There’s been a ton of hype about the V8 Ram 1500’s return, but is it the better choice?
One of Stellantis’ biggest missteps, if you ask folks in the general public, was the decision to drop the legendary Hemi V8 from most of its lineup, including the revamped Ram 1500 truck. When the updated fifth-gen rolled into the 2025 model year, your only powertrain choice — whether you wanted it or not — became the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged Hurricane inline-six. A lot of formerly enthusiastic Ram buyers harshly criticized that choice, to the point where the automaker ultimately relented and brought the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 back into circulation. Not only that, but Ram and brand CEO Tim Kuniskis took the marketing campaign a step further: The 2026 Ram 1500 Hemi is a “Symbol of Protest”…V8 engine, special fender badge and all. But is all the hubbub and the effort actually worth it?
Just going by Ram’s numbers, the answer is a resounding “hell yes”. The company repeatedly mentioned getting more than 10,000 orders for Hemi-powered Ram 1500s in the first 24 hours after its initial announcement. Clearly, Kuniskis contends, it was the right decision to resurrect the iconic Hemi for its most popular pickup. Not only that, but the engineering team responsible for making it happen did so “in record time”. Even though we’re still talking about the same Hemi with eTorque that was part of the pre-facelift range, the recent changes do call for a bit more work than just bolting the old engine into place and calling it a day. (The 2025+ Ram 1500 uses an updated electrical architecture, for example).
In the video below, Andre takes the new 2026 Ram 1500 Warlock, packing the old-school V8 powertrain, on a 1,000-mile road trip from Detroit back to our base in Colorado. Along the way, he covers how the truck performs on the road trip, makes a top speed run and also checks out the truck’s off-road chops.
Ultimately, and considering this truck’s $60,830 price tag (spoiler alert), would Andre actually go with the Hemi, or stick with the existing Hurricane? Check out the video below to find out that answer and a whole lot more:
