The 2025 Ram 1500 lineup departs from the Hemi V8 and in its place is a pair of Hurricane inline-six cylinder engines. We miss the V8 exhaust note for sure, but the new twin turbocharged I6 engines provide great power. In fact, the high output Hurricane I6 makes the most powerful volume engine in the half-ton truck segment in terms of horsepower by a pretty significant margin while offering the most torque of any non-electrified volume engine in the segment.
Today, we take a look at the engine offerings for the current half-ton trucks from Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Nissan compared to the 2025 Ram 1500 lineup.
2025 Ram 1500 Engine Lineup
The standard engine in the entry-level Ram 1500 Tradesman and Big Horn is the 3.6L eTorque mild hybrid V6, which delivers 305 horsepower and 271 lb-ft of torque. Next up, we have the twin turbocharged inline-six Hurricane standard output engine at 420 horsepower and 469 lb-ft of torque. This engine is optional in the Tradesman and Big Horn while being standard in the Laramie and Rebel. Finally, the high output twin turbocharged inline-six Hurricane delivers 540 horsepower and 521 lb-ft of torque, standard in the Limited, Limited Longhorn and Tungsten models.
Hurricane Versus Nissan and Toyota
The 2024 Nissan Titan is only available with one engine – a 5.6L V8 that delivers 400 horsepower and 413 lb-ft of torque – so the standard output Hurricane in the Ram 1500 has a pretty significant advantage over the only Nissan engine.
The 2024 Toyota Tundra is available with three variations of the same twin turbocharged 3.4L V6 – one with 358 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque, a second with 389 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque and the i-Force Max hybrid with 437 horsepower and 583 lb-ft of torque. Toyota’s premium hybrid has an advantage in torque, but a big disadvantage in horsepower compared to the Hurricane HO. Of course, the Ramcharger will eventually come to market with gobs more horsepower and torque, serving as a more appropriate comparison for Toyota’s premium hybrid.
General Motors Can’t Compete with the Hurricane
The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra half-ton models are both available with four engine options. The base engine is a 2.7L 4-cylinder with 310 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque, a 3.0L Duramax diesel with 305 horsepower and 496 lb-ft of torque, a 5.3L V8 with 355 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque and a 6.2L V8 with 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque.
None of the GM half-ton truck engines offer more torque than the Ram Hurricane high output models and only the diesel can compete with the standard output Hurricane. Really, the standard output Hurricane I6 is the best competitor for GM’s premium V8, while nothing from GM really challenges the high output Ram engine.
Ford F150 has Lots of Engines
Finally, the Ford F150 is available with seven engine options for the current model year (2024 is the most recent available). The entry level engine for the F150 is a naturally aspirated 3.3L V6 with 290 horsepower and 265 lb-ft of torque, followed by the 2.7L EcoBoost V6 with 325 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. Next up, Ford’s 5.0L V8 offers 400 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque while the majority of F150 models are outfitted with one of three 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engines. There is a standard output 3.5L EcoBoost with 400 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque and a high output version with 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque, along with the hybrid PowerBoost model with 430 horsepower and 570 lb-ft of torque. The PowerBoost is the only F-150 volume engine with more torque than the Ram Hurricane high output, but it trails the Ram by 110 horsepower.
No current Ford F150 volume engine can compare to the 2025 Ram 1500 Hurricane high output in terms of both horsepower and torque, but the supercharged 5.2L V8 in the limited edition Raptor R is the most powerful engine option in the half-ton segment with 710 horsepower and 640 lb-ft of torque, beating the 2024 Ram 1500 TRX by 8 horsepower while trailing the TRX by 10 lb-ft of torque. Both the Raptor R and the TRX will be out of their respective lineups for the 2025 model year, at which point the Hurricane high output I6 will offer the most horsepower and torque among non-hybrid trucks in the half-ton segment.
