2026 Ram 2500 HD review: Australian first drive

It’s easy to stigmatise the supersized pick-up truck as a symbol of excess, but if you genuinely need serious towing capability, there’s little to touch the biggest and best of this genre. 

The Ram 2500 Heavy Duty plays straight to a largely leisure-oriented market that needs 4500kg towing ability and a vehicle that’s been mechanically optimised to deliver comfort and peace of mind while hauling that sort of weight.

It’s proven to be a lucrative niche for Ram in this country, with this being the third iteration of the 2500 in Australia since its introduction in 2015.

Built in Mexico and then re-engineered for right-hand drive (RHD) and Aussie conditions, Ram contracts Walkinshaw for the work. It’s been successful too, with Ram trucks consistently being Australia’s best-selling heavy-duty pick-ups.

The re-engineering required to switch the steering from left to right requires over 400–500 specialist parts, takes 12 hours per vehicle, and sees the body and chassis completely separated to remove the left-hand-drive parts, with the right-hand-drive components then fitted before the body and chassis are reunited. 

Ram production has grown from three per day in 2015 to a two-shift, 20-per-day capacity, with 250 production workers, 50 engineers, and a total of 3000 Aussie jobs created across the total supply chain. 

This version of the Ram 2500 could, rather uncharitably, be described as a facelift, but beneath the skin the changes go quite a bit further than the usual lights, infotainment and grille updates.

The huge 6.7-litre straight-six Cummins turbo-diesel engine has been heavily updated, with a new turbocharger, redesigned block and head, and many tweaks to breathing and fuelling. 

The result is a 313kW power output (up 13 per cent) and a massive 1458Nm of torque (up 26 per cent), which is the key number you need to consider when towing. In fact, no other comparable vehicle gets close to that torque figure.

By contrast, a Ford F-150 is good for 678Nm, the Toyota Tundra makes 790Nm, and the Ram 2500’s nearest competitor, the Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, still comes up well over 100Nm shy at 1322Nm. That said, the Silverado’s characterful petrol V8 remains a point of difference.

Torque, as it turns out, is not cheap, and with a price of $172,950 before on-roads, the Ram 2500 HD is a long way removed from your garden-variety dual-cab ute. It’s worth bearing in mind that this price hasn’t increased compared to its predecessor, while equipment levels and capabilities have expanded.

The Laramie is the sole trim level in the line-up, and it comes agreeably stuffed with gear. There’s not just one wireless phone charger but two. There are heated and ventilated leather seats up front, a nine-speaker Alpine stereo, a heated steering wheel, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, as well as four USB-A and four USB-C charging points. Heck, there’s even an old-school AUX input for when you rediscover your long-lost Apple iPod.

Because Australian buyers like their creature comforts, the Aussie-spec vehicles get a whole bunch of gear that reside on the options list for North American customers. That includes features such as the Black Pack for the exterior, the side steps, the power dome bonnet, the spray-in bed-liner and the glass sunroof.

You know those big vehicles that shrink around you when you drive them? Well, the Ram 2500 HD is certainly not one of them. It feels vast.

At first, it’s a little intimidating. You peer out across that huge bonnet, the steering feels slow, and the pedal positioning feels clumsy. The brake pedal is so high that it requires a deliberate, full-foot lift off the floor to reach the anchors.

The steering is slow and requires a fair amount of twirling to encourage the big Ram's nose into a corner. The somewhat approximate feel being largely attributable to the balloon-like LT275/70 R18 Nexen Roadian all-terrain tyres.

The clunky column-shift gear lever and the slightly obstructive foot-operated parking brake also feel very American, but there’s a lot about the way this Ram drives that chalks up some decent scores in the credit column.

The engine is a behemoth. It’s uncanny how a diesel engine, where each cylinder is over a litre in capacity, can feel this refined. At a modest cruise, the gentle wind rustling around the big side mirrors is louder than the engine.

Give it a prod and it’s certainly quick enough, running from 0–100km/h in 7.2 seconds, but it’s all torque, with the eight-speed automatic gearbox throwing in nicely slurred gear changes at around 3000rpm. Check the spec sheets, and peak power is made at a subsonic 2800rpm.

The transmission is also new, with German company ZF combining with Stellantis’s Torqueflite to engineer a gearbox capable of handling enough torque to tow an errant tectonic plate back into place.

Ride quality is generally good, although as with any unladen ute, a poorly surfaced road introduces an element of nervousness to the ride. Body control and wheel control are both exemplary.

We also had the opportunity to tow with the Ram, and introducing a couple of hundred kilos of downball weight certainly damps down any element of jitteriness from the coil-sprung rear end.

