2026 RAM 1500 Express Crew Cab 4×2 Review: The Hurricane Six That Out-Tows the Hemi V8

The window sticker tells two stories at once.

The masthead at the top of the Monroney reads “RAM 1500 EXPRESS CREW CAB 4X2.” The body text two inches below identifies the same vehicle as “RAM 1500 TRADESMAN CREW CAB 4X2.” NHTSA’s vehicle database, decoded against the VIN on the door jamb, also returns “Tradesman.” Pull up the specs page for this exact configuration on ramtrucks.com and the URL silently redirects to /ram-1500/specs.tradesman.html.

For 2026, RAM has slotted a new “Express” trim into the lineup, one step above Tradesman, positioned as a $2,125 appearance and equipment upgrade over the base work trim. The loaner is functionally a Tradesman that wears the Express badge because the as-built configuration includes Customer Preferred Package 21D, which is the line item that converts the underlying Tradesman into an Express-grade vehicle. Three separate systems in RAM’s documentation pipeline haven’t fully caught up to the new naming convention yet.

That tension between what this truck is and how it’s marketed runs through the entire week with it.

The loaner is a 4×2 Crew Cab Short Bed with the 3.0L Hurricane Standard Output inline-six, 8-speed ZF automatic, 3.21 rear axle ratio, and the Bed Utility Group ($945) that adds the spray-in liner, the deployable Mopar Bed-Step, and the 400-watt inverter. The price comes to $51,030 as tested, including the $2,195 destination charge.

The hook isn’t the price. It’s the engine. The 3.0L Hurricane SO produces 420 horsepower, 469 lb-ft of torque, and a maximum tow rating of 11,610 pounds. That 11,610 figure is the highest tow capacity in the entire 2026 RAM 1500 lineup. It tops the higher-output 540-hp Hurricane HO, which maxes at 10,000 pounds. It tops the returning 395-hp 5.7L Hemi V8 that pulls 11,320 pounds at the high end.

The Hemi V8 returning to the lineup is the news story this year. The Standard Output Hurricane being the most capable engine in the configurator is the editorial story everyone is missing.

What It Is

The 2026 RAM 1500 is the seventh model year of the DT generation that launched for 2019. The platform is mature, the chassis is well-sorted, and the powertrain lineup expanded substantially this year. Three engines were available on the 2025 truck. Four are available on the 2026, because the 5.7L Hemi V8 returned after a one-model-year absence and joined the existing 3.6L Pentastar V6 with eTorque, the 3.0L Hurricane SO twin-turbo inline-six, and the 3.0L Hurricane HO twin-turbo inline-six.

The Tradesman is the true base trim. It starts at $42,025 for the 4×2 Quad Cab with the V6 and ranges up to roughly $54,000 fully optioned. Above Tradesman sits the new Express trim at $44,150 base, then Warlock, Big Horn, Laramie, Rebel, the off-road-performance RHO that replaced the TRX, Limited, Limited Longhorn, and the halo Tungsten at the top of the ladder.

The loaner reads as a Tradesman with Package 21D applied, which is the configuration RAM markets as an Express. The package adds 20-inch polished aluminum wheels, 275/55R20 outline-white-letter all-season tires, second-row in-floor storage bins, a rear power-sliding window, front and rear floor mats, front seatback map pockets, SiriusXM with a three-month trial, active noise control, a body-color front bumper, and a body-color rear bumper with step pads. The Bed Utility Group adds Mopar’s spray-in bedliner, pickup box lighting, a 400-watt inverter, a 115V AC outlet at the bed rail, the deployable Mopar Bed-Step, and four adjustable cargo tie-down hooks. The Hurricane SO engine option brings the active noise control system as a paired feature.

Pricing positions the as-tested loaner against the Ford F-150 XLT Crew Cab 4×2, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT Crew Cab 2WD, the GMC Sierra 1500 Elevation Crew Cab 2WD, and the Toyota Tundra SR5 Double Cab 4×2. Full specifications and the configurator live on RAM’s official 2026 1500 Express page. We put the truck head to head with both cross-shops in our RAM 1500 vs Ford F-150 and RAM 1500 vs Toyota Tundra comparisons.

