I’m in the driver’s seat of the 2025 Ram 1500 RHO—the off-road-focused flagship of the Ram lineup—in the dirt, and being invited to get as sideways as I feel comfortable with.
Further, I’m feeling stoked to be sampling its signature Baja drive mode on a course that Stellantis engineers say really showcases this rig’s capabilities. The decommissioned gravel-pit-gone-wild is in Holly, Michigan, not far from Ram’s Auburn Hills hive mind, and this “serious work environment,” as one of Ram’s crew called it includes rubble, small boulders, and lots of whoop-dee-doos, amid stretches of extra-fine sand that I have a hunch might slick up nice in the rain.
Seriously, it’s likely the most extreme off-road terrain in Michigan south of the thumb—thus my passenger riding shotgun, veteran Stellantis high-performance off-road vehicle development and validation engineer Toon Tan calmly tips me not to hang the tail out as we’re descending “Hollywood Hill,” smirk included.
That past, we get to a sandy stretch. Tan advises me to indeed get on it and steer with the power at the rear wheels, and he notes that otherwise off the power it has “typical four-by-four” dynamics, such that “when you lock it up, you will understeer.”
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
In Baja, the RHO is biasing torque delivery 75% to the rear wheels while controlling the stability system and active transfer case together—basically allowing the truck to go a lot more sideways and opening up the dynamics. But I quickly get the sense that the suspension’s the star of this show.
“It’s almost like the faster we go, the smoother it is,” says Tan, emboldening me to bound over some deep ruts, assuring me that I haven’t yet gotten anywhere close to pushing the RHO’s suspension capabilities or wheel travel. As part of tuning and validating the RHO, Toon was among the engineers participating in 1,000 miles of desert endurance “racing” in Southern California’s Johnson Valley.
At that point it starts to feel a bit like a rally-car course, as I gain more confidence in the truck and its awe-inspiring brawn and capability off-road.
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
Ram 1500 RHO is tough enough to…catch some air
But, it turns out, the truly fun part of the day is yet to come, and my sense of near-invincibility in this truck faces a new challenge. Tan has me stop, and clearly lays out my target speeds for the THREE JUMPS ahead: 35, 45, and 45 mph. I’ve jumped a couple hatchbacks in blissful ignorance and a rally car with an instructor, and I know the speed is important not just for stability but for how you return to the ground, and not every vehicle is born to even do this at all (I once witnessed a crossover SUV totaled with a relatively mild dune jump).
I do exactly as he says and knock out a trio of glorious jumps that would do Bo and Luke Duke proud—with decent landings, too. I’m giddy to have pulled this off without breaking myself, Tan, or the truck. And to think the truck will do this many times over the course of the day.
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
What the RHO rides on is different than anything else in the 2025 Ram lineup—except for the now-discontinued Ram 1500 TRX, which I’ll get to soon. Fundamentally, engineers started with the 1500 chassis and moved some of the hard points so as to truly extend and stabilize wheel travel—with reshaped forged-aluminum control arms, upper and lower, plus a longer trailing length in back for the five-link coil-spring layout. Overall, ground clearance is up to 11.8 inches, due to a 2.0-inch ride-height increase versus other Ram 1500 models, and the 35-inch Wrangler Territory AT off-road tires also help clear hazards.
In all, the Ram 1500 RHO has massive wheel travel—13 inches in the front, 14 inches in the rear—allowing it to manage the energy of the vehicle at those points where the truck actually goes airborne or smacks into one of those whoops at a high velocity.
And, it turns out, the suspension actually primes the RHO for a stable landing. Bilstein Black Hawk e2 adaptive performance dampers are made of rigid aluminum and have their own enhanced urethane jounce bumper to prevent bottoming out. They continuously adjust damping forces for compression and rebound with electronic proportioning valves and a nitrogen-charged remote reservoir and stainless-steel braided hose.
With millisecond-level response to inputs from the wheels and G-sensors, they can adapt to yaw, pitch, and roll to stabilize the body and the behavior is controlled via drive modes—so it’s supercar-level chassis dynamics, for the messy stuff. And really, the purpose of the suspension is to really manage that wheel travel, and deliver full ride comfort whether on the road or on the trail.
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
Not a Hellcat but a Hurricane under the hood
What’s under the hood of the 2025 Ram 1500 RHO is the same high-output Hurricane twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-6 that’s used elsewhere in the lineup—making the same official 540 hp and 521 lb-ft of torque, forged pistons and all—but the RHO gets a fresh air intake, pushing denser air straight to the airbox, allowing optimal power. On the exhaust side, it has true duals all the way back, with a flow control valve. As engineers pointed out, while the peak hp and torque are technically the same, the RHO’s engine makes more performance at all the points in between.
