2021 Ram 1500 TRX | Review & Road Test
Kelley Blue Book Kelley Blue Book
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 Published On Oct 22, 2020

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The 2021 Ram 1500 TRX is the fever dream of a truck manufacturer gone mad. That is provocative language but it’s not unjustified. Here are the facts.

The TRX’s 6.2-liter supercharged V8 produces 702hp and 650 lb-ft of torque (702hp, 650 lb-ft). Ram claims 4.5-second 0-60 mile per hour sprints and a sub-13-second quarter-mile.

The TRX moves. It’ll also tow 8,100 pounds and, thanks to 15-inch brake discs front and rear, it’ll also stop. Use the pedals as potentiometers rather than switches and the TRX drives like a normal pickup truck…but with a pillowy soft ride depending on the drive mode selected. You can enjoy that plushness while simply motoring around town, or you can do the correct thing and fill the desert with supercharger whine.

Hooray, we’re at the super fun off-road portion of the video. First, some more quick facts. The transmission is an 8-speed Zed EFF automatic linked to a BorgWarner active transfer case that connects to a Dana 60 rear axle with a standard locking differential.

The 2021 Ram TRX rides on 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tires mounted to a new independent front suspension and a 5-link rear axle that are managed by 2.5-inch Bilstein Black Hawk e2 adaptive dampers.

As for stance, the TRX sits 2-inches higher than a standard 1500 with a 6-inch wider track covered by wide fenders that grow total width by 8-inches. There are 13 inches of wheel travel in front and 14-inches in back.

Lastly, the TRX uses a greatly reinforced versions of the standard 1500 frame so idiot car reviewers like me don’t bend it. And if you’re curious, here’s the fuel economy figures. (10 city/14 highway)

The Ram TRX is visually distinguished by unique bumpers, tow hooks, black full adaptive LED headlights, and an illuminated yet functional hood scoop. Inside there’s a flat-bottom steering wheel and front seats with extra bolstering.

There’s also Ram’s big 12-inch monitor, an agreeable canvas on which to view the Off-Road Pages…page, and adjust the 8 drive modes. There’s are all the modes you’d expect plus a sport mode for racier on-road driving but my favorite is Baja Mode. It’s the most jumpable.

Two more notes, the supercharger whine plus V8 growl is intoxicating. And, as far as I’m aware, this the first pickup with launch control. One button press activates it and you can use it on any surface.

The Ram TRX is an extremely capable pickup. It jumps, it climbs, it commutes smoothly, it even handles surprisingly well on tarmac. But all that capability doesn’t come cheap. Base price is about $72,000 including destination charges ($71,790).

Load up with options and you can balloon that number to $86-grand or so. This is the part where I’m supposed to say something practical or offer competitive alternatives. I mean, yes, the Ford Raptor is plenty magical and starts about $17-grand less.

But if you’re actually thinking about buying a Hellcat-powered Baja truck, practical concerns don’t really matter, do they? No, they don’t. Be honest, where the TRX is concerned you don’t want thoughtful input. You either want debate fodder for the comment section or you want a license to buy something silly.

And you know what, I’m happy to help. If you’re shopping for full-size pickups you should probably get the one with 702 horsepower that you can jump. Just in case. You never know when a Baja 1,000 might break out.

00:00 2021 Ram 1500 TRX
0:16 Engine
1:22 Components
2:23 Off-Road Driving
3:46 Styling
4:03 Drive Modes
4:20 Jumping the TRX
5:30 Launch Control in TRX
5:45 Rock Crawling
6:37 Pricing

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