I have long said that pickup trucks are the family vehicle of Texas, with the arrival of the Ram 1500 TRX, we are now in the real of these Super Trucks being the sports cars of Texas and today I examine exactly what it is like living with a 702 horsepower jacked up truck in East Texas for a week.
The horsepower wars have been a thing since gearheads realized they could tinker under the hoods of their vehicles and make them more fun. It wasn’t really until the 1960s and John DeLorean stepped onto the scene at GM that brands really leaned into the trend. The muscle car wars of the 60’s left us with icons like the Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, Chevelle, and GTO to name a few. Since then, we have had varying degrees of investment from manufacturers into what are essentially race cars for street use.
In today’s trend of SUVs and rugged off-road capable vehicles, the horsepower wars inevitably turned to pickup trucks and other rugged vehicles. Ram saw what Dodge was doing with the Hellcat engine in their three vehicles and said, “Hold my beer” thus giving us the Super Truck TRX.
This Ram 1500 TRX does not follow the formula of fast Ram trucks from years past, how many remember the Viper-powered SRT10? That thing was a street-only fast truck meant to compete with the Ford F-150 Lightning.
Ram had bigger aspirations with this iteration of fast truck, literally. This pickup sits taller and 8 inches wider than the truck on which it is based. The suspension is built for running triple-digit speeds across the desert, and the engine is meant to breathe in dusty air and filter it quickly before sending it to the supercharger that is larger than most commuter vehicles’ engines. There is an insane 13 inches of wheel travel built into the suspension so that it can soak up everything that comes its way, which leaves a rather cushy and soft, floaty ride in general commuting. It reminds me a lot of the 1991 Cadillac I drove at the age of 16.
That is not to say this isn’t a fun vehicle to drive down twisty roads, quite the contrary. That was the first place I envisioned testing this rig thanks to my many other encounters with this at off-road-focused events. I could not wait to see just how this thing handled roads that I have taken the likes of the Nissan Z, Toyota Supra, and GR Corolla down with a smile on my face.
In fact, I would hazard a guess that most of these rigs will exclusively see this kind of treatment as finding a place to truly test the vehicle’s intended and designed capabilities is relatively hard to find, legally.
When it comes to acceleration, this truck is as fast to 60 miles per hour as the Nissan Z I previously mentioned, and it can do it repeatedly thanks to its 8-speed automatic, full-time 4-wheel drive, and launch control. Simply find a straight stretch of road, firmly press the brake with the wheel pointed dead straight in front of you, mash the throttle and release the brake and you are gone to 60 in a mere 4.5 seconds. 100 miles per hour comes in 10.5 seconds, or the same time many commuter vehicles hit 60, the quarter mile flies by in 12.9 seconds at 108 mph, and the top speed is limited to 118 miles per hour.
I did notice that the truck would have been quicker if it had street tires versus the knobby off-road tires, but again, this is not the SRT10… this is the T-Rex. The Apex Predator of the off-road world. Ram kept their priorities in check. Speaking of those 35-inch tall Goodyear Wrangler tires, they were designed specifically for this pickup, so there was consideration to both on and off-road performance.
Cruising down the road, or carving corners was again that floaty, cloud-like experience I mentioned earlier. I can imagine that if you were one of up to 4 other people riding in this truck while carving corners, the body roll could make you nauseous, but being the pilot I never felt it was excessive. It is really quite impressive how much the engineers were able to counteract the forces of physics whit this tall rig. Part of that is thanks to the increased width, making this a large pickup in all dimensions.
Cruising down Texas highways would be the best on-road application of this pickup, and on the hour drive to my off-road testing grounds, I found the TRX to be as comfortable as my Cadillac ever was.
Inside the TRX one-ups my 1991 Cadillac in luxury. Leather-wrapped everything. Seats, doors, steering wheel, and dash all had cowhide coverings with suede accents. All four outboard seats, yes front and rear, were not only heated but ventilated and the rear seat would even recline. Given the ample amount of room in the rear, if you aren’t piloting the TRX, the back seat may just be the best one in the house.
Ram’s large 12-inch vertical screen infotainment runs Uconnect 5, which is one of the best in the business, but it did feature moments of lag, and the weirdest thing to me was that if you turned the power off to the radio, the whole screen shut off. Other brands simply use the power button as more of a mute, while Ram turns off the entire screen which is also home to your virtual buttons for cameras, heated and ventilated seats, and many more comfort and convenience items.
One plus that really stood out to us was the adjustable pedals. Ram is perhaps the last automaker to offer adjustable pedals and they came in handy when switching between myself and my 5-foot wife.
Overall, I was not disappointed with my time with the TRX in my daily life. It drove well, had great luxury items, and was plenty fast when I needed it but tame when I didn’t. The only real cons were its large size and the insane fuel economy (10 mpg observed). With the quick access button for the 360º cameras, it was easy enough to park, but it took up the entire parking spot.
I am just grateful the fuel tank was large enough I never had to refill it on my week-long excursion with the beast.
Tomorrow we examine just what is capable of off-road. Stay tuned.
2022 Ram 1500 TRX Specs:
6.2L Supercharged HEMI® V8 Engine
702 Horsepower
650 lb-ft of Torque
8-Speed High-torque-capacity TorqueFlite 8HP95 Automatic Transmission
Full Time 4 Wheel Drive
Full-time Active Transfer Case
8 Inches of Increased Width
Launch Control
4.5 second 0-60 mph Acceleration
10.5 second 0-100 mph Acceleration
12.9 second 1/4 mile at 108 mph
118 mph Top Speed
Forged Aluminum Front Upper and Lower Control Arms with Active Damping inspired by Desert Racers
Five-link Coil Rear Suspension
2.6-inch Bilstein Black Hawk e2 Adaptive Performance Shocks
More than 13 inches of Wheel Travel Front and Rear
15-inch Front Disc Brakes
18-inch Black Aluminum Wheels
325/65/R18 Goodyear Wrangler Territory All-Terrain 35-inch tires
Developed Exclusively for Ram TRX
Dual Rear Exit Exhaust
Seating for 5
Heated and Ventilated Front Seats
Heated and Ventilated Outboard Rear Seats
Leather Seats with Suede Inserts
Leather and Suede-wrapped Heated Steering Wheel
9.2-inch LCD Digital Rearview Mirror
Analogue Gauge Cluster with Digital Center Display
12-inch Infotainment Screen with Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
19-speaker Harman Kardon® Premium Sound System
Dual-zone Automatic Climate Control
LED Headlights
LED Taillights
Damped Tailgate
Proximity Key with Push Button Start
EPA Fuel Economy 10/14/12 (city/hwy/cmb)
Starting Price: $78,790
Price As Tested: $98,780
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