Ram 1500 2024 review: Big Horn

If this was a review of the mid-range 1500 Laramie, the score would read 8/10 for value. But for all its great points, the Big Horn halves that, despite being essentially the same package and cheaper.

Confused? Keep reading, because you’ll need to know the broader brand backstory to fully understand what’s going on and why.

Originating in North America as an F-Series-fighting Dodge by Chrysler in 1981, Ram became a stand-alone marque in 2010. Local sales commenced in 2015, using US-sourced but Australian RHD conversion knowhow by American Special Vehicles (ASV, and part-owned by Walkinshaw Automotive Group at the time), first with the 2500 and 3500 heavy-duty trucks, before their volume-selling 1500 sibling changed buying habits from mid-2018.

Luring Ford Ranger Wildtrak and Raptor buyers away with pricing that kicked off from just $79,950 drive-away, the base 1500 Express helped prise open the full-sized ute market with power and swagger – if not much swag.

Comes with a 8.4-inch touchscreen.

But this was with the 2008-vintage old-shape Ram DS series, which by 2020 was in its twilight years, so a few missing bits and pieces was okay. The far-more advanced DT successor promised better. But an equally-low price wasn't one of them.

By late 2023, the DS 1500 Express Quad Cab made way for the longer-bodied and more-highly specified DT 1500 Big Horn Crew Cab, and started from a lofty $119,950 (all prices quoted from here on are before on-road costs).

This represents a $34K jump (or $21K if matched body-for-body length) over the old ute.

Now, the good news is that there are night-and-day differences between old and new-gen Rams to help justify the price gap.

Despite similar proportions, the DT is a complete redesign inside, outside and (mostly) underneath, and is over 100kg lighter yet stronger, partly due to aluminium used for the bonnet and tailgate, amongst other areas.

18-inch alloy wheels.

As before, the Ram features coil-sprung rear suspension instead of truck-style leaf springs like most rivals, as well as – until 2025’s Series II facelift lands – Chrysler’s fantastic Hemi V8.

Looking at the spec sheet, there's also a lot to appreciate.

Buying Big Horn brings you 4WD, lovely cloth upholstery, heating for the front seats and steering wheel, push-button start, an 8.4-inch touchscreen, an advanced multimedia interface with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a rear-view camera, front and rear parking sensors, cruise control, remote central locking, five USB ports (three As and two Cs), heated/powered folding exterior mirrors, rear privacy glass, an electrically sliding back window, a rear bedliner, retractable bed step, tie-down points and 18-inch alloy wheels.

Sporting a retractable bed step.

Plus, there’s a choice of a 1700mm (five-feet/seven-inch or 5’7”) or 1930mm (6’4”) extended rear tub for only $1000 extra, as tested. Great for dirt bikes, apparently.

But here’s where things become unstuck for the Big Horn.

While you do get airbags (dual front, front-side and front/rear curtain items), trailer sway control, hill-start assist and stability/traction controls for your $120K, the cheapest 1500 is woefully under-equipped, losing equipment you’d expect in any truck costing half as much.

These include important safety omissions such as Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), blind-spot alert, lane-keep systems and LED headlights with auto high beams.

Furthermore, on the convenience front, items like adaptive cruise control, keyless entry, a driver’s seat lumbar support, front-seat height adjustment, climate control for the air-con, a head-up display, digital radio, satellite navigation, wireless smartphone charging, rain-sensing wipers and a 12-volt outlet in the tub are missing.

Buying Big Horn brings you, lovely cloth upholstery.

These are disappointing spec gaps that seriously undermine the Big Horn’s value. Hence our 4/10 score in this department. The Silverado 1500 LTZ Premium (from $130,500) only costs about $10K extra, but is embarrassingly more-richly equipped, while the more-basic F-150 XLT at least starts from just $106,950 and still manages to include AEB and other driver-assist safety features.

 Seriously, lose the heated seats/steering wheel, glossy alloys, retractable mirrors and opening rear window. Safety shouldn't be compromised.

