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Auto123 decides what 10 things you really want to know about the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX.
We first test-drove the 2021 Ram TRX in the fall of 2020, and it was clear from the get-go that this is a beast (of a vehicle) in a class of its own. A class that's on the verge of extinction! I had occasion to drive this totally unreasonable truck more recently, in winter but in an urban environment away from its favoured off-road ecosystem. A sad, pandemic-related fact for an off-road driving enthusiast like myself...
But the show must go on. In a period of confinement, when it's verboten to drive a vehicle after 8 p.m. in Quebec, you have to be resourceful and try to maximize every kilometre you drive, especially at the wheel of a monster like this, which devours fuel to the tune of 19.8L/100 km (its official combined rating, according to the Canadian EnerGuide. Eye-poppingly, my average remained above 28.0L/100 km; I kid not.
Here are 10 fun facts, oddities or just plain things you want to know about the new most muscular pickup on the blog – until the 2022 Ford Raptor R shows up of course!
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# 1 An otherworldy engine
Its supercharged 6.2L V8, also known by the acronym Hellcat, is certainly one of the highlights of the Ram 1500 TRX. In this case, the engine produces 702 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque, numbers that leave those of the current Ford F-150 Raptor in a thick cloud of dust - for now at least, because know that Ford is preparing its response behind the scenes as we speak.
At a weight of 2,880 kg, the Ram 1500 TRX is not by any definition a lightweight, I’d even say it has more in common with a Heavy Duty Ram than the regular 1500. And yet the TRX's official 0-96 km/h acceleration time of 4.5 seconds belongs to the sports car segment, not to a pickup truck!
The sound of the V8 is, predictably, another element that won’t leave you or your entire neighborhood indifferent, in fact I think the TRX's musicality might just be the most bestial of all the models developed by the automaker’s SRT department. And what about the whistling of the 2.4L volumetric compressor when the right foot hits the floor? A pure delight.
# 2 The Launch Control button
The TRX is the only Ram truck in history to leave the factory with a button designed to optimize stopped starts. Based on the my two boys’ delighted laughs when I showed them what the TRX can do (safely) on a backcountry road, this simple button is a joy producer on a par with the sharpest, highest turn of a rollercoaster ride. The only other Ram pickup that could have inherited such a feature is the 2000s-era Dodge Ram 1500 SRT-10; you remember the pickup truck powered by a Dodge Viper engine, don't you?
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