It’s no secret that America lusts after diesel pickup trucks. Big trucks are all over the place, from the driveways of suburbia to the farms nestled within America’s amber waves of grain. But which one is America’s favorite? If you’re a Ram truck buyer, there’s an incredibly high chance that you will leave the dealership with this, a 2025 Ram 2500 Laramie. This truck is the best-selling variant of the Ram HD, and you’re likely to spend around $85,000 on it before fees. That’s solidly luxury car money, yet I think that in some cases it might be a better buy than a luxury car.
Ram has stormed into 2025 with an updated Heavy Duty pickup truck line. The new 2025 Ram 2500 and Ram 3500 trucks have seen great updates under the hood, and I think that they also get to keep their crowns as America’s most comfy heavy-duty pickup trucks. Sure, Ram’s trucks don’t have the absolute most power or the most capability, but Ram has also placed a great emphasis on being the ultimate vehicle for a wide range of truck buyers.
Back in March, I drove a party of Ram Heavy Duty trucks through the Davis Dam grade, the long, hot drive SAE and engineers use to prove that their trucks can tow the absurd weights these big trucks claim that they can. During that event, I noticed that pricing is all over the place. The 2025 Ram HD lineup starts with the basic Ram 2500 Tradesman 4×2 Regular Cab with a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 gas engine for $45,565. The cheapest diesel is the 2025 Ram 2500 Tradesman with Crew Cab, the 6.7 Cummins, and a 6’4″ box for $62,775. You can easily pile in enough options to get one of these trucks well over six figures.
So, I was curious. Given the huge gulf between the cheapest and most expensive Ram HD trucks, which one is America’s favorite? Which truck is the one that most people end up with when they go into their local Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram dealer? As it turns out, Ram does have a clear answer. When most people buy a Ram HD, they come home with a Laramie adorned with a Cummins.
(Full Disclosure: Ram invited me out to Las Vegas, Nevada, to take its new Heavy Duty lineup on what was more or less an intense 24-hour gauntlet of testing. Ram paid for my travel, lodging (in a weird casino town), good food, and fuel.)
During the Ram event, representatives for the truck maker had some interesting statistics. About 70 percent of people buying a Ram 2500 get it with the Cummins, while nearly all Ram 3500 buyers get it with a Cummins. The majority of gasser 2500s are fleet trucks and Power Wagons, while most of the handful of 3500 gassers sold are also fleet specials. It’s impressive that when it comes to Ram HD trucks, if you’re a regular buyer, you will almost certainly check the box to pay $12,595 extra for a Cummins.
The Ram HD Most Buyers Get
The Laramie is an interesting proposition. It starts at $61,795, or $64,725 if you get it in 4×4 flavor, which a lot of folks do. Toss in the Cummins and you’re at $78,415. Ram says that most Heavy Duty buyers get 4×4 Laramie Cummins trucks, and then they’ll package up favorite features, driving the price up to the ballpark of roughly $85,000 or so before fees, taxes, and so on.
The truck that I drove at the event was configured similarly to what a customer might do to their own truck, but Ram’s reps said they did add a few small extras for demonstration purposes that got the press truck up to $89,950. I break those extra features down later in this story.
The first thing I took note of was that this Ram 2500 was the best-looking of the lot. Ram has introduced a slew of different grille styles for 2025, and some look better than others. The flat black grilles on the Rebels and the Power Wagons are pretty messy, while the standard chrome grilles add a lot of bling. For $2,495, you can equip your truck with the Sport Appearance Package. This adds 20-inch polished aluminum wheels, all-terrain tires, a ‘Sport’ decal, a center hub, a bulging hood, and I think the most important thing: body-color grille surrounds.
Dare I say? This truck looks quite handsome!
There is a bit of a plot twist here because in order to pay $2,495 for the nicer appearance, you are required to also pay either $1,795 for Laramie Level 1 Plus Equipment Group, $2,395 for Laramie Level 2 Equipment Group, or $4,895 for Laramie Level 2 Plus Equipment Group.
