2024 Ram 1500 Review: Keep On Trucking

No vehicle for sale in the USA sells in bigger numbers than the full-size pickup truck, with the Ford F-150 in the top spot for nearly half a century now. The F-150 might be the top seller, but the Ram 1500 is widely regarded as the most car-like to drive, thanks to the ride comfort offered by its coil-spring rear suspension and its upscale cabin. The other Top Three trucks are the GM twins - the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500. In this corner of the market, it's all about power, torque, payload, towing capacity, and a choice of cab configurations, and the Ram 1500 is not quite on top with its lack of a regular cab (you have to opt for the old-fashioned Ram 1500 Classic to get one), a lack of driver assists, and an aging engine lineup with its thirsty Hemi V8. Not to worry, because 2025 has dramatic changes in store to bring it right back up to date, with an efficient new turbocharged six-cylinder engine to replace the V8, a range-extender EV in the pipeline, and a raft of other updates. For now, the 2024 1500 soldiers on with the 305-horsepower Pentastar V6 and 395-hp Hemi V8. Should you rather wait for the upcoming 2025 model then? Read on.

New for 2024

Very few things change for 2024 as Ram gears up for a special 2025 model year when the Ramcharger and new high-performance RHO will be launched, along with a facelift and upgrade for the entire range. As for the regular 1500, the Tradesman Warlock option returns at some point during the model year, with various off-road features, including a one-inch higher ground clearance, skid plates, an electronically locking rear diff, Bilstein dampers, and 33-inch tires. The only other change is that all trims in the lineup get a standard tailgate-ajar warning light. Last of all, the base price of the 2024 Ram 1500 increases by a few hundred dollars.

2024 Ram 1500 Price: Which One to Buy

For 2024, the price of a new Ram 1500 Tradesman now kicks off at $38,570. Next in line is the Tradesman HFE at $40,210, followed by the Big Horn/Lone Star at $43,785, the Laramie at $53,785, the Rebel at $58,450, the Limited Longhorn at $60,545, and the Limited at $64,960. These prices are for the trims in their most basic configurations, which will depend on the trim. For example, the Tradesman comes in 2WD with a Quad Cab body and 6'4" box, but changing up to the Crew Cab body with the 5'7" box will cost you $2,750 - or $6,045 instead with the 6'4" box. Adding 4WD will cost you $3,850 on any trim except the Rebel, which is four-wheel drive by default. Upgrading to the V8 engine costs $3,045 on all trims except the Limited, which comes with the V8 only. These prices are MSRP and exclude Ram's $1,995 destination charge.

Which 1500 you buy depends on your use case, and for no-nonsense fleet use with no need for luxuries, the Tradesman will obviously be ideal, while the Rebel is the one to go for if you need off-road ability. For normal everyday family use, the Laramie is the first livable trim with the luxuries that families demand, with its leather upholstery, climate-controlled front seats, proper smartphone-enabled infotainment system, and forward-collision warning. Unfortunately, you can't get all the driver assists unless you go for the top-of-the-tree Limited at $65k.

Interior and Features

The cabin is stylish and easy to use, and it hasn’t started to age yet compared to the competition, still offering a sense of refinement uncommon in a truck.

The Ram 1500 has the nicest interior of all the trucks, and it's ergonomically sound and easy to use. The controls fall logically to hand, except perhaps the dashboard-mounted rotary shifter, but you soon get used to it, and it frees up useful space in the center console. Even the base Tradesman looks decent enough inside for a workhorse, with solid materials and decent quality levels, despite its meager spec and small touchscreen. You only get manual air-conditioning and rubberized vinyl flooring, but at least you can swap out the vinyl on the seats for cloth at no cost. Higher trims are much more generously appointed with leather and wood finishes and many more features. Interior space leads the class, especially the second row of the spacious Crew Cab, partly thanks to that lengthy 144.6-inch wheelbase. You climb up to get in, as in all trucks with a high ground clearance, but your view out is good. It might be tricky to park the beast since you only get a backup camera to help and no parking sensors.

Space

Seating capacity is six in the Tradesman, Big Horn, and Laramie, courtesy of the three-seater front bench, and five in the rest, HFE included. Interior space depends on whether we're talking about the Quad Cab or Crew Cab, but in either case, the figures are among the best in the class, with the Crew Cab, in particular, offering a truly enormous back seat, with five inches more rear legroom than in front. The Quad Cab is appreciably tighter but still roomier than its rivals from Ford and Chevy.

