2025 Ram 1500's 'Hurricane' I6 tops V8 in fuel economy

We've been impressed with our time in the updated 2025 Ram 1500 with the twin-turbo Hurricane straight-six. It's extremely refined, and it delivers much more power and torque than the V8s it replaces. But we've been very curious about the fuel economy for the new engine, as those numbers were not finalized when we drove it, and improved fuel economy was one of the ostensible reasons for replacing the old Hemi V8s with the Hurricane. Finally the numbers are out, and six cylinders are more frugal than eight, mostly.

Also unsurprising is the fact that the two-wheel-drive version of the standard 420-horsepower Hurricane Ram is the most efficient, returning 19 mpg city, 25 highway and 21 combined. That's an increase of 1 mpg across the board compared to the most efficient (and also two-wheel-drive) Hemi Ram. Adding four-wheel-drive drops the Hurricane Ram to 17 city, 24 highway and 19 combined. That combined number is the same as the Hemi Ram, while the city number is down by 1 mpg, and the highway number is up by 2. The Hurricane Ram is available with a high-output engine making 540 horsepower, and that's the thirstiest at 15 mpg city, 21 highway and 17 combined. It's much more efficient than the TRX's supercharged V8 (12 mpg combined), but it does make much less power than that 702-horsepower monster.

Still, the most efficient Ram you can get has a different six-cylinder engine: the old 3.6-liter naturally aspirated V6. Combined fuel economy ranges from 21 mpg for the four-wheel-drive version to 23 mpg combined for the two-wheel-drive HFE (for "high fuel economy") trim. The latter of those even hits 26 mpg on the highway. Those numbers are unchanged from last year.

The Hurricane's numbers compare favorably to similar gas engines in the full-size truck segment, if not necessarily class-leading. Ford's 400-horsepower 3.5-liter turbo V6 manages 20 mpg combined at its best, with the 325-horsepower 2.7-liter turbo V6 matching the Hurricane's 21 mpg combined. The Silverado's 5.3-liter 355-horsepower V8 only gets 18 mpg combined at best. The non-hybrid Tundras with their twin-turbo 3.4-liter V6s get 20 mpg combined with less power than the Ram, too. But both Ford and Toyota offer hybrid powertrains that get better combined fuel economy than even the Ram naturally aspirated V6, and the GM trucks are available with diesel straight-sixes that offer the best fuel economy in the segment (short of an electric).