These Equipment Groups are largely just the most popular options all piled into one checkbox. My truck had the Level 2 Plus option, which added a ridiculously long list of options from the 17-speaker Harman Kardon stereo and the 14.4-inch infotainment screen to leather seats, auto-dimming exterior mirrors, power blind spot mirrors, limited-slip rear differential, heated second-row seats, and so much more. Throw on that package and the Sport Appearance Package and you’re at $85,755, or about what the average Ram 2500 Laramie buyer spends.
Luxury With A Bed And Trailer Hitch
Honestly, they’re getting a great truck out of the other end. As I drove this truck around Arizona and Nevada, I felt like the queen of the road. I turned on the ventilation of the soft leather seats, cranked up my tunes, and thundered through the desert. As I wrote in my main review, HD pickup trucks are bouncy when they’re unloaded, but the HD Rams are a bit less so than their competition, owing to Ram’s focus more on comfort than best-in-class hauling numbers. I think I could have easily ridden in that truck all day without much fatigue, and after I while I even sort of stopped noticing the suspension.
The comfort went more than just the seats, too. The 2500’s cab was remarkably quiet. I’m not talking library quiet like a flagship luxury sedan here, but so quiet that the only real way to hear the mighty Cummins under the hood would be to open the window. Otherwise, you sort of hear a diesel engine, but the sound is so muted it’s as if you’re hearing the engine through about ten pillows. The steering only adds to the comfort. Oh yes, feel is practically non-existent and I wouldn’t recommend a Nürburgring lap anytime soon, but the steering was accurate and required no work to keep the big beast in a lane. The wheel is even heated to keep your hands toasty on those wintry days.
One note regarding the interior is that the bigger truck doesn’t have a bigger rear seating area. As I noted in my main review, the HD trucks are still using an older cab design compared to the 1500s. As a weird consequence, even the biggest cabs offered by the HD trucks still have a little less room than the 1500s. If you spec your HD with a Mega Cab, you’re looking at 43.1 inches of rear legroom. Meanwhile, a 1500 Crew Cab has 45.2 inches of rear legroom.
If you get your HD with a Crew Cab like the Laramie I tested, then you will see that legroom is reduced to 40.2 inches. I think most people will fit in the back just fine, but you may need to plan ahead if you’ll be filling the truck with a bunch of tall folks.
Of course, trucks like these are also just gargantuan. As I noted in my other pieces on the Ram HD, the bedsides are over my shoulders, and the hood is almost eye level. I think it goes without saying that all big truck drivers should be mindful of their surroundings. Use the cameras, they help!
The fit and finish inside the truck varied in my test unit. Soft-touch surfaces felt pleasing and premium, I think befitting of a vehicle in this price bracket. The hard plastics were a bit more challenging in this regard. For example, the infotainment display is surrounded by plastic dashboard pieces. These looked nice, but I thought that their feel was on the cheaper side for the price on the Monroney. That said, I doubt these are pieces you’ll touch often unless you’re weird like me.
In fairness to Ram, this was also a complaint I had about the 2024 Ford Super Duty F-250 Lariat Power Stroke. Its interior was also very nice on the whole, but had a few cheap areas. If I had to pick, I think I would choose the Ram’s interior over the Ford’s. The Ram feels a little bit more like you’re sitting in a luxury vehicle with a bed and a trailer hitch receiver on the back.
That was a thought I returned to through much of my testing. The Ram 2500 Laramie has most of the features that you’d expect in a luxury vehicle. It has dual-zone climate control, it has heated rear seats, and it has power and automatic everything. A number of automakers today are just adding features and tech for the sake of having more tech, even if you’re not going to use it. I think the Ram 2500 Laramie has just the right amount of content. You will likely use the radar cruise control, the traffic sign recognition is a cool touch, and the giant center touch screen has the most common apps you’ll use.
My Laramie tester had additional neat stuff like a camera overlooking the bed, parking sensors, and even a kind monitor to tell you when you’ve probably been on the road for too long and you should get some sleep. Looking through the build sheet on the tester, the options that got this truck a touch over $89,000 are the metallic paint ($295), the Towing Technology Group ($1,595), clearance lamps ($95), the sunroof ($1,195), and a $1,995 destination charge.
