We drove the 2027 Ram 1500 BackCountry back to back with the snazzier Rebel X and found that one of these trail-tuned pickups offers more bang for your buck. Like most full-size pickup trucks, the Ram 1500 lineup offers so many configurations that people with decidophobia will almost certainly struggle to find the perfect version for them. For folks who like to spend their free time playing in the dirt, the widebody RHO and SRT-badged TRX—with their long-travel suspensions and knobby 35-inch tires—remain the kings of the hill. But there are less spendy off-road Rams as well.
Slotting between the entry-level Warlock and the mid-tier Rebel, there's a new BackCountry package available on the Big Horn 4x4 crew cab. The $2995 kit includes a one-inch suspension lift, heavy-duty dampers, underbody skid plates, front tow hooks, an electronic locking rear differential, and 32-inch Falken Wildpeak all-terrain tires. Identical equipment included in the $1345 Off-Road Group that's equipped on our long-term 2025 Ram 1500.
View Price on AmazonAdditional BackCountry goodies include blacked-out exterior trim. Ram also retains the Rebel X trim for the half-ton truck; it's basically just a fancier version of the popular Rebel model. The X-rated version includes a bigger 14.5-inch touchscreen, a 19-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system, prominent steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters, a panoramic sunroof, and leather upholstery with red accent stitching. It's also currently the only Ram that gets what the brand calls Rough Road Cruise Control.
While the Rebel X has some upgraded off-road hardware versus the BackCountry, it also costs over $10,000 more and can't be equipped with the recently resurrected Hemi V-8. Since both trucks were part of a recent drive event that Ram held in Texas—the state that buys most of its trucks—we decided to focus on these two trail-tuned pickups to decide which one delivers the most bang for your buck.
We're already big fans of the Ram 1500 Rebel, which defeated another mid-tier off-road pickup when we pitted it against Ford's F-150 Tremor. Although the Rebel X is still handcuffed to the 420-hp twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six, that's not a bad thing. Its smooth power delivery is luxury-grade, and the eight-speed automatic remains an astute partner. The engine's demure exhaust note is about as intimidating as a pack of hissing kittens, but it also matches the 10Best winner's svelte personality. With an EPA-estimated 20 mpg combined, it should cost less to gas up than the more vociferous V-8-powered BackCountry we drove, which nets an 18-mpg estimate from the EPA.
You don't have to get the new Ram 1500 BackCountry with the 395-hp 5.7-liter V-8, but we'd wager the Hemi is a big selling point considering the sales surge that Ram reportedly enjoyed after bringing it back from the dead. That said, people who prefer the standard Hurricane engine save $1200. Frankly, we appreciated the V-8's old-school growl at idle and the growing roar that followed right-foot inputs. Based on our previous tests, acceleration times favor the six-cylinder engine (4.8 seconds to 60 mph versus 6.0 ticks), but the V-8's more linear throttle response was our preference when tackling technical low-speed sections of an off-road trail.
Source: caranddriver.com
