"When can I get a Power Wagon diesel?"
That's a question Ram loyalists regularly ask the company, and a Cummins-powered version of the Power Wagon doesn't exist because the truckmaker cannot package the 6.7-liter turbodiesel inline-6 with the standard 12,000-pound Warn winch. But, if you can live without the winch and some other Power Wagon goodies like a front locking differential, disconnecting front sway bar, and powder-coated bumpers, then the new 2023 Ram 2500 Heavy Duty Rebel should be perfect for you because the diesel is an option.
You can even get the winch on the Rebel, just not with the Cummins engine upgrade. The more things change, the more they stay the same, eh?
The new Ram 2500 Rebel joins a lineup that sees several other changes for the new model year. The 2023 Ram 2500 and 3500 (collectively referred to as the Ram Heavy Duty) still come in regular cab, crew cab, and Mega Cab (extended crew cab) styles with a standard or long cargo bed. Trim levels include the Tradesman, Big Horn (Lone Star in Texas), Laramie, Rebel, Power Wagon, Limited Longhorn, and Limited. A 6.4-liter Hemi V8 engine is standard, with the Cummins turbodiesel an option on all but the Power Wagon.
Changes for 2023 include an available new 12-inch digital instrumentation panel and an updated rearview camera mirror that now shows what's alongside the truck in addition to an unrestricted 180-degree view of what's behind the truck or the trailer it is towing. Ram also offers new telescopic trailering mirrors on the Heavy Duty, and Trailer Reverse Steering Control is new. It works like Ford Pro Trailer Backup Assist but Ram-style.
These updates arrive at the same time Ford is preparing to unleash a redesigned F-Series Super Duty lineup and in advance of substantially updated versions of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado HD and 2024 GMC Sierra HD models. So, while Ram has improved the 2500/3500 Heavy Duty lineup for 2023, it certainly cannot rest on its laurels in the face of fresh competition.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
The Ram Heavy Duty competes in the Large Heavy Duty Pickup market segment. According to data collected from verified new-vehicle buyers for the JD Power 2022 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, 87 percent of new Ram Heavy Duty buyers are male (vs. 91 percent for the segment), and the median age of a new Ram Heavy Duty buyer is 54 years (vs. 55).
As part of the APEAL Study, owners rated the Ram Heavy Duty in 10 primary categories. Listed below in descending order, you'll find their preferences, from their most favorite thing about the vehicle to their least favorite:
In the 2022 APEAL Study, the Ram Heavy Duty ranks second out of four Large Heavy Duty Pickup models.
In the sections that follow, our independent expert analyzes a Ram 2500 Rebel equipped with the following options:
The test vehicle's price came to $91,630, including the $1,895 destination charge.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
It helps to be in good physical condition when climbing into and dropping out of the new Ram 2500 Rebel. Our test truck didn't have assist steps or running boards, so I grabbed the windshield pillar handle with my left hand and the steering wheel with my right and hoisted my middle-aged body aboard the truck.
Once inside the cab, you will find comfortable accommodations no matter which seat assignment you get. A front bench seat is standard, wrapped in cloth upholstery. You can get leather, and you can also upgrade to front bucket seats. Since my test truck had the Level 2 Equipment Group, it had both features*, plus heated front and rear seats, a heated steering wheel, and power-adjustable pedals. I found the Rebel appropriately plush, given its astronomical price tag.
In recent years, Ram set new standards for full-size pickup truck quality, materials, and design, but the competition is catching up. Still, despite the acres of plastic, the Ram 2500 Rebel's cabin looked and felt great except for one thing. With the Cummins turbodiesel engine option, you get a column-mounted transmission shifter, like back in the 1970s. And it feels like it came from that era, as though it might snap off in your hand when you select a gear.
As you might expect, there is plenty of storage aboard a Ram 2500, even with the bench seat, because the center section folds flat to provide a shallow bin and a set of cupholders. Ram Bins are also available, two underfloor storage areas in the back seat. In addition, you can flip the rear seat cushion up to access under-seat storage and reconfigure the area to create a flat, in-cab load area.