Is this a true hardcore luxury vehicle? I mean, I guess that depends on your benchmark. The luxury cars of today have quad-zone climate, massaging seats, power shades, and can even pump your interior full of soothing noises and aromas. They’re full of fabrics you’ve never heard of, trimmed in nice metals, and have all kinds of RGB lighting. I mean, heck, you can buy a BMW with a huge rear screen that hinges down from the ceiling and has screens in its door panels. We live in an era where car doors can open and close themselves.
But for most people? I think the Ram 2500 Laramie has just the right amount of stuff that they’ll actually use. Most people will be perfectly okay opening their own doors, and maybe you don’t want Alcantara covering a pickup truck, anyway. But, even better, the Ram 2500 Laramie has a lot of goodies that you can consider to be luxurious. Then the truck pairs them with a chunky 6.7-liter Cummins High Output turbodiesel making 430 horsepower and a whopping 1,075 lb-ft of torque and close to 20,000 pounds of towing capacity. It’s a luxury car that can haul a huge load on Monday and then take your spouse out for a nice date on Saturday.
I Understand Why Americans Keep Buying Big Trucks
I can see why some Americans buy just one expensive luxury truck instead of a luxury car plus a cheaper truck. Today’s American pickups have gotten to the level where they could be your work vehicle and your luxury car in one. In a weird situation where I had 85 large and had to spend it on a single vehicle to do everything, I could see myself choosing a high-end truck. I feel weird saying that, too. If you’ve read my work long enough, you know I’m addicted to German cars so much that I’ve subjected myself to Volkswagen Phaeton ownership not just once, but twice!
Of course, half-ton trucks get really luxurious, too, so you could get one of those if you just want a really nice truck and don’t need to pull nearly 20,000 pounds.
Either way, I get it. These trucks command crazy money, but then they’re also just bombastic vehicles. They’re comfortable, they have tons of features, and they can tow a house up a mountain while blasting you with ice cubes as the stereo is cranked up to 11 belting out “Weird Al” Yankovic. Ok, that last one might be me only.
No, this is gross. I hate these monsters. They are everywhere, and they are not doing contracting they are taking up space and wasting resources.
Tow mirrors up like D bags.
The big news is they updated from the 6 speed auto that had a great number of failures. Hopefully the new box is much more solid.
For trucks, these are really nice inside, I considered the top trim because of that, but ultimately, I passed. They’re still big, lumbering trucks and I don’t want to daily that (again).
To me, it doesn’t even remotely replace a luxury sedan and compared to a luxury sports sedan, this is more like driving your living room from the lazy boy.
It’s the nicest of all the trucks, but still a truck.
Mercedes, did you notice or do you know if the front passenger footwell on the updated 2025 have the same big transmission hump as the previous version?
I drove several 2020-2024 models last year; they all had an intrusive passenger floor hump like the DS/Classic generation 1500. Makes it kind of uncomfortable after an hour or two. Really one of the few things that convinced me to get a DT 1500 vs 2500 (also kind of hard to justify that extra ~$10-15k price jump for the few use-cases per year).
To the point in your article, my 1500 is a luxury vehicle, that can also haul stuff in the bed and off the hitch, handle deep snow with relative ease, cruise the highways all day and night, and the 360 camera makes most American parking lots pretty manageable.
Most of my truck experience is with Ford or Dodge HDs. They make a Corolla feel like an opulent luxury sports car.
I guess you could pile in enough sound deadening and leather to help you forget what you’re driving, but you can’t really get around the poor maneuverability it tight spaces and shitty turning raduis.
Also, every time you crack a window, you’ll come to the shocking realization of the nasty deafening clatter that you’ve been subjecting the decent people around you to.
The last YTD sales figures have the RAM HD at 36,386 units sold. Do a general split of 1/3 3500 to 2/3 2500 for a guestimate makes roughly 24,226 units. 70% of that is 16,958 units
Not that many in the overall scheme of things. I’m glad people are buying what they want. It’ll help the manufacturers stay afloat in these crazy times.
I’m sorry – How is an overpriced Kenworth wanna-be with a black plastic interior from Stellantis better than an actual luxury sedan – such as a Mercedes-Benz E450 4Matic, which starts at under $71,000 – and with a decent amount of options including the Pinnacle Package, Driver Assistance Package, and in actual colors & panoramic sunroof at no extra charge, can be had for under $84,000 MSRP?
Just because it can’t tow a vacation home, doesn’t take up 2 parking spaces, doesn’t require you to take note of the clearance signs in parking garages and old bridges, and doesn’t require a pipeline from Canada to fuel the thing, and doesn’t require a stepladder to enter and exit doesn’t mean it’s not a better actual luxury vehicle.
Then you can use the $5000+tax you didn’t spend to rent two guys and a truck when you need more mulch.
Maybe you should ask all the people who traded in Volvos, BMWs, and Mercedes for them why.
we all know why.
More room for golf bags!
If I see a contractor pull up in one of these, I know that the bid is gonna be high.
What amazes me is how many farmers are using these for work. Evidently, it’s a hell of a tax write off.
The tax thing is HUGE if you’re a contractor, farmer, rancher, or really have any way to justify a full-size truck. Half-tons are too light to qualify. Personal experience is these diesel HD trucks get better mileage with longer service intervals than most half-tons, too.
The worst thing about an $80k truck is that it’s difficult to convince yourself that it’s OK to do truck stuff with it.
At 172k miles, my 2015 Ram 1500 is approaching the point where maintenance and reliability concerns (damn those hemi manifolds and air suspension) are enough to make me question whether I’m willing to continue risking using it to haul a camper out into the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to contemplate dropping $50-80k on a replacement vehicle knowing how many bumps, bruises, and scratches it will pick up while I’m using it as intended.
I agree. Part of me is thinking these are for the camping set and the horsey set. (Dressage, racing, and trail riders)
Oh, they sure are. Take a drive through any campground or fairgrounds in the middle and Western US and these are the vehicle of choice. Don’t know how, but equestrians seem to have money to burn, too.
I have the same difficult conversations with myself each time I upgrade/update my Wrangler. Usually around the time the “old” one hits that just-right to wheel it hard point.
These things are a symptom of the massive dick shrinkage epidemic that has hit America.
As we become fatter and our beards become shaggier, our peckers look smaller and smaller, requiring these rolling extenders.
In addition to tackling the other great medical crises, baldness, I hope science can lead us back to the right path.
I will never have a use for something like this and will definitely roll my eyes at anyone who buys one and doesn’t use any of the capability….but I can still admire the engineering that went into it
Well, given that RAMs have ten-year ownership costs that are more in line with Bentley and BMW than Ford and Chevy, I would hope the thing is at least comfortable.
Not to dogpile here, but did Ram provide any statistics on what percentage of trucks sold are used to pull loads out in the middle of the desert, versus being driven to Walmart and the grocery store, where they don’t fit in the parking spaces?
I use mine to pull a jeep to rock trails, and to the grocery store if need be. I also opted to go gas since I don’t drive 30 miles or more a day or even when I choose to drive the truck to work. I think with the 360 camera systems the truck fits pretty well into a parking spot and the auto retracting mirrors helps with the douche bags backing into spots and massively missing the parking lines.
I spent way less than the 80some large though. Probably the last time I will see a new one in the 50’s for sale thanks to Tariffs and Mexico built trucks. but I am not at all disappointed with ride quality and features in these trucks.
Ram claims that 90 percent of Ram HD owners are either towing trailers or hauling loads in the bed. Sadly, Ram does not say how often, but does say that their research shows that only 10 percent of light-duty owners do towing and hauling.
“….hauling loads in the bed.”
So more than 4 bags of mulch then?
Corporate numbers mean little to nothing. It could just mean hauling a mix of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide with a few other items thrown in the mix.
Cool truck, but the Ford offering is still more compelling to me.
1) The offroad package (Tremor) can be had with the Diesel
2) Aluminum Body Panels save weight
3) More Power and Torque
4) Better Looking (IMO)
Still, Ram having the Cummins is still a huge win for them. Excellent engines.
