-inch Uconnect 5 display, the Hurricane inline-six range, the RHO replacing the TRX, and the new Tungsten flagship; MY2026 then added back the 5.7L HEMI V8 with eTorque, an unusual mid-cycle powertrain event. That keeps the truck feeling current despite platform age and edges the similarly-aged Silverado (63). It stays mid-band because the underlying architecture is late in its life with a next-generation replacement expected toward the end of the decade.

The DT Ram 1500 is one of the best-reviewed pickups of its era: it took NACTOY Truck of the Year and MotorTrend Truck of the Year honors at launch, added a second MotorTrend win for the TRX, and has been a repeat Car and Driver 10Best Trucks and SUVs pick. Reviewers still hand it the class win on ride quality, cabin design and infotainment in nearly every comparison test. It falls short of the top band on two counts: the outright all-around verdict in full-size shootouts usually goes to the F-150 on breadth of configuration and capability, and Consumer Reports withholds a recommendation over below-average predicted reliability. The 2025 deletion of the HEMI also drew sustained criticism that the 2026 reinstatement has only just answered.