Specifications

Specification	2026 RAM 1500 Express Crew Cab 4×2 (as tested)
Base MSRP (Tradesman Crew Cab 4×2)	$43,775
Destination Charge	$2,195
As-Tested MSRP	$51,030 (Base $43,775 + Options $5,060 + Destination $2,195)
Engine	3.0L Hurricane Standard Output twin-turbocharged inline-6 with stop/start
Power	420 hp
Torque	469 lb-ft
Transmission	ZF 8HP75 8-speed automatic
Drivetrain	Rear-wheel drive (4×2)
Rear axle ratio	3.21
0-60 mph	~4.9 to 5.2 seconds (manufacturer not published; third-party testing)
EPA Fuel Economy	18 city / 25 highway / 21 combined
Fuel Type	Regular unleaded (87 octane)
Fuel Tank	26 gallons
Maximum Towing (engine-rated)	11,610 lb
Maximum Payload (engine-rated)	1,930 lb
GVWR	7,200 lb (Class 2E)
Hitch	Class IV receiver, 7-pin trailer wiring
Seating	6 (split-bench front, rear bench)
Passenger Volume	117 cu ft
Maximum Interior Cargo Volume	53.3 cu ft
Wheelbase	144.5 in
Overall Length	232.9 in
Bed Length	5’7″ (67.4 in)
Final Assembly	Sterling Heights, MI
Engine Origin	Mexico
Transmission Origin	USA
U.S./Canadian Parts Content	55%
Powertrain Warranty	10 yr / 100,000 mi (2026 gas, original owner; 5 yr / 60,000 mi on resale). Loaner Monroney predated the program

The Express Trim Explained

RAM didn’t rename Tradesman to Express. The two coexist in the 2026 lineup as distinct trim tiers, and the difference between them is the $2,125 Customer Preferred Package 21D that converts a Tradesman build into an Express build.

The print and digital systems at FCA US LLC haven’t fully aligned around the new structure. The window sticker masthead reflects the as-built badging. The body text of the same sticker reflects the underlying model line. NHTSA’s vPIC database, which decodes VINs against the manufacturer’s filed specifications, returns “Tradesman” for a build that carries an Express badge in the showroom. The URL slug for the Express specs page on ramtrucks.com redirects through the Tradesman URL because the underlying CMS content tree still organizes by model line.

The practical effect for a buyer is straightforward. The truck on test is a Tradesman 4×2 Crew Cab Short Bed with the 3.0L Hurricane SO, Package 21D, and the Bed Utility Group. Whether the dealer paperwork lists it as a Tradesman or an Express is a function of which document you’re reading.

The Three-Way Engine Story

The 2026 RAM 1500 engine lineup is the most interesting it has been in a decade. The Hemi V8 returns. The Hurricane inline-six stays. The Pentastar V6 with eTorque continues as the volume base engine. And the capability rankings within those four engines are not what marketing instincts predict.

Engine	HP	Torque (lb-ft)	Max Tow (lb)	Max Payload (lb)
3.6L Pentastar V6 + eTorque	305	269	8,130	2,360
3.0L Hurricane SO (loaner)	420	469	11,610	1,930
3.0L Hurricane HO	540	521	10,000	1,490
5.7L Hemi V8 (returning)	395	410	11,320	~1,750

The Pentastar V6 has the highest payload because it’s the lightest engine in the lineup. The Hurricane SO has the highest tow rating because it has the bandwidth of the twin-turbo torque curve paired with a tow-tuned rear axle option that the Hurricane HO doesn’t get. The Hurricane HO has the highest output but a performance-tuned suspension that limits towing duty. The returning Hemi V8 sits in the middle of the lineup on every meaningful capability metric.

RAM has leaned on bonus cash to move Hemi-equipped 2026 trucks, which suggests the marketing department understands the math. The Hemi is a no-cost engine option on most trims, and with incentive money on the hood it becomes a discounted alternative to the Hurricane. The buyer choosing the Hemi is paying with capacity and fuel economy and probably saving several thousand dollars at the bottom line.

