The Ram 1500 TRX Super Truck is Surprisingly Driveable Day-to-Day
You already know the downsides of Ram‘s supercharged 1500 TRX super truck: It dwarfs normal roads, gulps down gasoline, and the supercharger whines nonstop. You already know, and you don’t care because this beast makes 702-horsepower! But maybe you didn’t know that the TRX truck handles surprisingly well on the road, offers a competitive towing capacity, and has plenty of room for cargo and passengers. Sure, it’s an absolute monster–but it’s a monster you could live with every day.
Ram’s TRX truck offers surprising on-road performance
Unless your daily commute is across the Glamis sand dunes (in which case I’m jealous), you care a little about how Ram’s desert-racing trophy-truck-inspired TRX handles the highway. And the surprising answer is: pretty well.
Firstly, the TRX truck will not embarrass you at a stoplight. The top-trim Ram 1500’s full-time 4WD handles the Hellcat engine’s power pretty well. So well, in fact, that reviewers have found the truck can get up to 60 MPH in just 3.7 seconds. That’ll beat an Audi S3 or BMW X3 as well as the Cadillac CT4-V. It’ll even beat some of the RWD Hellcat sedans!
Another surprising aspect of the TRX’s performance is its on-road cornering. Obviously, it’s far from a sports car, but its tuned Bilstein shock absorbers keep body roll to a minimum. It’s not the smooth ride of a Ram 1500 equipped with air suspension, but for a vehicle with 13 inches of suspension travel, it’s an engineering marvel.
The TRX truck features a factory widebody kit to fit its 35-inch off-road tries. It is so large that it legally must wear amber marker lights, just like a semi truck. You might think the TRX truck’s size makes it a bear to drive–and it certainly takes some getting used to. But it also has blindspot monitoring and 360-degree cameras. An experienced driver can navigate most streets with ease in the TRX truck.
The TRX truck retains the Ram 1500’s capabilities
The soft suspension that makes the TRX an off-road super truck could have killed its towing capacity. And while it won’t be pulling as much as a Cummins-powered heavy-duty Ram, it can certainly drag your boat to the lake: its official capacity is 8,100 pounds. What’s more, you can even order the TRX truck with trailer-centered driver aids, such as a special steering knob for reversing a trailer.
The TRX truck’s payload rating is 1,310 pounds. Does it actually have room to use its full payload capacity? You bet. You can only get Ram’s TRX truck with a short bed and full-size cab. But even the short Ram 1500 bed boasts 53.9 cubic feet of cargo space. That outclasses the Raptor’s 52.8 cubic feet.
The TRX truck still has the Ram 1500’s liveable interior
The TRX super truck features a Hellcat engine, stiff frame, and long-travel suspension. But at its heart, it is still a Ram 1500. This is the pickup that proved such an incredible all-around vehicle it won MotorTrend’s truck-of-the-year three years in a row.
With the exception of a console shifter and some special badges, the TRX truck features a similar interior to any other Ram 1500. This means it has an intuitive UConnecte infotainment system with a 12-inch display. It features ample storage, good build quality, and plenty of room.
The TRX truck, like the Ram 1500, offers 45.2 inches of rear seat space. Yet again, this outdoes the Raptor’s 43.6 inches of rear seat space. So while at first, the Ram 1500 TRX might seem like a truck from children’s nightmares, it could even make an acceptable family vehicle once you get to know it a little.
Next, read about great Ram 1500 TRX alternatives or see Ram’s flagship TRX truck reviewed in the videos below:
