You could’ve had a V8 last year, but it’s a lot harder to find one now.

Ram has joined its sister brand Dodge in eliminating V8 engines from its lineup to help parent company Stellantis meet increasingly stringent U.S. emissions rules.

It is a dramatic departure for Ram, which has been synonymous with the iconic Hemi V8 engines for the past two decades. It will continue to offer one in its heavy duty commercial trucks, but not in the bread and butter Ram 1500 pickup that accounts for most of its sales.

That’s OK, because it has something that might be better.

Ram has replaced its V8s with a smaller inline six-cylinder known as the Hurricane. The turbocharged engine is the first straight-six available in a Ram since 2003, after which the engine type was supplanted by V8s, so consider this payback time.

Straight-sixes used to be common in mainstream vehicles, in part because of their relative simplicity. With just one bank of cylinders, they need fewer components than an engine with two banks arranged in a V formation. They are longer, though, and can be challenging to package in smaller vehicles, while V6s and V8s are easier to fit under a short hood.

That’s not an issue for a full-size pickup and Ram hasn’t had any trouble making the Hurricane even more powerful than the Hemi.

The 3.0-liter Hurricane is being offered in 420 hp and 540 hp versions that are both more powerful than the 395 hp 5.7-liter V8 that was available last year. To that they add 469 lb-ft and 521 lb-ft of torque, while the V8 topped out at 410 lb-ft. Even with the extra power, fuel efficiency has improved slightly or stayed the same, depending on the model.

A base Ram 1500 Tradesman work truck with the 420 hp Hurricane and two-wheel drive is priced at $43,695, but I tried the engine out in an off-road Rebel 4×4, which starts at $66,190.

The Rebel has monster truck styling with all-terrain tires, a lifted body and beefy steel bumpers, but can be luxuriously outfitted. My test vehicle had leather upholstery, an adjustable air suspension that can raise and lower the vehicle, a panoramic sunroof and a digital display above the glove compartment that the front passenger can use to control the infotainment system or watch videos. Don’t worry, the screen is filtered so that it can’t be viewed from the driver’s seat.

The truck is entertaining enough on its own and the Hurricane is a blast. It doesn’t have the rumble of a V8, but that’s by design. A straight-six has a perfectly balanced cylinder firing order, which has helped kept the layout alive in luxury cars like BMWs, and the Hurricane is turbine-smooth when you step on the gas pedal.

The twin-turbochargers quickly crank up the juice, which is sent to a full-time all-wheel-drive system through an eight-speed automatic transmission. On either pavement or dirt, the power is a rush. If the road gets very rough, the drivetrain can be locked into four-wheel drive and there is a two-speed transfer case with a low range for extra grunt.

The Rebel is rated to tow up to 11,140 lbs, which is a lot for a truck dressed for off-roading, while the top Ram 1500 maxes out at 11,550. That is actually less than the Hemi-powered Ram 1500’s 12,750 pounds, possibly because a large displacement V8 doesn’t have to work as hard a smaller turbocharged engine when full power is requested.

In the real word, it is not a big difference and someone looking to tow that much will probably step up to one of Ram’s heavy duty trucks, which is why it still puts an even bigger 6.4-liter V8 in them. They are also available with a 6.7-liter straight six-diesel that is the most potent of the three and combines the best of all worlds.

Recreational owners and those that don’t tow a lot should be pleased with the performance of the Hurricane, however, and by next year, they won’t be the only ones enjoying it.
Following the launch of the all-electric Dodge Charger Daytona muscle car this year, Dodge will be adding a 550 hp Hurricane-powered Charger to the lineup in 2025. It will definitely be able to haul, just not the same way that the Ram 1500 hauls.