The heavy-duty full-size pickup market will always be a hotbed of fierce rivalry between America's big pickup truck manufacturers, and with Ford's recent redesign of its popular F-250, Ram had to step things up by introducing an all-new fifth-generation model in 2019. For 2020, the Ram 2500 sees a few minor updates, but the basics remain the same: you get a comfortable ride with class-leading coil spring rear suspension, a classy interior, and a range of powerful engines that get the job done time and again. Ram supplies the 2500 in three cab styles, namely Regular, Crew Cab, and Mega Cab, and new buyers also get to choose between a 6'4" short box or an eight-foot long box. Under the hood, you'll find a standard 6.4-liter HEMI V8, but the optional 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel inline-6 with 370 horsepower and 850-lb-ft of torque is the go-to option and enables the Ram 2500 pickup to haul 19,780 pounds. The Ram 2500 is currently one of the best three-quarter-ton trucks around, and with good reason.
Despite an extensive overhaul for 2019, the 2020 2500 brings with it even more updates. Tipping its hat to improving any potential safety rating, Ram has made lane keep assist and adaptive steering available to all trims, as well as blind-spot monitoring, which is standard on the top trim. A trailer tire pressure monitor can be had as well. An additional auxiliary camera setup is available, too, and a larger, 50-gallon fuel tank can be equipped to all Crew Cab variants with the eight-foot bed. Lastly, two new colors are introduced for the new year, Olive Green and Hydro Blue, while the Power Wagon variants get blacked-out wheels.
See trim levels and configurations:
Trim | Engine | Transmission | Drivetrain | Price (MSRP) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tradesman |
6.4L V8 Gas
|
8-Speed Automatic
|
Rear-Wheel Drive
Four-Wheel Drive
|
$33,895 |
Lone Star |
6.4L V8 Gas
|
8-Speed Automatic
|
Rear-Wheel Drive
Four-Wheel Drive
|
$37,895 |
Big Horn |
6.4L V8 Gas
|
8-Speed Automatic
|
Rear-Wheel Drive
Four-Wheel Drive
|
$37,895 |
Laramie |
6.4L V8 Gas
|
8-Speed Automatic
|
Rear-Wheel Drive
Four-Wheel Drive
|
$49,450 |
Power Wagon |
6.4L V8 Gas
|
8-Speed Automatic
|
Four-Wheel Drive
|
$53,350 |
NHTSA safety ratings are not available at this time.
The role of the full-size truck in the US market has shifted exponentially in the past few decades. No longer are these vehicles expected only to do hard labor, but they are now seen as fully-fledged family and lifestyle vehicles. The Ram 2500 manages to combine all of these elements rather convincingly, despite being in a predominantly work-focused heavy-duty segment. Its looks might say rugged workhorse, but step inside the cabin, and you'll find plush leather seats, modern infotainment screens, and a premium sound system. Under the hood, the Ram 2500 truck boasts a range of powerful engines and impressive towing capacities thanks to that awesome inline-six turbodiesel engine. There are still some concerns regarding the lack of modern driver assistance systems, but overall, this is one of the best full-size trucks out there and is a worthy rival to the Ford Super Duty, and with age, reliability is only going to get better.
The most popular competitors of 2020 Ram 2500: