2025 Ram 1500 Rebel Review: Luxury Off-Roading on a Budget

I recently spent a week driving a loaded-up 2025 Ram 1500 Rebel and I found that it is the perfect combination of on-road comfort and lighter-duty off-road abilities with a price well below the likes of the Ford F-150 Raptor, the current Ram 1500 TRX or the upcoming Ram 1500 RHO. When loaded, the Rebel offers just about every premium interior feature available in the half-ton Ram pickup, making it a great daily driver, while the unique mechanical features of the package make it a fantastic truck for anyone who spends lots of time driving on rough, unpaved roads.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

Now, I am sure that some people will look at the price-as-tested of my Ram 1500 Rebal and question the “budget” aspect of my title, but let’s keep in mind that the Raptor starts in the low-$80k range and the TRX starts in the $90k range, and when equipped with features like my Rebel test truck, the RHO is also in the low-$80k range. When comparing my loaded Ram 1500 Rebel test truck to those other numbers, the price-as-tested of $71,020 is as close as you will get to a “budget truck” in this day and age – when that “budget truck” comes with adjustable, off-road-ready air suspension, a 420-horsepower engine, a 19-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, a 14-inch infotainment screen, a digital gauge cluster, heated-and-cooler leather seats and many other premium amenities.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

Really, to many people, it is a bit of a joke to suggest that anyone looking for the premium features of the 2025 Ram 1500 Rebel are truly shopping on a budget, but in short, if you want an off-road truck with loads of premium interior features – the Rebel offers all of that at a significantly lower cost than the Ford F-150 Raptor.

Hurricane Power with Sport Mode

The main criticism that most people have and will continue to have with the 2025 Ram 1500 Rebel is that it is powered exclusively by the twin turbocharged, 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six – not a Hemi. For those who are going to hate this generation of trucks based on the lack of a Hemi, you can probably close the window now, as I don’t have anything bad to say about the new I6. It delivers markedly more horsepower and torque than the Hemi, and while it doesn’t have the same immediate hit of torque that you get with a naturally aspirated V8, the Rebel with the 420-horsepower and 469 lb-ft of torque will handily beat a slightly older truck with a tuned 5.7-liter Hemi. The most noticeable difference in how the two engines deliver power allows the Hemi to have a very brief advantage at launch, but it doesn’t take the Hurricane’s turbochargers long to spool up and when they do, the I6-powered truck pulls much harder through the mid-range than does my Hemi Ram.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

When I first started to drive the 2025 Ram 1500 Rebel, I found it to be a bit underwhelming in terms of the driving dynamics of the drivetrain. The throttle wasn’t as sharp as I would like and the shifts were clearly designed to optimize efficiency. However, that all changed when I switched over to Sport Mode, using the buttons on the steering wheel. In Sport Mode, the throttle is dramatically sharper in every situation and the transmission shifts more aggressively, so it feels much more like performance vehicle whether you are launching from a stop or putting the hammer down for more speed to pass someone on the highway. In Sport Mode, I had no complaints about the driving dynamics of the Rebel, as it really brought the truck to life from a performance standpoint – but it did so without compromising drivability. In fact, I spent the majority of the week in Sport Mode, as that offers the best driving dynamics for on-road driving. I averaged around 18 miles per gallon for the week, which is below the projected EPA average of 19, but my driving was almost entirely non-highway and in Sport Mode.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

In addition to sharpening the throttle and transmission action, the Rebel’s Sport Mode also puts the air suspension system into the Aero setting and engages four-wheel-drive along with adjusting the power steering system, bolstering the overall handling capabilities as well. Now, keep in mind that this is an off-road package with off-road tires, so it isn’t going to be setting any ‘Ring records, but in every way, Sport Mode makes the 2025 Ram 1500 Rebel more fun to drive. Other drivers might find that the milder automatic drive mode setting fits their style better, but for me, it would be all Sport Mode all of the time.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