Cool truck, and more compelling to me than the Ford. But that’s just me. And we’re pretty fortunate to have options. Even if they’re all going to cost more than my kidneys are worth.
You can get the Rebel offroad package with the Cummins (couldn’t with the Power Wagon).
IMO I think the Ram looks better and feels more premium inside. Ford went too block-y for my tastes.
Yeah feature for feature the Tremor and Rebel are more even. The Power Wagon is just a whole different beast entirely.
I like the Ram interior the best but it’s very very hard for me to say I’d go get a Ram with my money given the horror stories I’ve had with em in the past. Now that they’re all ZF transmissions it almost feels like the best way to know I can keep one a long time is to just get a Cummins with the floor shift 4WD and as few options as possible.
That front end styling is awful. It looks like a pickup mounting another pickup.
Ugh, I must be the only one who doesn’t want to drive a truck.
To me, a truck is something I use for work. For decades I was a land surveyor and used 4X4 trucks to navigate farms, fields, and muddy construction sites. More recently I’m in the municipal arena and I use an F-250 to push flakes around.
So the last thing I want to drive when I’m off the clock is a truuuuuuuuck.
I drove a beater Dodge 150 for 20 years, and I would tell people that well-used pickup trucks should look like shit and occasionally smell like shit. The idea of a luxury pickup just doesn’t sink into my brain.
Nonsensical.
Some of my tools in my barn are as old as I am. They still look good, because my grandpa and now I, have taken care of them.
Saying an old truck should look like shit evinces a lack of care for a valuable tool. I have a luxury truck that I intend to keep for a long time, which means taking care of it and not falling into the trap that somehow damage, neglect, abuse, etc = authenticity.
Depends heavily on the tool and job, I’d say. You’d be hard pressed to find a real working truck in something like construction that’s in clean condition for more than a few years, same with tools that actually get worked hard.
If the median truck owner or commenter worked as a full time construction worker, then I might take this perspective more seriously.
It simply can’t be the case that both “what if they work in construction” and “no one needs a big truck anyways” are true.
People here don’t like luxury trucks for whatever reason, and that’s legitimate, but be honest.
“Ugh, I must be the only one who doesn’t want to drive a truck.”
You’re not. I feel the same way.
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve needed a truck over the past 10 years.
And for the times I do need a truck, I just rent one.
No way would I want to daily drive one of these behemoths.
Same, I didn’t mind driving a truck everyday when I worked construction for a few years in college but in the 20 years since (yikes!) I can count on one hand the number of times I have needed and rented a truck. However I was also the guy last week at Lowe’s loading 16 bags of mulch into an Audi Allroad so…
If you have a use case for a 3/4 ton Diesel pickup, by all means make it as fancy and comfortable as you can afford.
But (at least where I live) I feel like 50% of the Cummins-powered RAM 2500 pickups I see are driven by folks whose needs would be just as well met by a half ton truck, but they just gotta have that Cummins.
I’d bet 99% of the diesel 2500 drivers needs could be met by a half-ton, and 80% of those half-ton needs could be met by a mid-size. There’s entire countries out there operating just fine with what we consider mid-size trucks.
True. But there have been a lot of occasions whilst pulling a relatively light (but aerodynamically awful) camper up a prolonged mountain grade that I’ve not so secretly wished I had that Cummins instead of my Hemi.
You’re probably right about the usage, but even if there is that 1 load a quarter that gets you to max towing or payload, I’d say worth the upgrade. Also, as the 1/2-tons get farckled up, payload and towing go down, leaving some luxo-trucks with not much of either.
I was going to say these won’t cost $85K for long but once tariffs raise the cost and then Ram lowers the price because sales have tanked, the price will probably be back at $85K.
Wonder about the venn diagram between people considering this truck and people who got the, ahem, tariffs, elected
i sort of get these. If I had truck things I really needed a truck to do, then one of these would be the sort of thing I’d get. Yes, the high-end ones are pretty damn luxurious for a truck, but that’s kinda nice if you have to spend any length of time in the thing.There are people for whom dailying something like this makes sense. People who live in remote areas, or on ranches might need a truck to get pretty much anywhere. If you’re using one for your job and you therefore need to spend a lot of time in it, then sure. For me, though, driving a big hulking thing like this for two miles to get groceries would be absurd. I’d want something smaller, easier to park and maneuver, and more economical to drive for anything that I didn’t need the truck for. Even if you do need one for your job, if you live in a town or city then I just can’t see not having something smaller and cheaper to drive for short trips that don’t involve towing or hauling.
