When it became apparent that the Ram 1500 TRX was gone and the inline-six-powered Ram 1500 RHO would be taking its place, more than a few members of the Mopar community certain that the new truck would be a total failure. However, in speaking with members of the hardcore off-road community, there was a completely different sentiment.

They pointed out that fact that the front end of the RHO would likely be lighter and that in the vast majority of off-road situations, you don’t need 702 horsepower or the ability to sprint from a stop to 60 in the 3-second range. Some of those off-roaders also pointed out that success of the Ford F-150 Raptor, which switched from V8 to V6 power back in 2017 and continues to thrive today with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost.

The media first drive for the 2025 Ram 1500 RHO was recently held at an ORV park in Michigan and during that day of driving, it became clear that the twin turbocharged Hurricane inline-six engine will follow in the footsteps of the TRX as being the next Ram truck to best Ford’s Raptor. That brings us to a key point here – too many people are comparing the RHO to the TRX.

The TRX no longer exists, so people shopping for a new performance off-road truck arent cross-shopping one Ram 1500 against another. Instead, they are comparing the 2025 Ram 1500 RHO to the Ford F-150 Raptor, and in that comparison, the Hurricane-powered half-ton can more than hold its own.

2025 Ram 1500 RHO

Even though the two aren’t being cross-shopped, we should begin by addressing the elephant in the room, and that is the difference in power between the Ram 1500 RHO and the TRX which the RHO effectively replaces. The TRX had 702 horsepower whereas the RHO has 540 horsepower, and that makes the TRX quicker in terms of 0-60 acceleration.

The TRX got to 60 in the high- 3-second range while the RHO gets to 60 in the mid-4-second range, but that only really matters in situations where you are focused purely on 0-60 acceleration.

If drag racing is your key focus, you might be better off finding a used TRX, but for everyone who doesn’t prioritize straight line acceleration, the RHO is every bit as great as the TRX. Oh, and for RHO buyers who are interested in drag racing or sand racing, the Hurricane provides better acceleration numbers than the F-150 Raptor.

As an interesting point, while the RHO shares the same high output Hurricane engine as the other premium Ram 1500 pickups, the RHO features a unique intake and exhaust setup that leads to more power through the powerband.

The peak ratings of 540 horsepower and 521 lb-ft of torque are unchanged, but at other, below-peak points through the low- and mid-range, the RHO feels noticeably stronger than the other Hurricane HO trucks. It also has a nice exhaust note, making it clear that this is a performance model, but it doesn’t sound like an old Japanese sedan with a cheap eBay muffler (like the Raptor).

The difference in power between the TRX and the RHO is the only real point against the new truck, as in every other way, it is just as good as the TRX, if not better.

The Hurricane engine is lighter than the supercharged V8 in the TRX, so there is a bit less weight over the front wheels. Driving around town on paved roads, that weight difference isnt realized, but when you get to digging through turns in the dirt, mud or gravel, the nose of the RHO doesn’t dig in quite as deep and there is a bit less understeer. It is an incremental difference, but those who have driven the TRX hard in an off-road setting are likely to notice that front end weight difference in more technical exercises in loose footing.

Meanwhile, the 540 available horsepower is plenty for blasting up steep hills and digging through deep mud, and in these situations, the added horsepower of the TRX would not play much of a role. The RHO never feels underpowered in any off-road setting and at no point in the off-road testing process did the RHO ever feel like it needed the extra power.

2025 Ram 1500 RHO

The 2025 Ram 1500 RHO has the same basic suspension and chassis components of the TRX, with some tuning changes for the lighter engine, so it should come as little surprise that this new truck is every bit as capable off-road as the supercharged Hemi trucks. It climbs steep hills, over large rocks and through deep dirt with ease, so for hardcore off-roaders, there is no real compromise with the RHO over the RHO.

Less weight over the front wheels also leads to less rotation on jumps, so the testing process included some of the biggest jumps that have ever been experienced in media testing, and the RHO handled each of them without any loss of control on the landing. More importantly, the RHO has more power than the Raptor, so when coupled with the suspension, chassis and body bits of the TRX – the RHO outshines the Raptor just like the TRX did.

2025 Ram 1500 RHO

While many people will wonder how the 2025 Ram 1500 RHO performs in the dirt and mud, the fact of the matter is that for many people, these trucks are daily drivers. To those folks, on-road manners are just as important as off-road abilities, so in addition to playing in the mud, the media first drive event included a couple hours of driving on paved roads.

That is where drivers will learn that the RHO isnt quite as quick as the TRX from 0-60 (while still being quicker than the Raptor), but it has the same 118 top speed as the V8 trucks due to tire speed rating limitations. That is really the only difference when driving on paved roads, as the tires, suspension and chassis changes between the two don’t lead to any significant differences in on-road performance.

The lighter front end of the RHO might lead to slightly better handling, but with the high-riding suspension and the thick sidewalls of the 35-inch off-road tires, this is not a truck made to carve around the corners of a twisty country road.

Like the TRX, the RHO handles surprisingly well for a truck with this tire and suspension setup, but in the long run, the truck has some body roll due to the ride height and the large sidewalls of the off-road tires do tend to roll over a bit when you get to hammering the turns on a paved road.

Anyone who is buying this truck (or a Raptor) should expect those on-road handling characteristics, but when driven reasonably, the RHO is a very comfortable truck on the open road.

The big tires might not yield the best handling, but all of that sidewall eats up just about every bump in the road. Also, in the same way that the adaptive, adjustable Bilstein dampers do a wonderful job of gliding across uneven ground on the trails, any inconsistencies in the pavement are absorbed right away, leading to far greater ride quality than you would expect.

The ride is stiff due to the high performance suspension, but between the high tech dampers and the beefy tires, the RHO might be the most comfortable truck in the Ram 1500 lineup across the various types of road surface. It makes the roughest paths are a breeze for the suspension setup, allowing the RHO to blast across the roughest terrain at high speed, but it smooths out rougher paved roads in the same way – making for one incredible all-around performance truck.

When the Ram 1500 TRX came tearing onto the scene, Ford fans were quick to point out that the Raptor was still the best off-road performance truck with a six cylinder engine, simply because there was no six-cylinder-powered competition. Now that the RHO has arrived with the new Hurricane I6, the Raptor’s reign as the most capable non-V8 truck has come to an end, as the Hurricane-powered RHO is just as great as the TRX in almost every off-road setting while still being better, quicker and more powerful than the Ford Raptor with its V6.

Best of all, while Raptor pricing starts just south of $82,000, the 2025 Ram 1500 RHO starts just over $70,000 and in loaded form, the RHO is only a few thousand dollars more than the base Raptor, even though the RHO includes premium interior tech that is not available from Ford – making the Ram 1500 RHO an easy choice for anyone who wants a premium off-road performance truck that is just as good on-road as it is off-road.

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2025 Ram 1500 RHO