702 horsepower only does so much when it’s nearly impossible to defeat traction control and the tires have little grip to begin with
4 hours ago
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The RAM TRX is a halo pickup that few can even come close to rivaling. It’s proven that it can achieve all sorts of wild performance accolades, but how well does it rally on a slippery snowy course? The answer is perhaps better and worse than one might imagine for a truck with a 6.2-liter HEMI V8 pumping out 702 horsepower (523 kW).
Regardless of power output, the name of the game in motorsport is putting that power to the ground in the most effective way possible. Doing that on a slippery surface is easiest with traction control fully defeated and tires made for the job. Sadly, the RAM TRX used in this test didn’t benefit from either of those assets.
The crew at Team O’Neil Rally School ultimately had to pull the fuse for traction control and ABS and then engage 4WD Low to get the truck to behave on snow. Without those moves it simply wouldn’t respond as desired. It would regularly lock up the front brakes but not the rear. By putting it into 4WD Low it inhibits the front from locking up while leaving traction control off.
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Around the course, driver Wyatt Knox says that it’s like trying to do a ballet with a giant bull. The power makes it easy to gather speed but the weight and balance of the truck make managing that speed very difficult. That’s not to say that it isn’t fun, or comfortable, but it’s just now wildly sharp on the snow. Much of that comes down to the all-season Goodyear tires on the RAM in this case.
Despite the drawbacks, the RAM TRX, which starts from $96,585 in the States, proves to be fairly competent on a track mostly composed of slick-packed snow. Some of the course is gravel which helps but ultimately the entire lap is one focused on managing weight. The eight-speed gearbox struggles to find the right gear at times but Knox still pulls off a 2:25:16 lap time.
That’s good enough for fifth place on the Winter leaderboard and it’s only edged out by the Durango Hellcat, the Bronco Badlands, a Subaru WRX, and a Ski-Doo. Not too shabby for a truck that weighs over three tons and wasn’t in prime condition to do this kind of driving.