This loaner has the Hurricane SO. The detailed comparison between the Hurricane and the returning Hemi is its own article in this cluster.

Driving Impressions

Powertrain feel

At parking-lot speeds the Hurricane SO is unexpectedly precise. The accelerator pedal maps small inputs to small motion, which makes backing into tight spots and threading driveways more controllable than a 5,200-pound pickup has any right to be. The ZF eight-speed stays in first gear long enough that the truck doesn’t lurch off the brake.

Ride and handling

Active lane management catches drift early and corrects with a light hand at the wheel, not the steering yank that some pickup systems use. Day-to-day driving is straightforward. The larger turning circle that comes with the long-wheelbase Crew Cab shows up in residential cul-de-sacs and tight retail parking lots, not in normal traffic flow.

Backing this size of pickup into a defined space works better than it should. The wide outside mirrors give a clean sight line down both sides of the bed. The backup camera and the ParkSense guidance lines pick up curbs and barriers at the right distance, and the steering effort at parking-lot speeds is light enough to thread the truck between fixed obstacles without arm fatigue.

Cabin at speed and at rest

Front and rear cabin space on the Crew Cab is roomier than the stock photography suggests. The driver and front passenger have full freedom on legroom and shoulder room with the bench seat in any of its positions; the second row’s 45.1 inches of legroom is adult-comfortable on longer trips. The cloth 40/20/40 bench accommodates two adults easily across the front. Three across is something this loan didn’t test, but the middle position’s narrower seat width and lower seatback contour suggest the center seat is a short-trip-only proposition.

The air conditioning is the one area where the work-spec interior shows its limits. On full-sun afternoons in the mid-eighties, the cabin took longer than expected to settle to a comfortable temperature. The struggle was most visible at idle in stoplight traffic, when the compressor’s output drops with engine RPM and the heat soak off the asphalt builds up faster than the system can offset it. At highway speeds with airflow doing some of the work, the system kept up without complaint. A buyer in a hot-climate region might want to verify the comfort margin on a hot test drive before settling on the work-spec HVAC.

Controls and Uconnect 5

The dash-mounted rotary shifter sits close enough to the audio volume knob that a quick reach by feel, with eyes on the road and a hand to the dash, lands the fingers on the wrong control more often than it should. Two days into the loan the muscle memory adjusts. A contractor who lives in this truck would barely register the friction; for a first-week loaner driver it shows up daily.

The shifter does allow neutral selection while underway, which is useful for coasting at low speed or rolling onto a flatbed. This loan didn’t try the reverse-from-drive case with the brake pressed; it’s worth knowing whether the truck will refuse the command or comply.

The auto-park-on-exit behavior is well-engineered. Open the driver’s door and step out with the brake released, and the truck shifts itself to Park, engages the electronic parking brake, and posts a notification on the dashboard cluster. It’s the kind of belt-and-suspenders touch that catches a distracted moment without nagging during normal use.

The window-down switch is the one ergonomic miss. Start a window roll-down, cut the ignition mid-motion, and the windows stop where they are rather than finishing the roll on the few seconds of accessory power that keeps the switches live on most modern vehicles.

The Bed Utility Group Is the Right Call

The $945 Bed Utility Group is the single best value-per-dollar option line on the sticker. Five items come with it: a Mopar spray-in bedliner that would cost roughly $500 to install at a dealer after the sale, a 400-watt AC inverter accessible from the cab, a 115-volt outlet at the bed rail for jobsite power, the deployable Mopar Bed-Step that pops out from the rear bumper for bed access, and four adjustable cargo tie-down hooks that slide along the bed rail tracks.

Buying these five items aftermarket and installing them would clear $2,000 in parts and labor easily. The factory installation is cleaner, the wiring for the inverter and the 115V outlet is correctly fused at the factory, and the spray-in liner is applied to a clean bed in a controlled environment rather than over road grime.

Skipping the Bed Utility Group on a 4×2 Crew Cab Hurricane work truck is a hard configuration choice to defend.

What’s Standard, What’s Optional, What’s Missing

The standard equipment list on the Tradesman/Express in 2026 is longer than the entry-trim equipment list on a comparable Ford F-150 XLT or Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT, and the items it includes have shifted in a meaningful direction over the past three model years.

Every ADAS feature that matters comes standard. Adaptive cruise control with stop and go, blind-spot detection with cross-path alert, ParkSense front and rear parking sensors with a backup camera, active lane management with lane-keep assist and lane-departure warning, full-speed forward-collision warning, pedestrian emergency braking, automatic high-beam headlamp control, and rain-sensing wiper activation are all included before any option box is checked. The Tradesman/Express in 2026 isn’t a safety-features penalty box, which it was as recently as the 2021 model year.

The loaner’s Monroney sticker reports the federal government as not having rated the vehicle at the time of print. NHTSA has since posted results for the 2026 RAM 1500 Crew Cab in both rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive configurations: 4 stars overall, 4 stars in frontal crash, 5 stars in side crash, and 4 stars in rollover. The hardware was tested with the same electronic stability control, forward collision warning, and lane-departure-warning systems that ship standard on the Express.

Connectivity is also standard at the base level. Uconnect 5 with the 8.4-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hot spot with a trial subscription, hands-free phone and audio, Ram Connect connected services with a trial, and six speakers all ship from the factory. The optional 12.0-inch and 14.5-inch displays on higher trims add screen real estate and not much functional difference for a buyer who connects a phone for navigation and audio.

The notable omission at this trim level is leather. The cloth bench is comfortable enough for a full day in the truck, but the heated and ventilated leather seats on a Laramie or Limited are a quality-of-life upgrade that gets noticed in winter and summer. The other meaningful omission is the air suspension on the Limited and Tungsten, which the work trims structurally cannot get, and the four-corner air system on a Limited rides better than the steel-spring setup on this Express by a measurable margin.

Value Math

At $51,030 as tested, the Express Crew Cab 4×2 Hurricane SO occupies a configuration slot that almost no enthusiast publication reviews. Press fleets at Stellantis North America default to the Tungsten, the Limited, the Rebel, and the new RHO that replaced the TRX. The work trim is invisible to the editorial calendar.

That invisibility is the buyer’s gain. The Express Crew Cab 4×2 with the Hurricane SO carries the same chassis, the same eight-speed transmission, the same standard ADAS suite, the same Uconnect 5 system, and the same powertrain warranty as the $90,000 Tungsten. The differences are leather, air suspension, larger screens, more speakers, and ride-comfort luxury items that don’t change what the truck can do.

For a buyer whose use case is daily commuting plus occasional trailer duty plus weekend errands that demand a real pickup, the Express at $51,030 is the entire truck. Stepping up to a Laramie at roughly $65,000 with the same engine adds leather, a panoramic sunroof, and the 12-inch display. Stepping up to a Limited at roughly $80,000 adds air suspension and 24-way power seats. The diminishing returns curve bends sharply between the Express and the Laramie.

Cross-shopped against the Ford F-150 XLT Crew Cab 4×2 with the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 at roughly $52,000 with comparable equipment, the RAM has the tow advantage at the high end and the engine displacement advantage. Cross-shopped against the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT Crew Cab 2WD with the 2.7-liter TurboMax at roughly $50,000, the RAM has the cylinder count, the towing capacity, and the powertrain warranty advantage. Cross-shopped against the Toyota Tundra SR5 Double Cab 4×2 at roughly $48,000 with the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6, the RAM has the better infotainment system and the substantially lower as-tested fuel consumption.

The Express isn’t the prestige play. It’s the math play.

The 10-Year Powertrain Warranty

The Monroney sticker on the loaner shows the 5-year, 60,000-mile powertrain limited warranty that applied to RAM 1500 trucks through early 2026. It’s out of date. In the middle of 2026 RAM made a 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty standard across the gas-powered lineup at no additional cost, and this loaner’s sticker was printed before that program took effect.

The coverage carries one condition worth reading closely. The 10-year, 100,000-mile term belongs to the original owner. Sell the truck and the powertrain coverage drops to 5 years or 60,000 miles for the next owner. For a buyer who keeps a work truck for the long haul, a decade of engine, transmission, and driveline coverage is a genuine advantage over the 5-year, 60,000-mile terms Ford and Chevrolet still write. For a buyer who trades every few years, most of that benefit stays with the truck rather than following the driver.

