What Truck Shoppers Need to Know
- Making Ram’s 6.7-liter Cummins turbo-diesel engine available in the Ram 2500 Power Wagon only increases the truck’s appeal, bringing amazing torque, smooth operation and surprising relative efficiency that improve the truck’s driving characteristics.
- The Power Wagon’s upscale cabin is truly luxurious, in keeping with Ram’s status as a benchmark for American-brand premium vehicle interiors.
- Off-road, the Power Wagon will be overkill for almost any situation, and tight trails may be a challenge for this big pickup’s sheer bulk.
Off-road pickups come in many flavors, from small and nimble to colossal and hulking, and the 2027 Ram 2500 Power Wagon clearly lands on the bigger side of the spectrum. Weighing more than four tons, it is Ram’s heaviest-duty offering, meant for doing dual duty as an overlander through the roughest terrain and as a towing rig for hauling toys or campers with you. For 2027, it’s newly available with Ram’s Cummins turbo-diesel engine, so we loaded one up and took it on a weekend trip to northern Michigan to test its highway manners, suburban civility and off-road chops. It excelled at all three tasks.
Related: What’s the Fuel Economy of a 2027 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Diesel?
How Does the 2027 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Drive on the Highway?
I had a task in mind for which the new diesel Power Wagon seemed perfectly suited: Drive from Ann Arbor, Mich., to the northern part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula — an all-highway drive, some of which has a 75 mph speed limit — to visit some rural family property in Gaylord, Mich., that hadn’t had eyes on it in years, which was a task sure to test the Power Wagon’s off-road system. A winery or two, some lake livin’ and a highway drive back completed the itinerary, and with a beautiful September weekend with perfect weather in store, we packed up and headed north.
On the highway, the Ram 2500 Power Wagon is lovely. Yes, it’s a behemoth, but you’ll enjoy sitting considerably higher than just about every other thing on the road (except for semi trucks). Its slow steering is fairly numb, but ride quality is exceptional for a heavy-duty pickup — thanks in large part to this Ram’s big, balloony off-road tires. You’ll also note just how much noise enters the cabin from the big diesel engine during highway driving: almost none. Whether due to proper exhaust tuning or copious amounts of sound insulation, the experience of motoring down an interstate in a Power Wagon diesel is calm, easygoing and remarkably civilized for a truck with its capabilities. The only thing that lets you know what’s purring away under the hood is the stunning forward thrust you experience when planting your right foot against the accelerator, accompanied by a throaty diesel growl that reminds you what else you have in common with those semis you’re at eye level with. The Power Wagon’s brakes are also strong and responsive, but they don’t let you forget you’re driving a big, heavy truck: They take a while to stop the truck, but they’re progressive and confident in their action.
How Does the 2027 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Drive Off-Road?
Highway cruising is only one component of Power Wagon use; this thing is built for off-road running, so it would be negligent of us to not put it to the test. Leaving the pavement for the unpaved roads of rural Michigan forests, I set the four-wheel drive and ventured into the two-track, barely groomed wilderness. Again, this truck’s amazing torque allowed it to power through anything without much need to touch the throttle. It’s made for slow-speed off-roading, climbing over obstacles and in and out of divots and mud-filled ruts with ease. Soft sand will require some adjustments to your driving style, but with several drive modes to choose from, there was no terrain I encountered that gave the Power Wagon pause.
The trails did, however, drive home just how big this monster truck is. It’s extremely wide and very heavy, so you’ll need to be cognizant of just how much space you have to squeak through in some places. I found myself frequently rubbing up against tree branches on the standard two-track county fire road I traversed, and turning around on the trail in the middle of the forest required a carefully performed, multi-point action to go back down the route I came up; it’s best done with the help of a second person spotting obstacles that the Power Wagon’s sensors and cameras might miss (like tree stumps). I never needed to use the low-range function in the transfer case, but it is there should you find an obstacle that calls for maximum torque with minimum throttle input.
In a nutshell, the Power Wagon can climb over and through just about anything, but it feels better suited for overlanding and open spaces than tight forest trails, where a smaller truck or SUV might be easier to manage.
How Does the 2027 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Drive Around Town?
