2025 Ram 1500 REV's Big Ol' Battery Powers 500-Mile Range – CNET
2025 Ram 1500 REV's Big Ol' Battery Powers 500-Mile Range - CNET
After wowing us with the CES debut of the Ram Revolution concept in January, Stellantis’ truck brand followed up this week with the debut of a much more conventional-looking 2025 Ram 1500 REV at the 2023 New York Auto Show. It’s lost some of the more razzle-dazzle features – including the concept’s full-length cargo pass-through that I was really looking forward to – and toned the design down a bit, but the production-intent pickup still comes with a truckload of bold, class-leading claims for its range and towing capacity.
Read: Best Auto News From CES 2023: Electric Pickup Trucks, Flying Cars
Ram’s first electric truck is, of course, battery-powered and will be offered with two available capacities at launch. The standard 168-kilowatt-hour pack is estimated to deliver up to 350 miles of cruising range, while an optional 229-kWh large battery bumps that estimate up to 500 miles. Doing the most basic math (without accounting for potential reserve power), that works out to around 2.2 miles per kilowatt-hour.
Based on my loose napkin math, the Ram REV’s efficiency should fall in the 74-mpge ballpark.
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That’s not particularly efficient when compared to the currently popular crop of smaller electric SUVs, but on par with competitive electric pickups of this size. For comparison, the 131-kWh pack in the Ford Lightning Extended Range is good for around 320 miles (2.1 mi/kWh, according to the EPA), while the 303-mile Rivian R1T is currently offered in a 135-kWh config (EPA 2.1 mi/kWh). Of course, with around 100 additional kWh onboard, the Ram aims to take the longest-ranging crown by a mile – or, more accurately, 150-plus miles.
It takes a beefy charging system to fill such capacious reserves without taking all day. The 1500 REV features compatibility with 800-volt DC fast charging at up to 350 kilowatts. (Of course, true 800V/350kW chargers are still relatively rare in the US, but the Ram is at least a bit future-proof.) Optimally, that allows the pickup to gobble up to 110 miles of juice with just a 10-minute session. Home charging, on the other hand, is still likely to be at least an overnight affair on slower Level 2 power.
At the reveal, Ram also teased an even longer-ranging Ram 1500 REV XR to follow, though it didn’t share how it hopes to achieve this “class-shattering range.” I doubt there’s much more mass budget in a vehicle of this size for a bigger battery, so I’m guessing the XR will be a 2WD spec that improves consumption rather than capacity.
As is, the 1500 REV will be offered with up to 654 horsepower and 654 combined pound-feet of torque and can sprint 0-60 mph in just 4.4 seconds. Ram flexes the capabilities of the STLA Large body-on-frame chassis with impressive hauling numbers – up to 14,000 pounds of towing capacity and a 2,700-pound payload. Ram doesn’t state whether that will require specific towing hardware or package
Even more utility is added thanks to 15 cubic-feet of underhood storage – beneath its powered hood, where the engine would normally go in a pickup-shaped vehicle – and the automaker’s Ram Box bedside storage bins. Users can take advantage of a 3.6-kW AC inverter plug in the frunk to power their tools and toys on the go as well as a 7.2-kW power point in the bed. Additionally, the 1500 REV will be compatible with vehicle-to-home, vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-grid via its bidirectional J1772 CCS charging port.
Front seat passengers are treated to up to three large screens and 23 speakers.
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The 2025 Ram 1500 REV will be offered in five trim levels during its launch year, starting at the top with the new Tungsten model. Loaded up with all of the bells and whistles, the 1500 REV Tungsten’s premium interior rocks a 23-speaker Klipsch audio system with novel rear-seat center channel drivers embedded in the front seat backs. Front row passengers will be infotained by Ram’s Uconnect 5 system with a 14.5-inch vertical center screen, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and the automaker’s first 10.25-inch passenger screen. (We’ve seen a similar co-pilot display on the 1500’s House Stellantis cousin, the Jeep Grand Wagoneer.) Other available trims include Limited, Laramie, Big Horn/Lone Star and Tradesman; lower specs will be offered with a smaller 12-inch touchscreen.
Expect the 2025 Ram 1500 REV to begin ramping up production early next year with deliveries hitting full swing hopefully in early 2025.
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