Ram updated its light-duty 1500-series pickup for 2025, and in our First Drive review, we focused on the new, top-of-the-line Tungsten trim level. It boasts the automaker’s new 540-horsepower, turbocharged six-cylinder engine, has almost every fancy-pants feature you can imagine, and goes for about $90,000. In this review, we’re looking at another new trim at the opposite end of the lineup: the off-road-oriented Warlock, based on the entry-level Tradesman, that’s rocking the also-new 420-hp turbo-six engine.
Photo: James Riswick
The big news for the 2025 Ram 1500 is the choice of new turbocharged inline-six engines (dubbed “Hurricane”) that are more powerful than the V8 they replace. There are new technology features too, but you won’t find them in the modestly equipped Warlock. Instead, it gets the standard-output, 420-hp Hurricane engine and many of the Rebel’s off-roading equipment upgrades applied to the base Tradesman. These include:
The 2025 Ram 1500 lineup effectively consists of nine trim levels (a few are technically packages such as the Warlock). The Big Horn and pricier Laramie represent the heart of the lineup, with everything else branching off in different directions of simple work truck (Tradesman), off-roading (Warlock, Rebel, RHO), or luxury (Limited, Limited Longhorn, and Tungsten).
JD Power previously published a review of the 2025 Ram 1500 Tungsten. This review focuses on the Warlock trim and how it potentially impacts the Ram 1500’s overall consumer appeal.
For this 2025 Ram 1500 review, Ram provided a test vehicle equipped with Warlock trim and the following options:
The test vehicle’s price was $57,945, including the $1,995 destination charge to ship the truck from the Ram assembly plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, to your local dealership.
In addition to providing the opportunity to test a more affordable version of the 2025 Ram 1500, the Warlock featured the new, standard-output Hurricane engine. This twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six produces 420 hp and 469 pound-feet of torque. The old 5.7-liter “Hemi” V8 only managed 395 hp and 410 pound-feet.
Acceleration is just as energetic as its output suggests. Unloaded, the Warlock genuinely felt like a performance truck as it effortlessly launched itself up to highway speeds. With a bed full of mulch, it was no different. That the Tungsten and other trims offer an even more powerful version of this engine with 540 hp and 521 pound-feet seems like overkill.
Just as notable, though, is how smooth and quiet this engine is. Everything about it feels and sounds sophisticated. I can’t say I missed the old Hemi roar, especially as the Hurricane delivers better performance.
Fuel economy? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the standard-output Hurricane engine with four-wheel drive (4WD) should return 19 mpg combined, but that’s a baseline that doesn’t take into account options like the Warlock (it’s technically a package) and its all-terrain tires. In 271 miles of driving, much of it on the highway during Southern California’s historic windstorms, I managed only 16.7 mpg. I’m confident it can do better.
Interestingly, the old mild-hybrid V8 got the same 19-mpg combined estimate (the same options caveat applies). It required mid-grade gasoline, though, so in theory, the regular-is-OK Hurricane should be cheaper to fill.
Photo: James Riswick
The Ram 1500 Tungsten previously tested had heated, ventilated, and massaging quilted leather seats. The infotainment touchscreen measured 14.5 inches, the all-digital instrument panel 12.3 inches, and there was a new-for-2025 passenger touchscreen. There was also a 19-speaker Klipsch audio system, a hands-free driving assistant, and an adaptive air suspension.
The Warlock has none of that fancy stuff. The upholstery is a rather nice gray cloth. The driver seat has not-so-nice four-way manual adjustment, meaning it doesn’t adjust for height (good luck, shorter drivers). Shorter folks who can’t drive the Warlock are realistically the only ones who can sit in the middle.
Surfaces covered in leather or spruced up with wood in other Ram 1500 trims are hard plastic in the Warlock. The steering wheel is unwrapped. The switchgear operates with a pleasing heft and fluidity, though, and the fold-down center armrest couldn’t be squishier. There’s also plenty of storage under that armrest and hidden compartments in the dash panel and under the middle seat.
