2027 Ram TRX SRT vs Ram 1500 RHO: Which Off-Road Truck Should You Buy?

When the Ram 1500 RHO debuted for 2025, we drove it back-to-back against the outgoing Ram 1500 TRX to see whether Ram’s new twin-turbo performance truck could live up to the supercharged legend. You can read that original comparison here. Now, after driving the all-new 2027 Ram 1500 TRX SRT both on-road and off-road, it is time to revisit the matchup. With 777 horsepower under the hood and the RHO still in the lineup, the question is no longer whether the RHO replaced the TRX. Instead, which Ram performance truck is the better buy?

Why the Ram RHO Was Never Meant to Replace the TRX

When the 2025 Ram 1500 RHO went on sale in the same model year, many blow-hards claimed that the company had replaced the TRX with the RHO. Company executives were clear to point out that the RHO was not replacing the TRX and that the RHO is simply another high performance off-road option, similar to the Ford F-150 Raptor lineup with two different performance levels. Around that same time, company execs stated that the TRX was not dead, it was simply put on a shelf for the future. Well, the future is here, the TRX is back with more power and more than ever, it is clear that the RHO was not a replacement for the TRX and the new TRX is not the replacement for the RHO.

TRX SRT Gets More Power, and It’s Noticeably Quicker

When the 2025 Ram 1500 RHO came to market with 540 horsepower and 521 lb-ft of torque, it was only a tenth of a second slower in a sprint from 0-60, thanks in part to the weight advantage of the twin turbo I6 over the supercharged V8. Although the 2024 TRX had a pretty substantial advantage in power, with 702 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, it was not dramatically quicker than the RHO. That is no longer the case.

Now that the 2027 Ram 1500 TRX offers 777 horsepower and 680 lb-ft of torque, it is able to rip from a stop to 60 miles per hour in the mid-three-second range. While it is more or less impossible to feel that tenth of a second difference between the 2024 TRX and the 2025 RHO, the difference of over a second between the two 2027 trucks is far more noticeable.

Ram RHO VS Ram TRX SRT Off-Road

A key component of each first media drive for the Ram 1500 TRX SRT and the Ram 1500 RHO has been an off-road test course with some big jumps. The suspension and chassis tweaks made between the 2024 TRX and the 2025 RHO allowed the RHO to handle a bit better thanks to the lighter front end. Also, while both trucks can easily spin the big off-road tires in the dirt, the RHO made better use of the available power, allowing to feel a bit quicker on the off-road course.

The new TRX with more power will still spin the tires in the dirt, but thanks to Baja mode, even when the TRX is spinning the tires, it accelerates more quickly than any other truck on the market today. This allows the TRX to hit jumps harder, leading to more hang time, and thanks to the revised Jump Detection system in the 2027 TRX, the supercharged truck offers a clear advantage in the most extreme off-road situations. At the same time, both trucks feature the same chassis and suspension components, so in terms of low speed off-roading, the two Ram 1500s are equally good – and equally better than any of the competitors.

High Performance Ram Trucks on Paved Roads

The 207 Ram 1500 RHO and 2027 Ram 1500 TRX SRT both rely on the same suspension, wheels and tires, so they ride very similarly to each other on smooth, paved surfaces. The huge sidewalls of the off-road rubber leads to a slight decline in cornering when compared to a low profile tire, and the high ride height allows more body roll than with a lower-riding pickup. Considering that the RHO and TRX have tires and suspension systems designed to handle rough terrain, both trucks handle nicely under normal, everyday driving on public roads. More importantly, the beefy tires absorb more of the bumps in the road surface, so these trucks present a more pleasant ride than many people would expect.

In terms of on-road performance, the new TRX feels much quicker in a drag racing situation than does the RHO, but with a difference of 237 horsepower and 159 lb-ft of torque, it comes as no surprise that the blown V8 has an official 0-60 time that is more than a second quicker than the RHO. When you hammer the throttle of the new TRX, that sprint to 60 in the mid-threes is evident and getting to 100 in about 10 seconds is absolutely wonderful. After all, we are talking about a huge off-road truck that scoots to 60 as quickly as my Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat while also being just a touch slower to 100 than the legendary muscle car. That is hard not to love.

Value: Is the TRX Worth $26,200 More?

The 2027 Ram 1500 TRX SRT offers EPA fuel economy ratings of 10mpg around town and 14mpg on the highway. The 2027 Ram 1500 RHO offers EPA numbers of 14 around town and 16 on the highway, giving the RHO a pretty significant advantages in fuel economy. The new TRX has a base price of $102,790 while the RHO starts at $76,590, so the RHO has a huge advantage here – starting over $26,200 less than the TRX.

Before deciding which truck offers the better value, here’s a side-by-side look at the key specifications, fuel economy and pricing. While the TRX clearly dominates in outright performance, the RHO remains significantly less expensive while offering much of the same capability.

The Bottom Line

The return of the TRX doesn’t make the RHO obsolete. The RHO remains one of the best performance bargains in the off-road truck segment, delivering serious capability for more than $26,200 less. But if maximum acceleration, the supercharged V8 experience and the ultimate factory performance truck are what you want, the 777-horsepower TRX stands alone. The RHO is the smart buy. The TRX is the dream truck.