Ram 1500 TRX, which the RHO effectively replaces—for now—was powered by a 702-hp, 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 engine.
According to Ram, the RHO can accelerate to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds, according to Ram, or to 100 mph in 11.7 seconds. Quarter-mile times roll in at 13.1 seconds and 105 mph, and its top speed is 118 mph. Officially, the TRX’s 0-60 mph time was 4.5 seconds, with the quarter-mile at 12.9 seconds and 108 mph, but a consensus of professional testing suggests it was quite a bit quicker than that.
The RHO works the engine, transmission, stability system, and suspension, in harmony with its BorgWarner 48-13 full-time active transfer case, bringing a low range of 2.64:1.
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
Upon getting the RHO out on the road for a loop on the highway and some backroads, I found clarity about what had been missing in the RHO versus the TRX: The drama of it. While the V-8 delivers a guttural shake—and a growl, and the whizzing of peaky assisted breathing—the HO engine always sounds like an especially civilized juxtaposition versus all the rest of the signals this truck is sending. The engine sounds good, but it’s a sweet, cultured note that would feel just as much at home in a German sport-line luxury convertible. Engineers confirmed there’s no sound supplementation going on in the cabin, with a slight “blat” merely a manipulation of spark timing as it approaches the shift.
My takeaways on the engine itself are lukewarm. Relying on a whopping 28 psi of turbo boost seems to have its downside and gives it a pause that’s not unlike some diesels. Mash your right foot to the floor, with enough traction available in Sport mode, and it’s as if the engine torque were left to a DJ running up the fader, cautious that the PA can take it all. It’s very quick; it’s just not immediate.
Each mode changes the drivetrain’s personality a little bit, though. Baja mode does change (and elevate) the shift points at moderate throttle. Mud and Sand more actively controls the wheel slip, including a mode to work its way through. Rock crawling gives a split closer to 50/50. Snow mode splits torque 45/55 front/rear, while auto mode defaults to 40/60 front/rear.
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
Is the Ram 1500 RHO better-handling than TRX?
Shifting to the six means that the Ram 1500 RHO is 150 pounds lighter than the TRX overall, with 180 pounds coming off the front wheel based on a more rearward center of mass of the engine, resulting in a much better weight distribution.
So while the RHO is essentially carry-over from the TRX, everything has been retuned for the new weight and weight distribution, reiterated chief vehicle synthesis manager Doug Killian. “Every valve in the shocks was retuned…the transfer case, transmission, everything’s been retuned,” he summed.
That’s a point to be underscored. For a somewhat lighter, somewhat more nimble truck—never mind that “rhino” codename, I guess—the RHO is a more finely honed rally-racing tool.
It costs a lot less, too. The RHO starts at $71,990 (including the $1,995 destination fee). Stellantis says it delivers the most power per dollar, and it claims the RHO to be the best performance off-road truck on the market. To compare, the TRX Final Edition started at $119,620.
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
Option highlights for the RHO include a group that for $9,995 adds 14.5-inch infotainment, 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio, L2 hands-free, passenger screen, dual wireless chargers, leather seats, soft dash materials, heated and massage front seats. A tow group and tow mirrors are offered as standalone options, as well as a bed utility group with a spray-in bedliner, plus cargo management systems and a step. Mopar selections include a bed-mounted tire carrier, decal packages, off-road running boards, and rock rails.
Just by its sheetmetal there’s more of an “hourglass” body design for the RHO, with cargo-box outers that are wider than for other Ram 1500 models. With the fender flares, it’s 8.0 inches wider than those other models and has a 6.0-inch wider track width.
RHO Performance Pages bring to the instrument panel special gauges, charts, and graphs, plus real-time displays to show how you’re using engine power, lateral and longitudinal Gs, and more. There’s a head-up display, too. RHO also adds paddle-shifters that can help with shifts while going around corners.
2025 Ram 1500 RHO
RHO makes space for a TRX sequel
The problem may simply be that the Hellcat-V-8-powered TRX existed—and that there’s a Ford F-150 Raptor R. The TRX brute-force dialed the formula up to 11. It had ripping cliche-busting, stump-pulling torque from low rpm, plus most or all of this ability set. The 2025 Ram 1500 RHO might do exactly what it needs to do, but what it’s emerged missing is anything close to the TRX’s attitude.
That pesky problem already has a solution. Ram has teased that a new flagship Ram will slot above the 1500 RHO. And then it may become clear why, for this model, Ram left room to dial it up to 11 once again.