This week I am behind the wheel of the 2026 Ram 1500 Longhorn Crew Cab 4x4, and it feels a whole lot like the Limited Longhorn I reviewed back in December, but there is one huge difference under the hood. That December truck had the returning 5.7-liter Hemi V8, which made a lot of Ram loyalists very happy. This one goes the other direction with the 3.0-liter Hurricane High Output twin-turbo inline-six, and while it won’t give you the V8 rumble, it delivers the kind of power that will make you forget your favorite Hemi song for a few seconds.
What’s new for 2026 is not a full redesign, since Ram did its major 1500 update for 2025, but the big news is still significant. The Hemi V8 returned to the lineup on select models, and Ram is now offering a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty for retail buyers. This particular Longhorn does not have the Hemi, but it does have the most powerful version of the Hurricane engine, which is the right choice if you care more about power and smoothness than exhaust music. It’s a tough call for your favorite automotive talk show host and dedicated car reviewer.
Performance
The Hurricane High Output is a 3.0-liter straight-six with twin turbochargers, and it is putting out a whopping 540-horses and 521 pound-feet of torque. That is a lot of power for a luxury half-ton pickup, and it comes through an 8-speed automatic transmission.
A turbocharger uses exhaust gases to spin a turbine that forces more air into the engine, and with two turbos working together, the engine can make strong power quickly and smoothly. Since all six cylinders are in a straight line, this engine is naturally smooth, and the high-output calibration gives it serious punch when you hit the accelerator.
Exterior
My review truck is finished in Molten Red Pearl-Coat, which is a terrific color on this big Ram and I think this is one of the prettiest trucks to ever grace my driveway.
It has a lot of chrome, a bold grille, LED lighting, 20-inch premium painted and polished wheels, power-deployable running boards, and just enough Western-luxury flair to make it look upscale without looking like it is trying too hard.
The stance is right, the color really pops, and this is one of those trucks that looks expensive before you ever open the door.
Interior
Inside, the Longhorn cabin is still one of the best in the truck business. The Bison Brown interior, premium leather seats with filigree stitching, real wood-looking trim, metal accents, and Longhorn badging give it the Western luxury look Ram has done so well for years.
The front seats are heated, ventilated, massaging, and extremely comfortable, and the same detailing carries into the rear seat. This is not a work truck with leather thrown in as an apology. This is a true luxury cabin that just happens to have a pickup bed attached.
The dash is dominated by the large vertical 14.4-inch Uconnect 5 touchscreen, which comes as part of the Limited Level A Equipment Group on this truck. It is quick, easy to operate, and handles navigation, audio, climate functions, apps, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, vehicle settings, camera views, and more. There are still physical controls for volume, tuning, temperature, and fan speed, which I appreciate, because not everything in life needs to be hidden three menus deep.
The 12-inch digital driver display is sharp, the head-up display is useful, and the passenger-side interactive display screen gives the right-seat rider something to do besides complain about your driving. That screen for the passenger is an awesome addition and solidifies this as a true luxury pick-em truck, as we like to say here in Texas.
The center console is massive and extremely useful. It has sliding wood-look covers, lots of storage, cupholders, a deep center bin, dual wireless charging pads, USB ports, and enough configurable space to make you wonder how you ever lived with a normal console. Ram has always been terrific at interior storage, and this truck keeps that reputation intact.
The second row is enormous, and that is one of the best things about the Crew Cab Ram. Rear-seat passengers get a flat floor, tons of legroom, heated and ventilated seats, rear vents, charging ports, storage, and beautiful leather trim that matches the front. The rear seats fold up easily, and there are in-floor storage bins, which remain one of Ram’s better ideas. Adults will be perfectly happy back there on long trips, which is not something you can say about every pickup.
Utility
Utility is strong, too, but this truck is configured more for luxury and convenience than pure work-duty abuse. It has the 5-foot-7-inch bed, RamBox cargo-management system, a tri-fold tonneau cover, an exterior 115-volt outlet, cargo tie-down hooks, a deployable bed step, a Class IV receiver hitch, trailer brake controller, tow hooks, and a power tailgate.