Most people use their trucks for daily driving, running errands, going out to dinner and commuting to work, and the ‘27 Ram 2500 Power Wagon does fine there, as well. It’s perfectly comfortable motoring down suburban streets, but once again its size works against it as a practical vehicle: Parking lots are challenging when busy, and parallel parking is a “fun” skill to master in a truck this big. All that said, getting in and out of the truck might be your biggest challenge, as it has 13.2 inches of ground clearance. My test truck did not have any running boards, only rock rails that, while great at protecting the truck’s body from boulders, do nothing to aid ingress and egress in this lifted off-road truck. Getting in requires you to haul yourself up by the steering wheel, and getting out means dropping over a foot to the deck — and hoping your knees and ankles are strong enough for the impact.
How Do the 2027 Ram 2500 Power Wagon’s Powertrains Compare?
| 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 (Gas) | 6.7liter Cummins High-Output Inline-Six-Cylinder (Turbo-Diesel) | |
| Horsepower | 405 | 430 |
| Torque (pounds-feet) | 429 | 1,075 |
| Transmission | Eight-speed automatic | Heavy-duty eight-speed automatic |
| Drivetrain | Four-wheel drive with low range | Four-wheel drive with low range |
| Towing capacity (pounds) | 10,590 | 19,630 |
| Payload capacity (pounds) | 1,530 | 2,930 |
| Final drive ratio | 3.73 or 4.10 | 3.42 |
| Factory winch | Available | Not available |
| Ground clearance (inches) | 14.2 | 13.2 |
What’s Our Expert Take on the 2027 Ram 2500 Power Wagon?
The Power Wagon is a specialty tool: A huge, heavy-duty pickup with prodigious heft that goes just about anywhere you need it to, all while coddling its passengers in a luxurious cabin that’s unrivaled in the pickup world. It’s comfortable (once you manage to get into it), spacious, immensely capable and even reasonably fuel-efficient for what it is.
What it is not, however, is cheap to buy: The starting price of this rig is $77,230 before you start adding options (all prices include destination fee). The diesel engine is the big expense: It’s $12,995 for the Cummins engine and all the bits and doodads that come with it. My test truck had even more added equipment, and it came with a staggering sticker price of $103,395. Yikes.
That price will likely make this big truck a rarity out on streets and trails, but as any automaker will tell you, the market hasn’t yet found the upper limit of how expensive a pickup truck can be. Suffice it to say that if you pony up that kind of cash for the diesel Power Wagon, you’ll be getting an exceptional rig that impresses in just about every aspect of its operation.
More Ram Truck News From Cars.com:
- 2027 Ram 2500 Power Wagon: Doing What They Said Couldn’t Be Done
- 2027 Ram Power Wagon Diesel Combines Off-Road Capability With Stump-Pulling Torque
- 2025 Ram 2500 Review: Freshened Freight Train
- 2025 Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty Pack More Tech and Capability
- Research the Ram 2500
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
What’s new for the 2027 Ram 2500 Power Wagon?
Ram’s 6.7-liter Cummins turbo-diesel is available for the first time. Until now, the Power Wagon came only with a gas V-8.
What engines can I get, and what are their outputs?
The standard engine is a 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 making 405 hp and 429 pounds-feet of torque. The optional Cummins turbo-diesel 6.7-liter inline-six makes 430 hp and 1,075 pounds-feet of torque.
How much more can the diesel tow and haul?
The diesel is rated to tow 19,630 pounds and carry 2,930 pounds. The gas truck is rated for 10,530 pounds towing and 1,570 pounds payload. That’s nearly double on both counts.
What other mechanical differences come with the diesel?
- It comes with a beefed-up heavy-duty eight-speed automatic transmission instead of the standard eight-speed automatic.
- It has a 3.42 rear axle ratio versus 3.73 or 4.10 on the gas truck.
- The diesel has slightly less ground clearance: 13.2 inches versus 14.2 inches.
Does the diesel Power Wagon still have a winch?
No. The gas model offers an integrated front-bumper winch, but on the diesel truck that space is taken up by the engine’s cooling system.
What does the Power Wagon cost?
A base Power Wagon starts at $77,230, including destination. The Cummins diesel engine officially adds $12,995, but it also requires the addition of a couple more equipment packages. The well-equipped truck seen here stickered at $103,395.
Is the diesel engine worth the extra money?
It depends on your use. If you tow heavy trailers or haul a lot of weight, the diesel’s torque, towing and payload gains are large. If you want the factory winch or the higher ground clearance, the gas V-8 makes more sense and costs far less.
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