Ram 1500 vs Tesla Model 3

What's the difference?

The Ram DT 1500 Big Horn does exactly what it’s supposed to do, but comes at a cost.

Despite being comfortable, practical, powerful, enjoyable to drive and just so damn likeable overall, there are too many absent safety and convenience features, making it difficult to recommend this base grade.

But, do please consider the Laramie instead, because for under $20K extra, it roundly remedies the Big Horn’s most serious omissions, making it one of the most complete full-sized luxury utes available.

Laramie is where the value lies in Ram. More is more in this case.

The Model 3 Performance is one of those cars that’s undeniably impressive in almost every way, and hugely fast in absolutely every way, and yet can somehow still leave you feeling slightly cold. Or at least damp with fear sweat.

It’s not my kind of sports car, but if you love speed, and EVs, and Tesla, you’re gong to think it’s the Queen Bee’s knees.

Publishers: Please place the following in BOLD after the verdict:

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

Handsome and consistent in design, the DT is arguably the most elegant big American truck out there, brandishing a strong and purposeful stance, yet without the exaggerated aggression of the slightly-smaller and narrower DS it replaces.

Skilfully sculptured flanks provide a taut, muscular appearance that manages to sidestep the intimidating bulk of rival body-on-frame utes. This is a shockingly friendly-looking truck.

Just keep in mind that, at over six metres long and nearly 2.1m wide, the Ram does not quite fit into regular Aussie parking bays, with nearly a metre of overhang to contend with. Driving this in Melbourne's CBD meant few legitimate spots to leave it, so the 1500's best for the 'burbs or the bush.

At the other end of the size spectrum, even the comparatively tiny 18-inch alloys don’t seem too ridiculous beneath the massive wheel arches, though the Laramie’s 20s do a much-better job of filling them up just right.

If you’re still on the fence about extending that 1500 lease by $18K for the latter, just take a look at those weedy halogen headlight bulbs, demonstrating the Big Horn’s confounding cost-cutting measures in dull incandescence.

Never mind. At least the good-looking vibes continue inside the big Ram’s incredibly spacious cabin.

Tesla’s design folks waxed long and loud about how they’d finally been able to visually lift and separate this Performance Model 3 from the basic one and they point to the new front and rear fascias, more aggressive styling, aerodynamic flicks, integrated cooling ducts, rear diffuser and carbon-fibre spoiler, which are there not only to look good, but to to “optimise lift balance and high-speed stability”.

Now, I’ll grant you it’s better than a normal Model 3, and that we were regularly approached by excited Tesla fans asking “is this the NEW PERFORMANCE OH MY GOD I WANT ONE NOW?!?"

But honestly, I still think it’s a bit subtle, and that includes the strange little 'Performance' sticker/badge on the rear, which does look a lot like the Ludicrous symbol that Elon loves, from the awful movie Spaceballs, but Tesla staff insist it’s not, nor is it Plaid. 

Clearly, the design tweaks are there for a reason, and train spotters will note the differences immediately, but it’s still just not the most exciting car to look at, nor is it anywhere near as exciting to behold as it is to drive.

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.

Inside, the big news is the new seats. Tesla was happy to admit the pews fitted to the previous Performance just weren’t up to the job of holding humans in place when applying so much G force. 

The new 'Sport Seats' feature enhanced side cushioning and side bolsters for better lateral support during dynamic driving. And they can also be heated and ventilated. 

Elsewhere, there’s some carbon-fibre trim on top of the dash, with a Tesla-first weave pattern to further help the Performance stand out within the Model 3 line-up.

Other than that, it’s pretty standard Tesla sedan, which will be familiar if you’ve ever caught an Uber in Los Angeles. Spartan, minimalist, slightly cheap-feeling.

As for the practicality of the tech, I'm still against the giant 15-inch tablet-style touchscreen, for everything, the replacement of an indicator stalk with buttons and not having a speedo right in front of your eyes, where you need it.

Tesla says the price for the Model 3 Performance will be "starting at" $80,900, plus on-road costs. There's no word on whether there will be different spec levels and the company does not like answering questions or providing information.

