Family-Truckster Showdown! 2025 Ram 1500 vs. Ford F-150

Yahoo

04-04-2025

Automakers love rolling out new flavors of pickup that offer surprising amounts of off-road capability—Trailhunter this, Tremor that—but the vast majority of trucks are more humbly optioned, which is important when even basic models are pushing into the $50,000-and-up range. To that end, we decided to pit two lower-trim pickups against one another. Both the 2025 Ram 1500 Big Horn and the 2025 Ford F-150 XLT offer plenty of truckish charm, but when it comes to typical daily use and livability, only one will earn the title of family truckster supreme.
With both trucks carrying only mild levels of off-road equipment, our two test trucks are damn near anonymous in today's sea of cargo-bed-adorned rigs. Both trucks are set up for an ideal mix of work and leisure—most notably, their tires offer tons of sidewall, skipping the low-profile, big-wheel-tiny-tire aesthetic that plagues many modern vehicles (and tends to ruin ride quality in the process).
The Ram's front end is bulkier and more brutish, its chromed maw opening wide enough that you might mistake it for a heavy-duty Ram 2500 model. The Ford opts for a darker, chrome-free face, though the door handles and various trim garnishes make up for that lack of forward-facing shiny stuff. Even though these aren't the hardcore off-road trims, both trucks ride high and require a big step up to climb aboard. The F-150 XLT comes standard with side steps when outfitted with its optional hybrid powertrain (they're part of a $1585 package otherwise), whereas Ram wants at least $695 for 'em on the Big Horn no matter what's under the hood.
The cleverest bit of any pickup truck's exterior is the tailgate, where engineers have designed all sorts of new ways for a thing to open. Our Ram's $1095 multifunction tailgate has a 60/40 split that lets the tailgate open to the side, adding a bit of versatility. The $635 Bed Utility package on our F-150 XLT, however, only features a tailgate step and work surface; if you want the trick Pro Access tailgate, you must move to a more expensive trim. That's annoying.
Inside, the Ram's crew cab feels just a bit larger, but both cabins are sized to rival a big-city studio apartment. Ford's struck us as more user-friendly. Both test examples were equipped with their largest-available screens. The Ford's horizontal layout allows for a clean swath of physical controls beneath the display, while the Ram's vertical setup offers more onscreen flexibility with less (and more frustratingly arranged) switchgear. We prefer the Ford's column shifter to the Ram's shift... dial? Knob? The Ram's cluster also features real-deal gauges, whereas the Ford's is entirely digital.
If you need the ultimate in cabin flexibility, both the XLT and Bighorn can be had with a 40/20/40 split front bench seat. Our F-150, however, came with buckets. We like the Ram's seating for six. We wouldn't recommend adults occupy the front middle for long stints—unless you like controlling the touchscreen with your knees—but kids will love it. Plus, a quick pull of a vinyl strap drops down the middle seatback, converting it to a standard center console.
With both vehicles optioned as near-entry-level trucks, the Ram's interior fit and finish puts it ahead of the Ford. The Ram offers more variety and quality in its hard- and soft-touch materials.
Why stick with stock? Both trucks seen here come equipped with optional powertrains. For the Ram, that means moving from the standard Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6 to the Hurricane twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six, a $2695 upgrade that boosts output to 420 horsepower and 469 pound-feet of torque. An eight-speed automatic is the only transmission on offer.
The Ford, on the other hand, offers a wider variety of powertrain options. A twin-turbo 2.7-liter V-6 is standard, with a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 and a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V-8 as interstitial upgrades. But our test truck came wielding the range-topping PowerBoost hybrid setup, which pairs a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 with an electric motor for a combined output of 430 horsepower and 570 pound-feet of torque, mated to a 10-speed automatic. It's pricey, though, at $3560, and it also mandates springing for at least the $1585 Equipment Group 301A.
Despite the hybrid hardware, the F-150's 5631-pound curb weight is slinkier than the Ram's 5765-pound weigh-in. But the two prove nearly evenly matched at the test track. The Ram starts out ahead of the Ford, snagging victory in the sprint to 30 mph (1.6 seconds versus 1.8) and 60 mph (4.8 seconds versus 5.0). But then the Ford pulls ahead, beating the Ram to 100 mph by 0.8 second and winning the quarter-mile by 0.1 second and 2 mph. The PowerBoost also bests the Ram in our 5-to-60, 30-to-50, and 50-to-70 acceleration tests.
