2023 Ram 1500 TRX

The Ram 1500 has been our favorite truck since its local debut as a 2019 model thanks to an upmarket cabin, strong powertrains, and refined ride. Ram decided it's also the perfect base for a performance truck, and the new Ram 1500 TRX we review here finally arrived in the USA in 2020 as the halo car in the range. It gives Ram a slice of the US truck market that has been dominated by the Ford F-150 Raptor ever since the first F-150 SVT Raptor burst onto the scene in 2009. Ram made up for its tardiness by delivering a knock-out punch, plonking a 702-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter V8 Hellcat engine into the Ram 1500, fitting it with dune-jumping off-road suspension, and sending the fans out to play. While the $85k starting price of the 2023 Ram 1500 TRX may sound like a lot of money, it's a bit of a bargain if you consider the $76k F-150 Raptor brings "only" 450 hp to the party, while the 700-hp F-150 Raptor R that matches the TRX on pace asks for close to $110k. So is the performance-pickup race over before it even started, with the spoils going straight to the TRX? Let's find out.

With an $84,850 MSRP, the price of the new Ram 1500 TRX pickup is only $8k more than the 450-hp F-150 Raptor and $25k less than the 700-hp Raptor R, making it incredible value for money. Just be careful ticking option boxes, as these can quickly send the price into the six-figure range. The TRX Havoc Edition essentially comes equipped as such and will reportedly have a $104,550 price tag, while the TRX Lunar Edition is expected to cost an even higher $106,445. Keep in mind that these prices are MSRP and exclude the $1,995 destination fee.

The TRX's Baja aspirations are underscored by its running gear: 2.6-inch Bilstein Black Hawk e2 adaptive shocks, 35" tires, and a Dana 60 rear axle with a locking differential. So it initially comes as a surprise that the TRX doesn't want to settle down, exhibiting none of the Raptor R's Rolls-Royce-like low-speed ride quality that blots out every surface imperfection as if it doesn't exist. The TRX feels tight and sporty, bobbing and moving over expansion joints and broken terrain and exhibiting far sharper steering with way less slack than the Raptor R's. It's not harsh, and there's plenty of travel, but it doesn't glide like the Ford does. It's nearly unstoppable off-road, though, thanks to those tires, the vast ground clearance, and all the driving modes, which include Mud/Sand and Rock.

When you put big loads into the suspension, it rises to the occasion and will absorb huge jumps in Baja mode thanks to pre-emptive Jump Detection, but in everyday driving, you get the impression that the engine gets center stage and not the suspension, as it does in the Ford. And what an engine it is, with 702 hp catapulting you to 60 mph in a claimed 4.5 seconds. You don't fully enjoy the V8's soundtrack, though, due to the whine of the supercharger displacing all other noises from the cabin. And good luck parking the beast, with massive proportions and the turning radius of an oil tanker conspiring against your best parking efforts.

The question is not so much whether the TRX is a good truck than whether it's better than a Ford Raptor R. These are the only two true rivals in this special niche, and none of the conventional truck metrics apply when judging them. They are special super-powerful high-speed off-road trucks that gulp fuel and are almost impossible to slot into a parking spot, so they will be bought by adventurous types that will exploit their staggering abilities. And as a final product, the Ford's superb ride quality under all conditions makes it the best truck, but the TRX's masterstroke is that it manages to offer you Raptor R power and performance at $25k less. Given its price advantage, it's an incredible achievement, and its rough-and-ready and less polished execution may even add to its appeal.

There is but a single standard trim, and it comes in at a high-value $84k, but at that price, everything isn't included, and the TRX lacks quite a few features that most owners would want. Opting for the $11k Level 2 Equipment Group package makes the most sense and adds a long list of must-haves and nice-to-haves, such as a power front passenger seat, a head-up display, a 19-speaker premium Harman Kardon audio system, heated and ventilated front and rear seats, leather upholstery, a wireless charging pad, rain-sensing wipers, parking sensors with auto-brake, a surround-view camera, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and a ton more features. It gives you a seriously kitted-out truck for under $100k, destination included.