Anything with a gross combination mass of nearly 13 tonnes needs a decent set of brakes, and the Ram 2500 HD not only gets a decent set of friction brakes (359.9mm discs up front and 357.9mm at the rear, both equipped with twin-piston calipers), it also features a truck-style exhaust brake system which, thankfully, is nowhere near as loud as the clatter you hear from a decelerating B-double.

It’s reassuring to know that if you’re on a long downhill grade while towing a big rig, that you’re covered belt and braces for stopping power.

Indeed, it’s the mechanical redundancy that’s built into this vehicle that’s so deeply impressive. If you’re taking your family on a lap of Australia, it’s good to know that the vehicle is nowhere near its mechanical limits. That’s not always the case if you’re towing with some of Australia’s best-selling dual-cab utes.

That said, you’ll still need to keep that 785kg payload figure front of mind if you’re heading out on a long haul. A bullbar, some accessories and a family of four could put you over the legal weight if you’re determined to tow the maximum 4500kg. 

Even with a typical large 2800kg caravan, you have 280kg of downball weight to consider, which would leave you with 505kg of payload.

Traction is decent even when towing. The drive system is nominally rear-drive, with the 4x4 high and 4x4 low settings reserved for loose or low-grip surfaces. 

The Ram will also default to second gear for most starts, although switching the vehicle into Tow/Haul mode (or doing repeated launches) will force it into a first-gear getaway.

Fuel economy isn’t quoted. Ram claims that the vehicle is typically configured in so many different setups that to do so would be unrepresentative. 

While Ram 2500 customers may not be the most price-sensitive, it’s worth knowing that on our test loop, which featured a mixture of country roads and freeway, we achieved a figure of 20.8 litres per 100 kilometres. That would equate to a real-world range of around 560km. 

The differential’s final drive ratio and top gear are now a bit longer than before, which means that this Ram 2500’s engine is ticking over at lower revs than its predecessor’s on a highway trip, which helps refinement and also extends range.

The fuel tank is a decent size at 117L, and there’s also an AdBlue tank of 24.8L.

Interior accommodation is, for the most part, very good. The only real area of complaint is that taller drivers may well find head room is surprisingly inched due to the fitment of the glass sunroof. It sounds an odd complaint in such a huge, upright vehicle, but there it is.

The entire pedal box can be motored in and out, which compensates somewhat for the fact that the steering column only adjusts for height and not reach.

The rear seats are decently provisioned, with acres of leg room, plenty of storage for cups and bottles, two USB-C and two USB-A chargers and shin-level air-conditioning vents.

The centre rear seat is definitely the short straw, however, with a shorter central cushion and a bulging armrest set into the seat squab.

The view from the rear is great, however, which will be a boon for the kids. The low window line affords an expansive view and the windows motor all the way down into the doors, which ought to help stave off any risk of motion sickness among the tots.

Move round to the back and there’s a 193cm-long bed with a spray-in liner and eight side lashing points along with a pair of somewhat small LED lights on each side of the tray. The tailgate is nicely damped and can be remotely dropped from the cabin. There’s also an extendable step that eases the climb into the high bed. 

The rear turn indicators look a rather curious afterthought, as they comprise minuscule three-diode LEDs mounted low on the bumper, looking rather like a gutted head torch. The main rear light clusters don’t offer any turn signals.

Safety provisions have improved with this update. The Ram 2500 now features speed sign recognition, and a pedestrian and cyclist recognition facility coded into the software for the autonomous emergency braking. 

Rather refreshingly, there’s not only both regular and adaptive cruise fitted, but you can also switch off the central 12-inch infotainment screen. The 12.3-inch digital dial pack is well executed, as is the combination of physical buttons and on-screen functions. 

There are numerous cameras to assist with towing, including a 360-degree camera and a rear-facing flank camera. If all that fails, you can open the rear sliding screen window to hear instructions from a buddy while reversing.

What the Ram lacks is the sort of really clever towing tech you’d get on something like a Ford Ranger, which features a remote trailer lighting check and lane departure that also takes into account the length of your trailer. 

Nevertheless, the Ram 2500 HD is an intriguing proposition. In its own way, it’s as specialised at executing a very specific function as, say, a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. If you are intent on some seriously heavy-duty towing, it’s hard to think of anything more capable for sale in Australia right now. If you don’t plan to tow, it will all feel like overkill, much as a bewinged Porsche would were it never unleashed on a racetrack.

Many of us harbour the ambition to get out and see all of Australia. As of right now, the Ram 2500 HD looks to be the best way to do it in effortless comfort.