What we also know about Tesla is that the price quoted could move down, or up, at any time, quite randomly, so if phrases like "residual value" or "depreciation" are of interest to you, it can be a challenging brand.

That side swipe aside, this sounds like astonishingly good value for this much performance from your Model 3 Performance. A Hyundai Ioniq 5 N would give it run for fun and involvement, if not brand fans, but it's $111,000, while a Porsche Taycan kicks off at $164,000 (it is a lot more car for the money, but it might struggle to keep up with this Tesla, at least in base model form).

In terms of equipment, it's pretty much standard Model 3 fare, other than the fast bits and a spot of carbon here and there.

You get 'Autopilot' included, of course, but you can't use all of its 'Full Self Driving functionality' on Australian roads. Not yet, anyway.

The Big Horn’s Hemi V8 is pretty much the same as found in any other Ram 1500, meaning a 5.7-litre 90-degree overhead-valve V8, making the same 291kW of power (at 5600rpm) and 556Nm of torque (at 3950rpm) as before.

Tipping the scales at 2572kg, our Big Horn 6’4” version boasts a power-to-weight ratio of 113.1kW/tonne. Even with very low mileage, we managed a 0-100km/h sprint time of 7.5 seconds.

What is new is the 'eTorque' mild-hybrid system, which introduces a belt-driven generator and 48-volt battery for a slight boost in torque as well as brake-energy recuperation and stop/start functionality in the name of efficiency.

Drive is sent to either the rear wheels in 2WD mode or all four wheels in 4WD mode via an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission. A full-time on-demand transfer case is fitted, offering '2WD High', '4WD Auto' and '4WD High' / '4WD Low' along with a locking rear differential.

Suspension is by A-arms and coil springs up front and a five-link coil-sprung arrangement out back, with a solid rear axle. Ground clearance is 217mm, while approach, ramp-over and departure angles are 20, 18.7 (5’7”model) / 16.9 (6’4” model) and 21.7 degrees, respectively.

Payload is 878kg in our 6’4” version and towing capacity is 4500kg using the correct 70mm tow ball.

If you’ve ever driven the previous Model 3 Performance you’ll know that it could well have come with Space X badging (arguably Elon’s more impressive engineering achievement), because it really did thrust rather than accelerate.

But this time the engineers wanted to go all out. Customers appreciated the incremental performance they got from the last Model 3 Performance version, but they told Tesla they wanted more.

With many enthusiasts among Tesla's engineering and development team, they looked to unlock the performance potential of the platform.

So, that meant a whole lot more madness and torque thump. It comes from a new Performance 4DU, an all-new drive unit - featuring an entirely new rear motor that uses bar-winding technology - unlocking 22 per cent more continuous power, 32 per cent more peak power and 16 per cent higher peak torque delivery. 

Overall figures are 380kW and 740Nm, but looking at them written down, they seem big, yet not as big as they feel in this car, as it’s shoving you from a standing start to 100km/h in three seconds flat. 

It feels faster. Sick-making fast, even.

As mentioned earlier, the 1500’s eTorque mild-hybrid system aims to improve efficiency. To that end, you’ll find a stop/start function and brake-energy recuperation, as well as cylinder-deactivation at speed, turning this into a four-pot Hemi under light cruising loads.

Ram says the combined cycle average fuel consumption figure is 12.2 litres per 100km, which equates to a carbon dioxide emission reading of 283 grams/km.

Running on standard unleaded petrol, the theoretical range average is over 800km, thanks to a sizeable 98-litre fuel tank. Note that E85 ethanol petrol is not recommended.

We managed 14.6L/100km pump-to-pump, which was just 0.6L/100km more than the 1500’s trip computer displayed. That's not bad considering the performance testing we carried out.

However, no towing was conducted during our time with the Big Horn. Doing so would have produced much higher consumption figures all-around.

Despite being heavier and gruntier, Tesla claims the new Performance Model 3 manages to be more efficient than the one it replaces, albeit delivering just a two per cent reduction in energy consumption. Claimed energy usage is 16.7 kWh/100km.

Tesla claims a total range of 528km on the WLTP, which is obviously going to drop if you drive it the way its makers clearly intended.