The 6-foot-4-inch and 8-foot cargo beds are also helpful, and Ram offers a deploying step to help make it easier to climb into the cargo box. However, this truck does not have trick tailgates like you'll find on the competition, making it old-school by comparison. Nevertheless, the Ram 2500 offers bed lighting and a 115-volt/400-watt bed outlet, so the basics are present and accounted for.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
The loaded Ram 2500 Rebel test truck had the new 12-inch digital instrumentation display and a Uconnect 5 touchscreen infotainment system with a 12-inch display mounted portrait-style on the dashboard.
Highlights of the infotainment system include:
The test truck also had a wireless smartphone charging pad and a 17-speaker Harman Kardon premium audio system that produces impressive depth and clarity of sound.
I'm not a fan of portrait-style touchscreen infotainment systems, preferring a wide landscape design. Also, this orientation forces Ram to locate the climate control buttons on either side of the touchscreen, rendering them in a gloss-black finish that suffers so much glare on a sunny fall day that the buttons are difficult to read.
However, Uconnect 5 is a competitive infotainment platform, and, for the most part, the voice-recognition technology responded accurately to most of my testing queries and commands. I also found it easy to pair my smartphone to the system's Bluetooth quickly and to run Apple CarPlay.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Every Ram 2500 has a standard 6.4-liter Hemi V8 engine delivering 429 horsepower and 410 pound-feet of torque, matched with an 8-speed automatic transmission. In all but the Power Wagon, you can upgrade to a Cummins 6.7-liter turbocharged diesel inline 6-cylinder engine that cranks out 370 hp and 850 pound-feet, married to a 6-speed automatic. The diesel is pricey. As I write this review, the upcharge for the Rebel is unavailable, but in 2022 Ram charged $9,595 to add one to a Laramie 4WD crew cab.
Depending on the powertrain, the Ram 2500 Rebel tows up to 16,870 pounds and hauls up to 3,140 lbs. Compared to the Power Wagon, these numbers represent gains of 6,280 and 1,510 lbs., respectively.
In addition, what makes the Rebel a rabble-rousing off-roader are the following features:
Ram invited me to experience the new heavy-duty Rebel firsthand on winding desert roads, desolate two-lane highways, a twisty road climbing into the San Bernadino Mountains near Los Angeles, and hours of dusty lead-and-follow off-roading between Big Bear and Yucca Valley, California. Unfortunately, I could not tow a trailer or drive in a city environment for this evaluation.
Guess what? The Ram 2500 Rebel drives like a traditional pickup truck. So surprising. The recirculating ball steering gear is a little slow to respond and a little sloppy on center, and the 33-inch all-terrain tires lack grip in corners and curves. Otherwise, the Rebel behaves well and offers as smooth a ride as you can expect from a vehicle such as this, thanks in part to the Ram 2500's exclusive 5-link coil rear suspension design. A rear air suspension is also available.
Torque is in plentiful supply with the Cummins turbodiesel, with much of the maximum amount available at just 1,700 rpm. Naturally, the engine emits a signature clatter that diesel lovers enjoy, and the Cummins surges the Rebel effortlessly to highway speeds and up to the top of mountain ranges.
What separates the Rebel from other Ram 2500 models is its off-roading hardware. We put that to the test descending from the Big Bear area on U.S. Forest Service Road 2N01, which branches off Highway 38 out past Deadman's Ridge. That sounds more ominous than it is; the road is passable by higher-riding crossovers like a Subaru Outback. Just take care not to ruin a tire on the rocks.
Ram established a gnarly off-roading course in a canyon below Tip Top Mountain to demonstrate the Rebel's true capabilities. It was the kind that doesn't look passable by anything on wheels. Nevertheless, with the assistance and patience of numerous spotters—not to mention the Ram 2500 Rebel's forward-view camera, 4-Lo transfer case setting, locking rear differential, and hill-descent control—I threaded the truck through the rocks, trees, and gullies, conquering terrain I never, ever would have tackled on my own, out in the middle of nowhere without a cell signal.