Cargo

Two bed sizes are available - a 5'7" bed and a 6'4" bed. The smaller bed is 67.4 inches long, 66.4 inches wide, and 21.4 inches deep, giving a total bed volume of 53.9 cu-ft. The 6'4" one offers quite a bit more bed size, with a length of 76.3 inches and a slightly higher 21-5-inch depth for a volume of 61.5 cu-ft. Payload varies according to the trim and the bed size, but it maxes out at 2,320 lbs. Extras can be ordered, depending on the trim, to make the most of the truck's load-carrying ability and practicality, such as tonneau covers, the RamBox lockable cargo-management system in the bed's sidewalls, and a multi-function tailgate.

There's a lot of cabin storage available as well, with a regular glovebox, an overhead storage console, a dashboard shelf, front and rear door pockets, and cupholders aplenty. The five-seater models have a particularly large configurable center-console storage bin, and the Crew Cab models have rear under-seat storage as well.

Materials and Colors

In the Tradesman, the only two available interior colors are black or Diesel Gray. As standard, you get vinyl upholstery in the former shade, but cloth in the latter shade is available but also requires the Tradesman I Equipment Group to be specified as well. The Tradesman HFE gets black cloth only, while the cloth in the Big Horn/Lone Star can be either of the two colors - or upgraded premium cloth in the same colors for $595 if you select from some additional optional equipment packages. The Laramie gets black leather, but selecting the G/T package fits it with leather/vinyl seats. The Rebel's interior is decked out in black cloth/vinyl seats with red stitching and highlighting throughout the interior, including the dashboard, center console, steering wheel, and doors. Leather and luxury leather in black or black/red - the latter only as part of the Night Edition package - is also available, but it deletes the standard G/T package, and then you lose all the red accents.

The Limited Longhorn's interior is a tasteful blend of black and Saddle Brown with leather on the seats and wooden trim, along with Limited Longhorn Edition badging in places such as the center console. Premium leather in Mountain Brown is available as part of the Southfork Edition Group package. The Limited's premium leather interior is black, but premium quilted leather in Indigo/Sea Salt comes as part of the Elite package. The steering wheel is trimmed in leather in all trims except the two Tradesman trims.

Features and Infotainment

There aren't that many features in the Tradesman, in an effort to keep the low starting price, with vinyl on the manually adjustable seats, rubberized vinyl flooring, and manual air-conditioning. As you move up the trims, cloth upholstery, leather on the steering wheel and/or seats, power front seats with heating and ventilation, dual-zone climate control, and more are fitted. Lots of equipment packages and options are available, but only from the Big Horn and up, with the base trims eligible for fewer extras. Only the top trims get premium leather, wood finishes, and a digital gauge cluster.

The Tradesman and Big Horn/Lone Star trims have a Uconnect 3 infotainment system with a five-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth connectivity, USB ports, and a six-speaker audio system. Only from the Laramie and Rebel levels do you get the larger Uconnect 5 NAV 8.4-inch touchscreen with navigation, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, HD Radio, and SiriusXM. The Laramie also gets a ten-speaker Alpine audio system. The Limited Longhorn and Limited get the same infotainment functionality as the Laramie but with a larger 12-inch touchscreen. Its split-screen functionality makes it easy to have the climate controls on hand all the time without delving into menus, while the rest of the screen is occupied by the infotainment functions.

Performance

Performance is decent and towing capacity excellent, but the big naturally aspirated engines aren’t as efficient as some rivals’ downsized turbocharged units.

The proven naturally aspirated 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine in the Ram 1500 benefits from 48-V mild-hybrid eTorque technology and develops 305 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque. It's the only option in the two Tradesman trims, but the other trims all have access to the naturally aspirated mild-hybrid 5.7-liter Hemi V8, which also sports MDS cylinder-deactivation technology. It delivers 395 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque for strong performance. The V8 is standard in the Rebel, and the six-cylinder is optional, while the Limited gets the V8 only. With the V6, the Ram 1500's 0-60 sprint takes around 7.5 seconds, while the V8 can dispatch the benchmark sprint in about 6.6 seconds. Top speed is limited to 106 mph. All trims use a quick-shifting and smooth eight-speed automatic transmission, and either 2WD or 4WD drivetrain choices are available. The 4WD models are more made for rough roads than true off-roading, but the Rebel, with its hardcore off-road kit and higher ground clearance, does an admirable job off the beaten path. Trailering stats are good, with a maximum towing capacity of 12,750 lbs with the factory tow hitch fitted. The HFE can tow a lower 6,740 lbs.