Hitting the Rough Roads

During my week behind the wheel of the 2025 Ram 1500 Rebel, I didn’t do any off-roading, but I did spend lots of time on our local “natural beauty roads”. That is what my county calls unpaved roads and with the amount of rain that we have gotten this summer, these roads are rough. I do not believe that my Hellcat Challenger could go more than a few hundred feet before getting hung up in one of the ruts or ditches carved by runoff, and in my older Ram 1500 Laramie with 20-inch wheels and very non-off-road-rated tires, these roads are very abusive on the truck. I believe that some portions of these roads are the roughest that Michigan has to offer, so I make sure to hit those portions with vehicles that are engineered to be great when off-roading.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

In the normal ride height setting, the Rebel had no problem comfortably crossing even the deepest trenches, so the higher off-road setting was not needed. The suspension system definitely feels like one intended for off-road fun, offering a stiffer ride than your average half-ton, but it easily ate up the gnarliest portions of my local beauty roads. I could feel every bump, but at no point did I have any issue maintaining control at 25mph – whereas some trucks will get to bouncing and steering gets dicey.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

For someone who commutes with rough, unpaved roads, the Ram 1500 Rebel is the perfect truck, as it handles the rough roads wonderfully while still offering a smooth, comfortably ride on paved surfaces.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

The Luxury Level Cabin

If you are really looking for an off-road truck, you can buy the 2025 Ram 1500 Rebel without any additional options and it will be a fantastic machine on any footing. If you plan to use it for a daily driver, I recommend checking the box for the Rebel Level 2 Equipment Group, as that brings in the vast majority of the premium interior features available in the half-ton Ram lineup.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

The list of features in this popular equipment group is a mile long, but the key components are the 14.4-inch infotainment screen, the 19-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, the passenger’s side interactive display, dual wireless charging pads, heated and cooler leather front seats, heated leather rear outboard seats, WiFi hot spot function, GPS navigation, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay wireless integration, a heated leather steering wheel, power adjustable pedals Sirius XM 360L, a power tailgate and an array of power points in the front and rear seating areas.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

When coupled with the digital driver information center with a variety of gauge and information screens, the Ram 1500 Rebel with the Level 2 Equipment Group has a huge spread of screens across the dashboard, along with some hard controls around the central screen and on the steering wheel for easier access when on the move. The huge central screen offers control of pretty much every aspect of the vehicle, along with a handful of apps that provide vehicle information – such as the Off-Road Pages. The beauty of this huge screen is that you can have two full information panels open at the same time, so if you are using the navigation system, you don’t have to switch to a different screen to make a change on the radio – you can have both of those screens open at the same time. When you don’t need multiple applications open at once, that 14.4-inch screen displays the biggest navigation screen I have seen, making it easy to read the map at a glance while driving.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

The infotainment system works with the 19-speaker Harman Kardon sound system to offer an awesome auditory experience. Whether you listed to hip hop, country or heavy metal, the lows are strong and the highs are crisp, even to the loudest volume settings – and it gets LOUD. I enjoyed the sound system thoroughly and I love the function of the UConnect 5 system, whether I was using the sound system, the navigation system or the HVAC system.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

In addition to the Level 2 Equipment Group, my test truck had the Technology Group and the Advanced Safety Group, adding the digital rearview mirror, the Head-Up display the surround view camera system and an array of safety tech systems. The camera system allows you to basically check every corner of the truck from multiple angles, making it easier to negotiate tight spaces with confidence. If you are looking to keep the MSRP down a bit, these two options can be skipped, but I love the head-up display, the digital rearview mirror and the premium exterior camera system, so I would check these two boxes for a daily driver.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

Of course, in addition to all of the premium technology, the Ram Rebel with the Level 2 package comes with package-specific leather seats with plush, comfortable surfaces and plenty of space for passengers front and rear. There is a ton of leg room in the back, even with the front seats moved all of the way back for a gigantic driver, but the front seats adjust enough to accommodate a very short driver, with the adjustment pedals making it even easier to set up the driver’s position for people of all heights.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel

If you want a great off-road truck and you don’t want to spend TRX or Raptor money, the 2025 Ram 1500 Rebel is a great option in its most basic form – with a price around $65,000. If you want a daily driver that will handle the roughest roads and provide the luxury feel while also being able to play in the mud on the weekends, you want to check a few option boxes and build yourself the best off-road luxury bargain on the market today.

2025 Ram 1500 Rebel


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