Ram unveiled an update this week to its heavy-duty pickups for the 2025 model year. This isn’t a complete redesign, but instead it’s what the auto industry calls a “midcycle refresh.” The makeover brings updated looks and a few technology tweaks to the Ram 2500 and 3500.
Ram hasn’t provided full pricing but says the 2500 will start at $47,560, including destination charges. Prices for the 3500 start at $48,565 delivered.
Improved Diesel, Continued Hemi
Perhaps the biggest news is what didn’t change. Ram parent company Stellantis has stopped offering its famed Hemi V8 in most models — it won’t even appear on the 2025 Ram 1500. But they apparently don’t plan to stop building the engine. It will continue as an option for Ram HD buyers.
Strangely, the 6.4-liter Hemi found in the new heavy-duty trucks loses 5 horsepower for 2025, now making 405 hp and 429 lb-ft of torque. It comes mated to a new 8-speed automatic transmission.
Buyers will also have the option of a 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel making 430 hp and 1,075 lb-ft of torque. That engine has been extensively updated, with a redesigned block, new turbos, and larger intake and exhaust valves.
Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis, back at the automaker after a brief unsuccessful retirement last year, explains, “More than 70% of Ram heavy-duty customers opt for the diesel, and for 2025 we built on that demand and long-lasting durability with an improved Cummins engine coupled with a new 8-speed transmission.”
With every available towing upgrade, pulling power tops out at 36,610 pounds. Cummins-powered Ram HDs will also accelerate faster now, the company says, with a 0-60 mph time of 6.9 seconds instead of last year’s 8 seconds.
Big Grille, Split-Headlight Look
Truck designers remain fond of big grilles in 2025. Give them a heavy-duty-truck-sized surface to work with, and you know what they’re going to do.
The refreshed Ram HD trucks wear a large grille shaped much like an Xbox controller. Each trim level gets its own unique grille design — another trend. Whichever one you choose, it comes flanked by split headlights, with slit-narrow daytime running lights separate from the night units.
Buyers can choose between two different sets of taillights: the standard unit or an upgraded LED version that adds blind-spot monitoring capability to the truck.
A power inverter sends up to 2.4 kilowatts to two covered outlets inside the bed. ”With the engine running and while the truck is parked, customers can turn the inverter on via the touchscreen and with a switch located to the left of the outlets. The engine will then ramp up revolutions per minute (rpm) to support the onboard power inverter,” Ram says.
Inside, Ram says it has improved the standard 12-inch touchscreen with higher resolution. Buyers now have the option of a larger, 14.5-inch, portrait-mounted screen.
Passengers can have a screen, too. An available 10.25-inch passenger screen is shielded from the driver’s view so it won’t become a distraction.
An optional dual wireless charging pad can power two phones at once.
It’s a bit late for an automaker to introduce a 2025 car, but they won’t be late in delivery. Ram says the 2025 HD pickups will be at dealerships in the first quarter of this year.
