Ram 1500 Quick Facts
- Original starting price: $43,435 (including a $1,695 destination fee)
- Class: Full-Size Truck
- Competitors: Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Ford F-150, Toyota Tundra
- KBB.com Fair Purchase Price
Introduction
A recent Kelley Blue Book Best Pickup Truck winner, the Ram 1500 shines as a handsome blend of power, interior comfort, and superior performance. Available in 10 trims with five engine options, the 2021 Ram 1500 offers a choice for most truck buyers. The Ram 1500 brings a modern touch to the full-size truck segment. Buyers can choose a truck tailored to their needs and budget, from the just-the-essentials Tradesman to the outright decadent Limited.
New for 2021 is the arrival of the 702-horsepower Ram TRX, a brawny competitor to the Raptor endowed with a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 and the burly chassis and suspension to match. The 2021 model year also brings a 10th Anniversary Edition of the Longhorn lineup, a new optional head-up display, a digital rearview mirror, and tweaks to the trailer package.
Ram CPO Warranty Program Highlights
- Limited Warranty: 3-month/3,000-mile (whichever comes first) Maximum Care Warranty
- Powertrain Warranty: 7-year/100,000-mile (from original in-service date) Limited Powertrain Warranty
- Roadside Assistance: 24/7, concurrent with powertrain warranty
- Buying a Certified Pre-Owned Ram
Key Competitors
KBB Review Highlights
The 2021 Ram 1500 stands tall in a class with the best-selling Ford F-150, Toyota Tundra, Chevy Silverado, and GMC Sierra. Offering buyers a familiar yet modern take on the full-size pickup truck, the Ram 1500 delivers the goods in a compelling package.
Themed by trim, Ram offers drivers a unique experience. The Laramie Longhorn leans into its Western aesthetic, while Rebel offers an off-road beast dressed in eye-catching colors and sharply drawn lines. Larger bodies abound in the 2021 Ram 1500, with the TRX topping the trim line length by an additional eight inches on the traditional Ram 1500. Gone is the old crosshair grille, and in its place is a more compact grille bookended by narrow headlights that come in three options: LED with adaptive front lighting, LED, or halogen. New 6-lug wheels anchor the 2021’s design. Truck beds come in two sizes: A 5-foot 7-inch short bed or a 6-foot 4-inch regular bed. If you want an 8-foot-long bed, you’ll have to find a Ram 1500 Classic, a carryover of the previous generation truck still being produced for 2021 alongside the new generation. Two truck cab styles, Quad and Crew, mix and match with the bed sizes. You can’t get every possible combination; some trim levels come in only one configuration. Options like the Ram Box bedside storage system become available as you move up the trim ladder.
The interior is comfortable, and controls are within easy reach. The cabin is refined, elevated, quiet, and well-organized. The new, optional 12-inch Uconnect touchscreen is beautifully clear and configured easily. In the 2-row cabs, legroom is abundant, though the Crew Cab is four inches longer than the Quad Cab to make space for reclining rear seating.
The 2021 Ram 1500 offers several engine options and varying degrees of fuel efficiency. The most common is the powerful and consistent 395-horsepower 5.7-liter V8 mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The same V8 setup also arrives in a more efficient form, amped up with Ram’s mild-hybrid eTorque system, which now comes standard on the base 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine. Another option is the efficient yet powerful 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 carried over from the 2020 model’s debut.
New for 2021 is the dynamic and powerful off-road monster Ram TRX. Borrowing muscle from the Hellcat, the Ram TRX uses a 702-hp 6.2-liter supercharged V8 to deliver an intoxicating experience with a supercharger whine and a grumbly growl that signals its competency, capability, and power at the ready. In the quarter-ton truck space, it’s different and welcome. Bringing the fun, it bulldozes onto the scene with a burly reinforced frame, beefy Bilstein shock absorbers, and enormous 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler tires.
Overall, the 2021 Ram 1500 lineup is well-outfitted with standard equipment. Starting from a strong base in the Tradesman, the mild-hybrid V6 brings a dial gear selector, active grille shutters, coil-spring suspension, trailer-sway control, and a rearview camera. A petite 5-inch touchscreen controls many features, including air conditioning, an e-parking brake, vinyl seating, and floors with a manual tilting steering wheel to round out the package. Climb through the ten trims: Tradesman, HFE (High Fuel Economy), Big Horn, Lone Star, Rebel, Laramie, Longhorn, Limited Longhorn 10th Anniversary Edition, Limited, and TRX, and the interiors and exteriors become more luxurious with fine detailing, special badging, elevated textiles, larger screens, bigger wheels, and memorable add-ons that signify its model. Of note are the Built to Serve models that pay homage to the American armed forces and the Limited Night models that boast a blacked-out exterior, polished surfaces, an enhanced sound system, and a sports performance hood with a monochromatic grille.
See Kelley Blue Book’s Expert Review of the 2021 Ram 1500
If you’re ready to shop, see certified pre-owned 2021 Ram 1500
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