Over a series of humps on a rugged, disused gravel pit in Michigan, the Ram 1500 RHO flew about two feet above the ground.Stellantis/Courtesy of manufacturer
Most of us learn at our mothers’ knees that things that feel good in the moment, like eating a tub of ice cream, or winning at any cost, or speeding down a country road late at night, may actually be harmful to us, and bad for others too. There’s nothing new or original about that wisdom, but it’s been haunting me, after spending a day in the new Ram 1500 RHO.
Ram allowed me to drive the new 2025 RHO on paved public roads in Michigan last month. Then I drove it through the rugged, rocky, humpity-bumpity bowels of a disused gravel pit. And in each case, the experience was shamefully enjoyable.
Here’s the thing: I consider myself an environmentalist and a nature lover. I would never own a gas-guzzling, carbon-spewing monster truck, even if I could afford to fuel it, and it grieves me that so many North Americans think otherwise. And if the express purpose of that truck is driving at high speed through pristine fields and forests and deserts, so much the worse.
And yet, dang it, that thing was a blast to drive.
Still, please don’t buy one. And, if you’re a fellow greenie reading this, remember: Don’t shoot the messenger. To describe something is not to endorse it.
New for 2025 on most Ram models is a 14.5-inch centre screen and an available passenger-side screen.
Eight drive modes variously mix-and-match the settings for shocks, steering, transmission, stability control and steering-wheel paddles.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
The RHO (short for Ram High Output) is the new flagship of a freshened 2025 Ram lineup that sees the previously optional Hemi V8 replaced by an inline-six-cylinder turbocharged engine in regular and high-output versions.
The RHO also replaces the larger-than-life, 707-horsepower TRX model at the pinnacle of Ram’s so-called sport truck lineup, the others being the 1500-grade Warlock, Rebel, and Rebel X, plus the heavy-duty 2500-grade Power Wagon and Rebel 2500. To be clear, “sport” in this case means off-road capability, not paved-road athleticism (though an RHO wouldn’t embarrass itself on a drag strip: Its claimed acceleration time from zero to 97 kilometres an hour is 4.6 seconds).
The hood scoop is fully functional and feeds colder, denser air to the engine, which can improve performance.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
In the United States, Ram is touting the RHO as a value leader among off-road trucks: Its US$69,995 starting price divided by 540 horsepower equals US$129.62 per pony. That “value” is possible, at least in part, because in place of TRX’s custom supercharged 6.2-litre V8, the RHO shares a mainstream high-production engine with other Stellantis products.
The Canadian price of $112,945 is less than the 2024 TRX, but it’s well above the $97,000 that we’d pay if the foreign exchange rates we see online were applied in the real world.
A Ford F-150 Raptor – cited by Ram as the RHO’s target-in-chief – starts at $106,975. Curiously, I didn’t hear Ram mention the Chevrolet Silverado ZR-2, which starts at $86,499 and is available with a diesel engine. The closest equivalent, Toyota Tundra, is also below $90,000.
The RHO may not have a unique engine, but adds a cold-air intake, which can, in the right conditions, raise output above the officially rated 540 horsepower. The exhaust system includes a valve that opens at high rpm and can deliver ear-candy crackles and pops.
Chassis hardware includes forged-aluminum front control arms and rear-axle trailing links that allow wheel travel of 13 and 14 inches respectively. The springs remain steel coils, but a two-inch lift combined with 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler tires (on bead-lock-capable rims) provide 11.8 inches of ground clearance, while bulging fender flares widen the body by seven inches to accommodate the six-inch wider track. Last, but very much not least, Bilstein Black Hawk e2 shocks feature remote reservoirs and continuously variable damping within eight different drive modes.
Unique to the RHO is the free-flow filter, which receives air from the cold-air intake in the hood.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
For all the macho aggression that Ram marketers like to project, the 1500 is the luxury choice among full-size pickups – not just by virtue of fancy cabin decor, but in the way it drives. And to a surprising extent, the bush-bully preserves that persona on pavement.
Despite the huge, squishy, chunky-tread tires, the ride remains quite civil, with no untoward road howl, and the steering is precise and firm with good on-centre feel. The exhaust does sound noticeably louder, but the silken smoothness and cultured voice of the inline-six engine still exudes luxury. The driver’s throne is comfortable, and yes, I do “get” the high-and-mighty (illusion of) omnipotence you feel at the wheel of an oversized truck.
Each RHO has a unique badge on the centre console featuring its VIN and other information.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
Still, don’t expect to replicate the official acceleration numbers on your drive to work. Without resorting to test-track brake-torque techniques, full-throttle street starts invoke typical dawdle-then-dash turbo lag. And our sedate circumnavigations of the loop Ram suggested along rural roads gulped gas at about 17 litres per 100 kilometres. Gulp.
Having done my due diligence on paved roads, I’m now directed to the gravel pit, where RHO vehicle development engineer Toon Tan awaits in the passenger seat with its drive mode set to off-road-suitable Baja. (For my second outing later in the day, the right-seat engineer will be Chris Winkler, but the outcome will be the same either way).
This trail doesn’t involve any boulder-crawling or impossible gradients, but it’s rough and rutted and pitholed and sandy when it’s not stony, and I think I’ve settled into a pace that’s fast enough to be fun yet sensible enough not to break anything.
Then the voices start. They’re coming from the right seat and they’re a bad influence. “Put your foot down. … No need to slow down for that. … Try to slide it all the way through this next left-hander.” So I do what I’m told and the fun gets funner and my grin gets grinnier and the truck just soaks it all up.
Then we come to a straight section … and I’m told to stop.
The Ram 1500 RHO was a blast to drive on the disused gravel pit in Michigan.Stellantis/Courtesy of manufacturer
Ahead lies a series of humps and dips, and it’s time to take off. “You want to get up to 51 miles per hour for the first one, then 35 for the next and 45 for the last one,” the voice says. The designated speeds are to ensure that the truck achieves liftoff.
I’ll have to take their word that it did. Some of Ram’s location images show a good two feet of daylight beneath the RHO’s tires, but from inside it just feels like going over another bump in the road – no crash landing, no bounce, no jarring against-the-bumper stops, no compressed vertebrae.
So yes, the Ram RHO can perform incredible feats in rough terrain without harming itself or its occupants. It’s also a feel-good indulgence to drive on pavement. But, as well, it’s a carbon-spewing climate-change machine that can directly harm plant and animal life if driven the way it was built – and is marketed – to be driven.
It’s a brilliant execution of a bad concept. If you must buy one, buy it as a trophy. Treasure it for what it could do. And remember, just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.
After the brief flight, there was no crash-landing, no bounce, no jarring against the bump stops and no compressed vertebrae.Stellantis/Courtesy of manufacturer
The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.
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