HIGHS: Gutsy-thrifty hybrid powertrain, responsive steering, superior visibility.LOWS: No bench seat in the hybrid, more rear-end jostle than the Ram, interior feels a little chintzier.VERDICT: An around-town truck that's rewarding to drive in most every situation.
The Ford's lower curb weight also pays dividends in braking: At 185 feet, the F-150 required a shorter distance to stop from 70 mph than the Ram, which needed 196 feet despite having larger brake discs. The Ford also had more grip, maxing out at 0.76 g against the Ram's 0.72-g result. Though, to be fair, our Ram was wearing Falken WildPeak A/T all-terrain tires, while the Ford wore more street-friendly Michelin Primacy XC rubber.
Both trucks feature 30-plus-gallon fuel tanks, which means total range figures in excess of 500 miles, more than the average bladder can handle. During our evaluation, both trucks managed a not-so-great 16 mpg observed. But in our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test, the F-150's 20-mpg result bested the Ram's 18 mpg, with both falling short of their EPA estimates, the Ford by 4 mpg and the Ram by 6 mpg. Most of that delta largely comes down to tire and mirror choice.
This comparison wasn't about extracting every inch of usability from these trucks; instead, because they serve all parts of the work/play spectrum, we gave them a more holistic workout, paying attention to how these vehicles function more as daily drivers.
The Ram 1500 proved the cushier of the two, though Ram may have taken that softness a bit too far. Yes, its optional four-corner air-spring suspension ($1995) soaked up nearly every bad road condition Michigan threw at us, while Ford doesn't offer air springs at all. But the Ram driver also feels disconnected in a bad way: The steering is too light for our tastes, and the pedals feel mushier than the Ford's. We felt more body roll in the Ram too. The air springs' ability to alter the ride height could be helpful when towing or hauling with a full bed. But in ordinary driving, the Ram's chassis setup may come off as too aloof.
HIGHS: The king of shock absorption, great interior fit and finish, smooth straight-six.LOWS: Skip the towing package for pure daily driving, less user-friendly infotainment, too light on feel.VERDICT: A solid contender, especially when truck stuff happens often.
By comparison, the F-150 felt a little more truckish over the road, which we appreciated in this instance. Its front coil- and rear leaf-spring setup retains more feeling underfoot, giving us a better idea of what's happening closer to the road. Everything from entering corners to braking feels more natural and predictable, and Ford does a commendable job of retaining a good bit of shock absorption. Though not as overtly plush as the Ram's, the Ford's ride never devolves into an unladen jiggly mess. The F-150's steering is slightly heavier and more direct, helping the Ford feel smaller than it is, which is good for navigating tighter confines like parking lots.
Speaking of squeezing into tight spots, we'd recommend daily drivers skip the Ram's $1345 Trailer Tow Group package, which mandates massive manually folding tow mirrors that all but eliminate front-corner visibility, making this 1500 feel like a 3500 and turning everyday maneuvers into a major pain. Ford has similar tow packages, but you aren't forced to spec Dumbo-ears mirrors. A full-size pickup's high front end already makes for difficult forward visibility, and you don't want to make it any worse. Ford's tow-option solution is more versatile, and that little dip designed into the F-150's front windows also is a huge visibility helper.
Both trucks have a healthy smattering of options, but the Ford's $65,940 as-tested price managed to sneak in below the $68,320 Ram. The F-150, with its PowerBoost hybrid powertrain, proved better at top-end performance and delivered better mileage on the highway (where hybrids are at their least efficient) while somehow weighing less than the Ram. The Ford's coil- and leaf-spring suspension gave us better around-town driving confidence at the expense of some ride quality. The Ram's softer setup feels more luxurious when you're wafting down the road, but we didn't like how devoid of feel the end result was. Considering how often a family truck will be driven unladen, dynamics remain a pivotal part of the conversation.
This was a close one: These are both good trucks, and your money isn't going into a firepit no matter which way you go. In the end, our winner walked away from a knock-down, drag-out fight with a one-point margin of victory. In these specific testing conditions with these specific trims, we determined that the F-150 provided better daily-driving dynamics and a more cohesive package at its price point.
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