Which brings us to the 8/10-for-value Ram 1500 Laramie, from $137,950.

This is the grade to get for most of the Big Horn's missing safety and convenience gear, plus luxuries including leather, a sunroof, powered front seats, heated rear seats, electric side steps, a 35 per cent larger touchscreen, 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio, a 360-degree camera view, adjustable pedals and 20-inch alloys to help justify the extra $18K. And you’ll need the $140K-plus F-150 Lariat for comparable Ford spec.

Of course, people can easily, even happily, live without most of the lost items, as we did during our Big Horn adventure, but the absent safety tech can be the difference between having and avoiding an accident.

Thus, we hesitate in recommending the base 1500 unless you're completely okay with reduced kit, but resoundingly endorse the Laramie, because from here on in the Ram meets and often exceeds expectations.

At first glance, the Big Horn really impresses inside.

Wide enough for three well-nourished adults to spread out over the rear bench. Wide enough for a belted driver to be unable to reach the door on the other side. Wide enough to revel in the luxury of space.

Along with vast girth, there are two other things that immediately stand out. The impeccable RHD conversion and the Italianate style and presentation of the dashboard and instrumentation. Especially compared to rival US trucks. Are previous overlords Fiat's fingerprints all over this interior? Maybe.

American carmakers are not known for their build quality, but the 1500’s fit and finish are beyond reproach. That’s an advantage of having the cabin pulled apart and put back together by specialists ASV.

Now, given the Ram’s considerable dimensions and height, getting in is no hardship (aided by well-placed grab handles) and finding the right driving position is pretty straightforward.

The dash layout is conventional but surprisingly well executed, with clear and logical placement of most of the major controls, from the handsome leather-clad multi-adjustable steering wheel and analogue-rich instrumentation with just the right amount of digital support displays, to the smart, space-saving location of the auto gear selector.

The latter allows for a third front occupant but we'll get to why that's not possible further down.

Other pluses include a multimedia system accessed via an 8.4-inch touchscreen that’s fast and intuitive, simple heating and ventilation controls, extendable sunvisors, pillar-sited (but not overhead) grab handles and a general quality feel to all the switchgear.

Lots of thought has gone into the Ram’s interior presentation.

Other plus points include broad and inviting front seats fitted with neck-support head-restraint adjustability and grey flannel-style cloth that adds mid-century American class. Frankly it’s lovelier than most leathers.

But then you begin noticing what’s been left out.

Inexplicably, the Big Horn’s driver’s seat lacks height as well as a lumbar-support function, while the steering column is tilt- rather than full-height adjustable. Potential buyers at either end of the size spectrum need to try first before they buy. Laramie and up include both.

The same applies to the lack of keyless entry, necessitating fiddling with the remote key every time, as well as the AWOL digital radio, wireless smartphone charging and rain-sensing wipers. C’mon, this is a six-figure vehicle.

And while few LHD to RHD compromises exist (even the bonnet release is on the correct side for Australia), one of them is the Pentastar-shaped driver’s side mirror, which cuts out some crucial vision compared to its fully-formed and rhomboidal left-side counterpart.

Considering how colossally-sized the cabin is, storage is just okay, with the largest being a pair of shallow glove boxes ahead of the front passenger and small centre bin within the extra-bulky centre armrest unit.

Speaking of which, it’s fixed in, so does not raise like some other centre armrests to reveal a middle-front seating position. This is an Australian Design Rules stipulation, so renders what could be a spacious six-seater into a regular five-seater. Pity considering all that width.

Some aftermarket auto accessory outfits such as SCD Performance in Queensland can supply the necessary modifications including the absent seatbelt assemblies for an inexpensive six-seater conversion (as the Ram was originally built to be), but these are not valid in every state and territory so may be difficult to re-register. 

Over in the rear seat area, doors that seem to open 90 degrees reveal limousine levels of room. It’s airy and inviting if a little sparse. Plus, the huge windows roll all the way down out of sight.