Using a Tesla Supercharger, you can add 228km in 15 minutes and... that's all Tesla will tell us. There are no official figures available for how long a full charge takes, on either a Tesla charge or a home wallbox of your own.

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.

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.

Very occasionally, one drives a car that makes the human body feel inadequate to the task. I would have worried that I’m getting old, that my body is simply too flubby and my brain too broken, to cope with the kind of wild acceleration and brutal g-forces the Model 3 Performance delivers.

But, fortunately, I had a videographer in the passenger seat, a much younger man who loves fast cars, and he kept threatening to vomit when I drove it hard, too. 

I’ve driven quite a few cars that you can use make your passenger sick, or hurt their necks - one obvious competitor in the shape of a Porsche Taycan Turbo S comes to mind - but it’s very rare that a vehicle is so intense it can make you, the driver, feel bilious.

Yes, you do bring this on yourself, by choosing to push this Performance anywhere near its limits through particularly sharp and intestine-shaped roads like the canyons outside Malibu Tesla chose to launch it on. 

On longer, sweeping bends it was far more of a joy, and less physically punishing, but in the tight stuff it often felt like corners were being thrown at you, as if you were driving behind the Millennium Falcon and being pulled along in its wake.

The brakes, special new sporting ones with track-ready pads, were up to the task, even though it often felt like they couldn’t possibly pull you up from the speeds you were doing.

And yes, it was entirely my fault that the very first time I even gently prodded the throttle and it launched me ahead past a California Highway Patrol officer, that was my fault too. Three minutes into the drive, holding an American fine, I had already deduced that perhaps this car was too fast for my own good.

But lots of EVs are fast in a straight line, you’re really comparing the length and depth of your “oooophhh” sounds at this point, but where this one succeeds is by being a lot better in the handling and ride and cornering departments than most.

Tesla’s stated goal with this car was to move beyond straight-line speed, to become more than a one-trick pony, and to do that it’s given the Performance a stiffer structure overall and updated the springs and stabiliser bars. 

Aerodynamic changes have reduced drag by five per cent, delivered a 36 per cent lift reduction, and a 55 per cent improvement in front-to-rear lift balance.

Tesla’s own, in-house version of adaptive dampers, not an option but included in every Performance, work with the car’s 'Vehicle Dynamics Controller' through its various modes - 'Insane' and 'Track' being the most… ludicrous - to immediately respond to driver inputs. 

The Performance rides well on LA’s awful concrete freeways but feels absolutely nailed down when you attack even a bumpy driver’s road.

This version also has a lot more power going to the rear wheels, to help it feel more sports-car playful and to fire out of bends the way an enthusiast’s car should. And make no mistake, I met them, the people behind this car are serious driving enthusiasts (although they demur, slightly, on whether their boss is one).

Track mode will allow some serious adjustability, drifting ability and fun, so the kind of people who want to hurl around a racing circuit in silence will love it.

Perhaps the only let downs are that it still feels a bit austere inside, just not very special, and that the steering is just a bit digital, soft and uninvolving, compared to the cars they clearly benchmarked against - BMWs and Porsches. 

Tesla provided no information about safety for the Performance Model but it is assumed it will be unchanged from a standard Model 3.

Aside from Autopilot that means auto emergency braking, lane keep aids, and instead of blind-spot monitoring, it gets the surround radar view and blind-spot cameras when you indicate.

The latest Model 3 has an additional centre airbag for a total of seven, as well as additional bolstering where the doors meet the body in response to requirements in its American home market.

It should be able to carry its maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating, which the original version achieved in 2019.

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.

Again, we've been asked to assume the Performance will come with Tesla's standard four-year/80,000km warranty and roadside assistance. And that the battery and drive unit will fall under an eight-year/192,000km warranty, whichever comes first.

Tesla says it monitors its cars to ascertain when they need servicing, and so it is based on a case-by-case situation. Every 12 months/20,000km is recommended for a general check-up, and includes tyre rotation.

Wiper blades, brake fluid and cabin air filters need replacement every two years while the air-con service is every six years.

Of course, there are no oil changes, filters or spark plugs to replace, and even brake pad wear is less than on an ICE vehicle because of the regenerative braking system. Although it will likely be higher in the Performance variant.