Do You Really Need the Ram 1500's V8 Engine? We Test It Against the I6 to Find Out

• The Ram 1500's six-cylinder engine makes more power and torque than the V8.
• However, the V8 can tow more than the high-output six-cylinder.
• The high-output six-cylinder ascended our uphill test easily, while the V8 was a champ coming down.

The performance numbers showcase this difference in power.  In Edmunds' testing, the standard-output inline-six scooted from 0 to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds while the high-output did it in 4.7 seconds. By comparison, the V8 and its lack of turbocharging took 6.9 seconds — a massive way off the others.

The V8 ekes out a second-place finish in fuel economy with an EPA rating of 18 miles per gallon combined, falling between the high-output at 17 mpg combined and the standard-output at 20 mpg combined. However, our real-world testing tells a different story. Our 2019 Ram 1500 One-Year Road Test truck averaged 14.8 mpg combined. We now own a 2026 Ram 1500 with the high-output six-cylinder, and with over 12,000 miles of driving, it's currently at 15.7 mpg combined.

If you drive the V8 in a vacuum, it feels great and the sound makes you feel like you're the ruler of all you behold. But when you get into the high-output six, its foibles are obvious. While the eight-speed in the 3.0-liter is smooth and decisive, the 5.7-liter makes the transmission question every move. The six-cylinder responds immediately to throttle inputs, while the V8 takes a hot second to react. 

Of course, trucks are meant to do work, and here’s where we really have questions to answer. Since we love that high-output engine when it’s unladen, we were curious about how it behaves when dragging a trailer up a steep hill and how it compares to the V8. We loaded up an enclosed trailer with our One-Year Road Test Volvo EX30 for a total of 7,000 pounds and hit a 7% grade.

Depending on trim, you can get a Ram 1500 with a 3.21 or 3.55 axle ratio, but both our trucks have a low 3.92 ratio — the higher the number, the lower the gear — and a basic drive mode for towing. You have the option to add things like towing mirrors, a towing light check system, trailer brake controller, and trailer reverse guidance and steering control, but offerings aren't the same on every trim, configuration or towing package. Case in point, only one of our trucks had towing mirrors, but both had a blind-spot monitoring system that correctly detected the length of the trailer and optimized the system accordingly.

A 1500 with the high-output engine can tow 10,000 pounds, while one equipped with the 5.7-liter can tow 11,320 pounds, so our 7,000-pound load was well below the truck's limit. While both trucks were able to maintain a speed between 55 mph and 60 mph, the 5.7-liter needed multiple downshifts to do so. 

At the end, the truck was pushing 5,200 rpm — just 600 revolutions from the redline — at 58 mph, and it was a relief to reach the top and get that upshift, taking some strain off the engine and noise out of the cabin. The high-output engine needed one downshift and used the turbos to accelerate without putting the truck into mega-high rpm. It doesn't hurt that the turbocharged mill pushes the redline up to 6,100. I was even able to pass a slower-moving truck without any strain or worry. 

Going downhill was a different story. The Ram has a gear limiter, but I initially let each truck do its own thing. I had to get on the brakes a bit in the six-cylinder, so I set the truck to stay in fourth gear at about 4,500 rpm. Even then, I had to brake a bit to keep it between 55 mph and 60 mph. I wasn't on the brakes the whole time, and I felt safe and secure descending the hill, but the V8 provided a better experience. Here, the truck downshifted on its own and used engine braking only to descend the steep grade. I did not have to touch the brake pedal once, nor did I use the gear limiter button. Cool!

The price of the V8 can get a little complicated, so stay with me. On higher trims like our Limited where the 3.0-liter high-output engine is standard, the 5.7-liter is a no-cost option. So if you need that extra towing capacity over the high-output and love that V8 rumble, go for it. However, on the lower trims where the high-output isn’t available, you'll pay $2,895 over the base 3.6-liter engine and $1,200 over the standard-output six-cylinder for the privilege of getting less power and worse fuel economy. 

I think the high-output inline-six is the better engine. I like the power, the smooth delivery, and over 12,000 miles, it hasn’t given us any problems. Plus, if I had to tow every day, I'd likely want that six-cylinder even though it has a slightly lower tow rating. It climbed the grade without any stress, and while it didn't descend quite as easily as the V8, it was far from terrible and I'd have no problem trusting the system going down a steep mountain pass.