2025 Ram 1500 RHO: Lighter in weight, price and power vs TRX
As Stellantis phases out its line of Hemi V8s, both garden- and hellish-feline-variety, Ram is losing its completely outrageous TRX. But that doesn’t mean it’s done with intense off-road machines. While it lacks the outright power of the TRX, the 2025 Ram 1500 RHO delivers on virtually everything else. Plus, it gets a couple of big benefits over its big-bore forebear.
The biggest difference for the RHO is that it adopts the high-output version of the Hurricane twin-turbo 3.0-liter straight-six from the main Ram 1500 and Jeep Wagoneer lines. It’s mostly unchanged, but it does breathe through a high-flow filter that pulls air from the functional hood scoop, and it has a valved exhaust to choose between quiet and loud options. It makes the same 540 horsepower and 521 pound-feet of torque as those other trucks, and that’s obviously much less than the TRX’s 702 horsepower and 650 pound-feet. But you know what’s less powerful than the Hurricane? The standard F-150 Raptor, which has 450 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque. Not only that, but the RHO is still darn quick. It gets to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds, only 0.1 behind the TRX, and it finishes the quarter-mile in 13.1 seconds.
There’s another benefit to switching to the Hurricane: weight. The RHO weighs 150 pounds less than the TRX, and all of that savings is over the front of the truck. There’s a good chance that the RHO is going to feel more eager on turn-in than the old V8 brute. It also likely helped with improving towing and payload capacity. Towing increases from 8,100 pounds in the TRX to 8,380 in the RHO, and payload from 1,310 to 1,520. And those numbers again trump the standard Raptor.
The reduced weight does mean that Ram has had to do some retuning of the suspension, but beyond that, the hardware is the same as on the TRX. That includes the adaptive, remote-reservoir Bilstein shocks, forged front control arms, upgraded bumpstops, and loads of suspension travel. Specifically, it has 13 inches of travel up front, and 14 at the rear. It also sits on 35-inch tires. Ram engineers said that 37-inch tires will technically fit, but if you’re looking to use all that suspension travel, you’ll run into issues with rubbing without additional modification.
There are small changes inside and out as far as styling and features, too. The RHO gets updated LED lighting and a new grille and bumper, plus new badges and stickers denoting the RHO trim and the Hurricane engine. The interior gets similar updates to the regular Ram, with one of the most noteworthy additions being the option of a passenger-side infotainment screen as well as the new full-color HUD. Multifunction switches are included for adding auxiliary lights, and there are new RHO badges throughout. It also picks up the option of hands-free highway driving assist like the regular Rams. Customers have the choice of Nappa leather or suede upholstery and can add carbon fiber trim and red upholstery accents.
The real kicker to the RHO package, though, is the price. It starts at $71,990, well below the TRX’s six-figure price. But importantly, it’s also significantly less than the F-150 Raptor, which starts at $80,325. The RHO might not have the engine of the TRX, but it has basically everything else, and all for a lot less. It seems like Ram has a real winner here.
