2025 Ram Tungsten 1500 with Rambox in Silver

Anyone looking for the nicest full-size pickup truck money can buy should just head to their local Ram showroom. The 2025 Ram 1500 sports a redesign that sees the return of the range-topping Tungsten trim. With a leather- and speaker-lined cabin, all the latest technology, and a ridiculously responsive turbo-6, the Tungsten sets the refinement bar for Ford, GM, and Toyota. Every 2025 Ram 1500 is powered by a 6-cylinder engine paired with an inoffensive 8-speed automatic transmission. Base trucks still have the tried and true 3.6-liter V-6 with 305 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque, but most trucks are going to have a new Hurricane turbo-6. In standard output form the 3.0-liter turbo-6 cranks out 420 hp and 469 lb-ft of torque. That’s nice. My top-trim Tungsten tester had the high-output version of this engine that cranks boost to 28 psi. Output checks in at a vigorous 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 engine, but that’s an entirely different animal. While the Tundra’s hybrid turbo-6 powertrain has more torque at 583 lb-ft, it’s down on ponies with 437 horses. Open the door to Ram 1500 Tungsten and it’s hard to believe this is a pickup truck. Most of the cabin’s covered in thick leather or soft-touch materials. The door uppers, seats, dashboard, steering wheel, and even the grab handles all feature beautiful accent stitching. GM, Ford, and Toyota should be taking notes. That beautiful interior is blue and white, or Indigo and Sea Salt in Ram speak. It’s gorgeous. But, white in a truck is a horrid decision, which was made clear when I got back into the truck with grease-covered hands after sliding a hitch in the truck’s receiver. “Now what?” I thought to myself. The 24-way power adjustable front massaging, cooled, and heated seats are wide like those in the F-150, but firmer. The knobs for the volume and tuning of the radio both operate with a smoothness as if they were greased with Vaseline, 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 gauge cluster does not have a boost gauge like in the Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra. This simple omission is inexcusable in a pickup truck. Like most head-up displays, the Ram’s color unit was washed out as soon as I slid on my polarized sunglasses, but when not wearing those it was crisp. There’s also a new 10.3-inch front passenger screen that my father and wife both asked, “what the heck do I do with this?” Netflix and ride, I suppose? The 23-speaker Klipsch audio system with 1,375 watts of power and 24 channels is easily the best sound system I’ve heard in a truck. It even places speakers in the front seatbacks. Like a luxury vehicle, the Tungsten’s standard four-corner air suspension can lower when the truck’s put into park, and that makes getting in and out easier, even with the automatically deploying side steps. That air suspension can also self-level the truck, which means unlike an F-150, the Ram isn’t oversprung in the rear to compensate for heavy loads. This means the truck doesn’t sit with a rake (the front end lower than the rear like an F-150), and it rides better thanks to still having coil rear springs rather than leaf springs. That Level 2 driver-assist system allows drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel and relinquish steering, brake, and throttle applications to the truck on mapped divided highways. For more info please visit www.MarkSugarDrives.com