The Ram 1500 still offers the best ride and handling in its class thanks to its multi-link, coil-sprung rear axle. Ride refinement is a class act without the truck-like feel of its rivals or the stiff-legged bounciness typical of leaf-sprung rear axles. Nothing in its steering responses or composure suggests that it's a big truck and it's not cumbersome at all. It's truly pleasant to pilot the 1500, as it feels more like a car to drive, being easy to place, even though parking is tough due to its sheer size. The V6 is sufficiently powerful but struggles when towing big rigs, when the torquey V8 comes into its own. The slick automatic transmission is totally unobtrusive, so proficient is it at fading into the background.

Fuel Efficiency

Gas mileage is starting to lag behind the class best, and the Ram 1500's best mpg figures are achieved by the RWD V6 Tradesman HFE, which returns 20/26/23 mpg for the EPA's city/highway/combined cycles. The regular V6 1500 models aren't far behind, with 20/25/22 mpg for the RWD models and 19/24/21 mpg for the 4WD trims. The V8-engined models' figures are 18/23/20 mpg with RWD and 18/22/19 mpg with 4WD. Quad Cabs have a fuel capacity of 23 gallons, which should mean that their fuel range will vary between 437 and 529 miles. Crew Cabs have a larger 26-gallon tank, which stretches the range to between 494 and 572 miles.

Safety

Safety is lacking somewhat, with too few standard driver assists, although the 1500 fares well in crash tests.

The NHTSA's safety review of the 2024 Ram 1500 is good, with a five-star overall rating. The IIHS also scores it highly and gave it a 2023 Top Safety Pick award and mostly Good scores, but it received a Poor rating for the agency's updated new moderate front-overlap test, so it remains to be seen if it will hold on to its award in the future. The award is only applicable to trims with the optional front crash-prevention tech and upgraded headlights; the halogen headlights in the bottom trims received a Poor rating.

Perhaps the substantially updated 2025 model will be treated better, but for now, the level of standard driver assists in the Ram 1500 is a bit disappointing. While a brace of airbags and the minimum federally required safety features are present, you have to go up to Laramie level to get forward-collision alert, while only the Limited gets blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

US NHTSA Crash Test Result

Reliability

The Ram 1500's reliability has improved significantly in recent years, and JD Power gives the 2024 model an excellent score of 88 out of 100 for Quality & Reliability. There have so far been no recalls for the 2024 Ram 1500, but the 2023 model was affected by a few - fuel-pump failure on the now-discontinued diesel engine and a blank rearview-camera display. This is a huge improvement on the 2022 model, which was recalled nine times.

The limited warranty of the 2024 Ram 1500 runs for three years/36,000 miles and the powertrain warranty for five years/50,000 miles.

Warranty

Design

The Ram 1500's robust design is an evolution of decades of Rams before, and it won't be confused with any other large truck. It's noticeably more modern than the previous generation, which is still produced alongside it as the Ram 1500 Classic. There are Quad Cab and Crew Cab bodies with 5'7" and 6'4" beds (only the Crew Cab gets access to the shorter bed). The Tradesman runs on 18-inch steel wheels, but the HFE gets 20-inch alloys, just like the top trims; the rest get 18-inch alloys. The exterior styling varies wildly from trim to trim, with halogen headlights and lots of black plastic at the bottom of the lineup, but LED headlights and trim-specific grilles and exterior trim finishes for high-end models. The Rebel sits an inch higher off the ground and comes with a Sport Performance hood and two-tone paintwork. The HFE and Limited Longhorn come with regular running boards, while those of the Limited are power-retractable. A dual-pane panoramic sunroof is optional on the top trims. Other extra-cost features include the RamBox cargo-management system, a tonneau cover, a multi-function tailgate, and lots more.

Verdict: Is The 2024 Ram 1500 A Good Truck?

The Ram 1500 still rides better than any truck has a right to, and its comfortable cabin and refined road manners remain right at the top of the pile, especially in the higher trims. But the lack of engine choices and the thirsty V8 is counting against it, and the competition is catching up. Ram will be fixing all that next year when the powerful and efficient twin-turbocharged Hurricane inline six-cylinder engine will replace the V8, while the entire lineup will be refreshed. So you'll only opt for the old 2024 model if you really want the V8 engine but, charismatic as it may be, the new Hurricane beats it on every single metric, except perhaps its aural signature. We'd rather wait for the substantially improved 2025 Ram.