So having a bed out back makes a “Better luxury car?”
That’s like saying a plastic bread wrap bag makes a better condom to me.
I think not.
Apples and Oranges here.
The BOF, RWD, V8-powered traditional luxury sedan is long gone, and these are its descendants (Cummins inline 6 aside, in this particular case)
Not all “evolution” is a good thing…
YMMV of course.
I see it more as convergent evolution.
For some people? Yeah. A bed, a big tow rating, decent ground clearance, and enough room to carry the family make a truck a decent choice when you want one well-equipped vehicle to do it all.
Of course, you don’t need to get the HD truck to get the experience, but I totally get why people spend close to six figures on trucks, and that’s as someone who owns three kei cars and six Smarts. 🙂
Understood.
Lincolns of the 60s had a hectare of trunk space, so in some cases yes.
Only if you’re listening to “The Biggest Ball of Twin in Minnesota”.
You know, I bet if we unraveled that sucker
It’d roll all the way down to Fargo, North Dakota
How did the “Laramie” name not become tainted after it was used on the TV show The Simpsons, or when people realized this was a brand of cigarettes from the 30’s to the 50’s? I always laugh when I see this name because it seems like a terrible name for… anything serious.
The beautiful wood trim with burned in logo really sell it.
But the real test is, how does it do tailgating a small car at 85 mph with the highbeams on and tow mirrors fully out?
Excellent. Unfortunately.
– Small Car owner tailgated by one of these
It does seem a bit like the stereotypical BMW driver of 10-15 years ago has migrated to these things over the last few…
I think it aligns with the rise of pop-country music
… and suddenly it all makes sense!
I asked my six Smarts about this, and they all locked their doors and refused to let me drive them.
My oldest Smarts top out at 83 mph. I’ve lost count of how many bowties, blue ovals, and rams I’ve seen in my back window while I’m foot to the floor in the slow lane. 🙂
Something that’s often overlooked in these articles about high truck prices is how used prices have kept pace.
The stereotypical guy who buys one of these is probably trading in his last one for a pretty penny and is mostly insulated from the price rises over time.
But is still probably rolling over $15k of debt to the new one
It all depends. If they trade every 2 years, yeah maybe. Every 5 years, it’s doubtful.
Prices have been climbing every year (as does content). Matt’s Morning Dump today kind of touches on this and how it has accelerated the last few years. I think this is bringing the used prices up quickly. Also starting to shock buyers as they go to upgrade their 5+ year old truck and see new ones are WAY more expensive than their last purchase.
I’d love to see the numbers on “business vs personal purchase” from the IRS on the 1500 vs 2500 trucks across the board. My theory is that $100k is palatable as a business expense, while the still-capable 1500 has to stay down in the $60-$70k range because it’s focused on more private buyers.
I love these things, at least from an engineering POV and for their unique American-ness (I include all of Vespucci/Waldseemüller’s “America” here but mainly the northerly parts). It’s just amazing that something like this can pull off almost every trick in the automotive book, all at once. OTOH, I also find it almost comical that these trucks are completely laden with stuff we used to make fun of truck owners for wanting.
I think the forthcoming comments on this post will disabuse you of the past tense here.
To be clear, I make fun of ANYONE with a butt massager in the car. It’s just that stereotypical big-ass truck dudes make it so much easier. I live around a lot of these people, but most of them are not driving 2500s. Those won’t fit in most garages…
I’ll never forget, I think it was GM publicly making fun of Ford for installing a step below the bed. Then a couple years later GM did it too and acted like it was no big deal.
Just like BMW’s old “There’s a reason rabbits are rear-wheel drive” ad. Whoops.
2500 and up trucks are classified very differently by the IRS, which usually makes them much more attractive to contractors and others that would benefit from the write-offs.