The RamBox storage built into the bedsides is extremely useful for tools, tie-downs, emergency gear, or whatever else you don’t want rolling around inside the cab. Just note that this truck does not have the multifunction tailgate that was on the December review truck, and it also does not have the 22-inch wheels, panoramic roof, GT exhaust, or trailer tow mirrors from that one.
Standard Equipment
Standard equipment is extensive. The Monroney shows the Longhorn comes with 4-corner air suspension (a must-have in my book), 3.92 rear axle ratio, rain-sensitive windshield wipers, active noise control, 33-gallon fuel tank, power tailgate, premium leather seats, massaging driver and passenger seats, heated and ventilated front seats, heated and ventilated rear seats, power adjustable pedals with memory, 12-inch digital cluster, passenger interactive display, dual wireless charging, 19-speaker Harman Kardon premium audio, wood/leather-wrapped heated steering wheel, dual-zone automatic climate control, power-deployable running boards, LED projector headlights, LED fog lamps, LED taillamps, and tow hooks.
Safety
Safety features include active driving assist, active lane management, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, blind-spot and cross-path detection, full-speed forward collision warning, ParkSense front and rear park assist, pedestrian emergency braking, and a ParkView rear camera.
Options
The option list on this Longhorn is important, because the big-ticket items add a lot more than just fluff. The base price is $76,405, and this truck has $7,090 in factory options before the $2,595 destination charge. The Molten Red Pearl-Coat exterior paint is $295, and it looks outstanding on this truck. Customer Preferred Package 22K is $495 and adds the “Longhorn” badge, premium door trim panels, and a warm-chrome key fob. It is not a huge package in terms of content, but it does add some of the finishing touches that help give this truck its upscale Western-luxury personality.
The Bed Utility Group is $545 and brings the deployable bed step by Mopar and four adjustable cargo tie-down hooks by Mopar. Those are practical additions, especially if you actually use the bed. The step makes getting in and out of the bed much easier, and the adjustable tie-downs give you more flexibility when securing cargo. If I were ordering this truck for myself, I’d spring for the $1,095 multi-function tailgate.
The big one hass the Limited Level A Equipment Group at $5,460. This package adds traffic sign recognition, hands-free active driving assist, evasive steering assist, intersection collision-assist, drowsy driver detection, a 240-amp alternator, Uconnect 5 navigation with the huge 14.4-inch touchscreen display, the RamBox cargo-management system, a digital rearview mirror, tri-fold tonneau cover, head-up display, surround-view camera system, exterior 115-volt AC outlet, 12-way/1-way trailer connector, and the steel standard hood. Finally, the trailer brake controller is a separate $295 option, and that is money well spent if you tow. Add everything together, plus the $2,595 destination charge, and this Longhorn comes to $86,090, right in line with the top trim levels of the competition, and of course, that is before any discounts or factory incentives.
Ride and Drive
On the road, the Ram 1500 remains one of the smoothest-riding pickups you can buy. The 4-corner air suspension is a big part of that, and the cabin is very quiet. The Hurricane High Output engine is extremely smooth and very fast when you want it to be, with torque coming on quickly and the 8-speed automatic doing a great job of keeping the truck in the right gear. It does not sound like the Hemi, and if you are a V8 person, that matters. But in pure performance, this engine is a beast. It pulls hard, it is refined, and it makes this big luxury truck feel much lighter than it is.
MPG
Fuel economy is the tradeoff. This truck is EPA-rated at 15 miles per gallon in the city, 21 on the highway, and 17 combined. That is not wonderful, but with 540-horses, 4-wheel drive, a big Crew Cab, and a luxury interior that looks like a high-end ranch house on wheels, nobody should be shocked.
Verdict
The 2026 Ram 1500 Longhorn Crew Cab 4x4 is a beautiful luxury pickup with a knockout interior, a fantastic ride, and serious power from the Hurricane High Output engine. Compared with the Hemi-powered truck I reviewed in December, this one gives up some sound and old-school character, but it gains a lot of smooth, effortless performance. This can be your pickup, your luxury car, your road-trip machine, and your rolling office. It is expensive, but it feels expensive, and in today’s truck world, that is not always guaranteed.