The three-person wide bench feels adequate despite the fixed backrest angle while the thin cushion provides sufficient thigh support. But can the centre occupant ever win? Although few cabins are as vast, they're stuck with a tombstone-shaped protrusion that's a poor excuse for a headrest.

Note the cushion tips up to expose two deep under-floor storage lockers. The jack is below the driver’s seat so the backrest does not fold.

Speaking of storage, there are two levels of it in each back door, along with between the wide centre console vent outlets and inside the map pockets behind the front seats. A pair of cupholders reside in the centre armrest.

There are no overhead grab handles. though. Just the ones in the pillars next to each outboard occupant's face and no rear USB ports or reading lights. At least the opening back window is a boon for ventilation.

Further back, the tray is rated at 1.7 cubic metres, and comes with a bed step for easier and safer access, a sprayed bedliner, lighting, four fixed tie-down hooks, a damped tailgate with central locking and a towbar with wiring, but everything else, like a folding hard tonneau, costs extra, of course.

Still, with V8 power and a 4500kg towing capacity, the Big Horn does exactly what it says on the label.

If the Big Horn’s pleasing exterior design and considerate interior presentation don’t get you, then surely what’s behind that grille will.

From the moment the quadrophonic Hemi V8 begins to burble away at idle, you’re transported back to a bygone era of steampunk industrialism. This engine is its own, living sentient being.

Defying the Big Horn’s sheer size and mass, the 1500 bolts off the line like a herd of startled elephants, and will barrel along at a surprisingly rapid pace if given its head. Beware that you’re likely travelling faster than you might realise.

It’s worth calling out how beautifully calibrated the responsive eight-speed auto seems, as you’re barely aware of how effortlessly the whole truck glides along.

Being a big American, we expected the steering to be a bit dozy and the handling a handful, but the opposite is true. While neither sharp nor tactile, the Ram feels prompt yet predictably composed, even when cornering at speed, providing just enough feedback to maintain confidence as well as decorum. There’s a reassuring tautness to the chassis. Handy when zipping through heavy traffic, tight turns or fast sweeping arcs.

Actually, despite a massive turning circle being quite a hindrance if attempting a quick inner-city U-turn, somehow the Ram is light and easy to manoeuvre.

Does a great job absorbing all manner of bumps, potholes and the like.

They may be a bit too small in their huge wheel arches, but the wheels seem about right for smothering out our roads, while the suspension does a great job absorbing all manner of bumps, potholes and the like.

And, at highway speeds, the coil-sprung Ram maintains that planted solidity, even when unladen, and pulls up quickly when you need to stop fast. It’s very clear the engineers calibrated the engine, suspension and brakes to work in unison.

A brief stint away from bitumen showed effective stability and traction-control intervention over gravel, as well as enough clearance and suspension articulation for easy going over mud and sand.

The blocky and bluff design does create a bit of wind roar out on the open highway, and the protruding mirrors don’t help, but that V8 roar more than compensates. The 1500 possesses a honed sophistication we did not anticipate. Which makes the specification omissions in the Big Horn even harder to swallow, given how talented and enjoyable the latest-gen Ram is to drive and travel in.  

Its absent safety kit plays on your mind no matter where you’re driving, since you could really use the extra help of a blind-spot monitor when changing lanes, the assurance of AEB in tedious stop/start traffic or the reassurance of adaptive cruise control during an otherwise relaxing long driving stint.

If this lack of driver-assist tech isn’t an issue, the Big Horn performs the role of civilised and capable full-sized truck brilliantly. But it won’t have your back quite like the Laramie would.

Sadly, all Ram models trail their rivals, with a warranty of only three years or 100,000km, as well as three years of roadside assistance. The norm is now five years, unlimited kilometres.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 12,000km and Ram has provided us with indicative service pricing for the first three years, stressing actual numbers will vary from dealer to dealer in line with labour rates and sundry costs.

There is no capped-price servicing regime, but expect a bill of around $426 for the first service, $835 for the second and back to $426 for the third. Not outrageous for a truck of this scale.