Opinion: Ram 1500 REV Isn't the Game Changer We Expected

Expectations are a powerful thing. A company can make money and its stock will fall if they aren’t met. Expectations have been running high in the Car and Driver office for the electrified Ram 1500 REV ever since Ram CEO Mike Koval got our attention back in 2021 when he made promises about the electric version of the regular half-ton Ram that was then on the way.

At the time, Koval announced that although the brand’s EV truck would arrive after the competition, it wouldn’t follow in their footsteps. He claimed a 2024 launch date would be an advantage, allowing Ram to benchmark the EV pickups from Ford and General Motors.

Fast forward to last month at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), where we were wowed by the Ram 1500 Revolution BEV concept and our expectations for the production truck rose even higher.

The Letdown

A month later, while watching the Super Bowl, an innuendo-stuffed ad teased the real Ram 1500 REV and offered several laugh-out-loud moments. However, when we finally got a good look at the production model, we let out a collective “What the?”

Admittedly, we don’t have all the technical details, but the most striking part is how little the REV resembles the concept and how much it looks like the current gas-fed model. Now no one expected the production version of the Ram EV to be as wild as the concept. We all know they’re just that, conceptualizations. So the show truck’s exaggerated proportions, pillarless coach doors, and even its electrochromic glass roof weren’t features we expected to reach customers.

Obviously, most of this wasn’t making it to production.

Michael Simari

What we did hope for was that the innovative and useful features on the concept might make it to production—the folding midgate to extend the pickup bed into the cabin, for example. The original Chevy Avalanche had a midgate, for Pete’s sake, a feature that will return on the upcoming Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV.

Opening the bed to the cabin also gave Ram’s concept a pass-through to allow long narrow objects to slot through the truck’s cabin and into the front trunk. That appears to have been ditched. Eliminating the concept’s midgate means the intriguing third-row jump seats integrated into it are also missing.

As far as the interior, it doesn’t draw too many complaints because Rams have attractive cabins with top-notch materials, but it’s essentially the same design as its gasoline counterparts with the exception of the display for the front-seat passenger, just like the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. That’s neat, but it doesn’t break the mold.

Take Advantage

It’s not just the concept that fueled our dreams for an EV Ram pickup. Ram is late, but the lateness doesn’t appear to have created any competitive advantage or driven any big innovation.

Again, range, power, and other specifications remain unknown—prove us wrong, Ram—but converting the gas-powered version into an EV is exactly what Ford has done with its F-150 Lightning. Back in 2021, Koval claimed the electric Ram 1500 would deliver 500 miles of driving range. He also said it would “redefine the full-size segment” and surpass rivals, suggesting it’d exceed the Lightning’s 10,000-pound towing capacity. If the production truck hits those lofty marks, it’ll be enough to beat Ford and GM.

Currently, the Lightning has an EPA-rated range as high as 320 miles, the GMC Hummer EV tops out at 329 miles, and GM is targeting up to 400 miles per charge with the electric Silverado and Sierra. However, neither GM truck is on the market yet. Ram’s 500 miles on a single charge would make it a segment leader, if not at the top of the EV class.

But that number is likely going to come thanks to a confirmed range-extending version with a gasoline engine. A range extender (as the name implies) will also help raise the battery’s range while towing. Ram’s REV might be able to go farther than pure EV pickups, but a plug-in hybrid isn’t the same thing as a battery electric vehicle (BEV).

The Road to Becoming Real

Want to tow with an EV pickup? We can think of better things to do, but we’ll talk about towing capacity anyway. The Rivian R1T leads the segment with its up to 11,000-pound rating, more than any other electric pickup. Stay tuned if Ram will be able to beat that bogey, which is what Koval alluded to.

Based on how one-upmanship traditionally works in the pickup-truck wars, though, expect the Ram 1500 REV to barely edge its rivals rather than bound over them. A 10,500-pound (or 11,500-pound) max tow rating seems attainable, but it would only make the REV best in class by a thin margin.

There’s Still Hope

Other than offering a gas-fueled range extender, the production version of the Ram 1500 REV isn’t the game changer we thought it would be.

Of course, there’s still hope that the truck will satisfy expectations. More details are coming, and it’s possible a bunch of innovative features aren’t obvious in the handful of photos we’ve seen so far. However, from the looks of it—with the exception of a plug-in-hybrid version—Ram’s EV isn’t a big step forward in tech and design. Mostly, we blame the concept for writing a check the production truck appears unable to cash.

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