There is one other Ram 2500 feature worth mentioning here. Every trim level includes an interior air filtration system that Ram says will filter 95 percent of pollutants such as dust, smoke, and other irritants. I spent hours on trails, never the first truck in line, and the Rebel's cabin remained remarkably clean with air that remained easy to breathe unless I did something stupid, like powering a window down.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Add the optional Safety Group to a Ram 2500 and it installs the following:
While driving across the desert on a two-lane highway, the adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance systems worked well, as you would expect in light-traffic situations on arrow-straight roads. How the tech might behave on a multi-lane city or suburban freeway, or coastal highway with curves and bends, is unknown because the testing environment included none of these challenges.
The Tow Technology Group's surround-view camera and front and rear parking sensors proved helpful when parking in grocery store and restaurant parking lots. This option package also contains the new Trailer Reverse Steering Control system, and while I didn't get a chance to test it, I've used this technology in the Ram's rival, the Ford F-Series Super Duty, and it is mighty helpful.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
According to Ram, the new 2500 Rebel offers up to 16,870 lbs. of towing capacity and 3,140 lbs. of payload capacity. These numbers improve on the Ram Power Wagon's ratings by 6,280 lbs. and 1,510 lbs., respectively.
Not only does the Ram 2500 Rebel offer traditional heavy-duty truck towing and hauling capability, but it also comes with the company's optional Ram Box storage compartments. Ram integrates them into both sides of the cargo bed. They lock, are lit, and have drain plugs at the bottom, making them perfect for cold beverage storage.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not provide official fuel-economy ratings for heavy-duty pickup trucks. However, I can report that the diesel-powered 2500 Rebel test vehicle averaged 16.6 mpg in highway, mountain, and hardcore off-road driving.
Based on Ram 2500 crash tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the new heavy-duty Rebel earns an overall safety rating of 4 out of 5 stars. It performs admirably in all assessments but gets 4 out of 5 stars for driver protection in a frontal-impact collision and a 3-star rollover-resistance rating. The Ram 2500 achieves 5-star ratings in all other tests.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has not tested the Ram 2500 for safety.
Ram says the new 2500 Rebel price starts at $67,095. That does not include the $1,895 destination charge to ship the truck from Ram's Mexico factory to your local dealership.
In the JD Power 2022 Initial Quality Study (IQS), the Chevrolet Silverado HD ranks highest in the Large Heavy Duty Pickup segment. The Ford F-Series Super Duty and the GMC Sierra HD are the next highest-ranked models.
In the 2022 APEAL Study, the Ford F-Series Super Duty ranks highest in the Large Heavy Duty Pickup segment. The Ram Heavy Duty is the next highest-ranked model.
Specific competitors to the Ram 2500 Heavy Duty Rebel include the Ford F-250 equipped with the Tremor Package and the GMC Sierra 2500HD AT4. Unfortunately, Chevrolet does not offer an equivalent trim package for the Silverado 2500HD.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
The 2023 Ram 2500 Rebel takes much of the capability found in the Power Wagon, adds an available Cummins turbodiesel option, and significantly bumps towing and payload capacity. A Power Wagon remains more capable, but I suspect few people need it, making the Rebel the more suitable choice.
Furthermore, the Rebel gives Ram a counterpunch to the Ford F-250's Tremor package and the Sierra 2500HD AT4. Considering how off-road-spec trucks have taken off in popularity, the Rebel might even be overdue.
Storm clouds are gathering on Ram's horizon, though. The all-new F-Series Super Duty will arrive in showrooms by spring 2023, and both Chevy and GMC are rolling out significant updates to their heavy-duty trucks for the 2024 model year. Ram will need to continue investing in and improving the 2500/3500 Heavy Duty models if it wants to remain high on shopping lists.
*Editor's note: The red photo truck has a leather-wrapped front bench seat.
Christian Wardlaw is a veteran digital automotive journalist with nearly 30 years of experience in test-driving vehicles. He has held editorial leadership roles with Edmunds, JD Power, the New York Daily News, and others. In addition to JDPower.com, his work has appeared in numerous new- and used-car buying guides, newspapers, and automotive industry trade journals, including Autotrader, Capital One Auto Navigator, CarGurus, Kelley Blue Book, WardsAuto, and more.
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