Photo: James Riswick
Regarding technology, the Warlock may not have the Tungsten’s three-screen extravaganza nor the Rebel’s mid-grade 12-inch touchscreen, but what it has is hardly antiquated.
The Warlock’s touchscreen measures 8.4 inches—the top-dog size not too long ago. Its Uconnect 5 interface is totally modern, with fresh graphics, an easy-to-navigate layout, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring. It has a 7-inch, feature-rich driver information screen between handsome analog gauges. It also has a bin where the Tungsten’s passenger screen is, which, frankly, seems more practical.
Compare this to the Warlock’s Chevy Silverado 1500 Custom Trail Boss competition. It has a 7-inch touchscreen with minimal functionality and a previous-generation interface, and the entire interior has a different design (the old, original look of this generation Silverado). The gauges couldn’t be plainer. You’re not sacrificing nearly as much with this entry-level Ram off-roader.
The Warlock may also lack Ram’s new hands-free Active Driving Assist, but it still has a well-sorted adaptive cruise control system that accelerates and brakes on the highway much as I would. The test truck also had lane-keeping assistance, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic warnings, and an automatic emergency braking system. You’re not sacrificing safety either.
The Warlock features many of the Rebel’s off-road-oriented upgrades, but Ram keeps some of the more advanced extras exclusive to the pricier version.
Shared between the two are an extra inch of ground clearance, Bilstein shocks, an electronic-locking differential, and LT275/70R18 OWL all-terrain tires. Both have skid plates, but the Warlock’s are of a different design. Styling cues are also pretty similar (lots of black trim!), but some details, including the grille and bumper, are different.
The Warlock has the 1500’s standard, part-time 4WD setup: you’re in rear-wheel drive unless conditions/traction require you to choose between 4Hi or 4Lo. The Rebel has an “on-demand” 4WD system that can operate more like an all-wheel-drive system, automatically summoning power from the front axle should rear-wheel slippage occur. You can still select 4Hi or 4Lo, however.
The Warlock also lacks the Rebel’s new Rough Road Cruise Control (the truck basically does all the acceleration and braking for you) and doesn’t offer air suspension. There’s also no hill-descent control or terrain-specific drive modes, leaving you to brake for yourself downhill and determine the best way to approach sand or mud. If you’re going, “Yeah, so what?” the Warlock is probably your kind of truck.
I’m not an off-roading enthusiast by any means, but the refreshingly simple Warlock aced the tests I threw at it. Steep, rutted dirt incline? No problem, 4Hi; those grippy tires and ample torque made it seem like an ant hill. Chassis-flexing gullies? No problem; the suspension’s articulation maintained contact with the dirt below while the ample ground clearance ensured the truck’s underbits did not.
It's hard to see how the Rebel could have performed better in these scenarios, and indeed, unless you enjoy rock crawling or other, more hardcore off-roading adventures for sport, the Warlock seems like all the truck most would need.
On-road, those all-terrain tires add plenty of road noise and almost certainly lengthen braking distances and reduce handling grip. The ride quality was better than I expected, though, without the firm reactions to sharper bumps that can be typical with AT tires. I never thought I needed the Rebel’s air suspension. Handling was also surprisingly good, with precise, appropriately weighted steering that proved worthy on a winding road and in parking lots.
Photo: James Riswick
The 2025 Ram 1500 Warlock proves you don’t need a high-priced truck to get a good one. It also gives up little, at least in terms of capability, to the Rebel. Finally, the new Hurricane engine is good enough that you won’t miss the Hemi.
James Riswick has tested and reviewed cars since 2007, serving as an editor at Edmunds.com and Autoblog. He has attended an auto show every year since he was two and wanted to be an automotive journalist since high school. He resides in Southern California with his wife, preschooler son, and two elderly dogs. He owns a 1998 BMW Z3, a 2013 Mercedes-Benz E350 Wagon, and a 2023 Kia Niro EV.
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