Verdict

The 2026 RAM 1500 Express Crew Cab 4×2 with the Hurricane SO is a confident, modern work truck that delivers more capability than the trim positioning implies. The Hurricane SO inline-six is the most capable engine in a four-engine lineup that also includes a returning V8. The Bed Utility Group is the right option box to check. The standard ADAS suite is genuinely complete. The $51,030 as-tested price is roughly 60 percent of what a top-trim Tungsten asks, and the chassis-and-powertrain hardware is identical.

The story RAM is telling this year is the Hemi V8 returning to the lineup. The story this loaner tells is that the entry-level Hurricane was already the most capable engine in the lineup before the V8 came back, and a buyer who reads the spec sheets carefully ends up at this configuration.

Across the week of the loan I handed the keys to several contractor friends across different trades. Their reactions converged on the same conclusion: this is the configuration the working contractor buys, with the basics done well, no luxury polish to pay for, and every functional system that matters present and standard. That’s a more honest verdict than any horsepower number.

The work trim is the smart buy.

Photo Gallery

A week with the 2026 RAM 1500 Express Crew Cab 4×2 in Billet Silver Metallic, from the work site to the orchard to downtown at golden hour.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Express mean on a 2026 RAM 1500?

Express is a trim level positioned one step above the base Tradesman in the 2026 RAM 1500 lineup. It starts at $44,150 for the 4×2 Quad Cab and adds 20-inch polished wheels, body-color bumpers, in-floor storage, a power-sliding rear window, active noise control, and SiriusXM over the Tradesman. The Express badge effectively reflects the Customer Preferred Package 21D applied to a Tradesman.

Is the Express the same as the old Tradesman?

No. For 2026 both trims exist as distinct levels in the lineup. Tradesman remains the true base trim at $42,025, and Express sits above it at $44,150. NHTSA’s VIN database and some pages on ramtrucks.com still reference the underlying Tradesman model line even on builds that wear the Express badge, because the Express designation is applied via an equipment package rather than a separate model line.

Does the 2026 RAM 1500 still come with the Hemi V8?

Yes. The 5.7L Hemi V8 returned to the 2026 RAM 1500 lineup after being dropped for the 2025 model year. It’s a no-cost engine option on most trims, produces 395 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque, and tows up to 11,320 pounds.

What’s the difference between the Hurricane SO and Hurricane HO?

The 3.0L Hurricane Standard Output produces 420 horsepower and 469 lb-ft of torque, with a maximum tow rating of 11,610 pounds and a maximum payload of 1,930 pounds. The 3.0L Hurricane High Output produces 540 horsepower and 521 lb-ft of torque, with a maximum tow rating of 10,000 pounds and maximum payload of 1,490 pounds. The HO has higher output but lower towing and payload capacity because it’s tuned for performance applications. The SO is the volume engine and the most capable engine on a tow basis.

What’s the maximum tow rating for the 2026 RAM 1500 Express Crew Cab 4×2 Hurricane SO?

The engine-rated maximum is 11,610 pounds. The loaner has the 3.21 rear axle ratio, which is geared for fuel economy rather than maximum towing duty, and a real-world tow rating for this exact configuration will fall below the engine maximum. RAM’s published tow chart by configuration lists the precise number; consult the chart for the configuration you’re ordering.

What is the EPA fuel economy of the 2026 RAM 1500 with the Hurricane SO?

The EPA rates the 2026 RAM 1500 with the 3.0L Hurricane SO Twin Turbo at 18 mpg city, 25 mpg highway, and 21 mpg combined on regular unleaded fuel. The 26-gallon fuel tank gives a theoretical range of 546 highway miles on a full tank.

How much is the 2026 RAM 1500 Express Crew Cab 4×2?

The 2026 RAM 1500 Express Crew Cab 4×2 starts at $44,150 for the base Quad Cab and rises with options. The loaner reviewed here was built as a Tradesman Crew Cab 4×2 with Package 21D (the equipment package that creates the Express specification), the 3.0L Hurricane SO engine option, and the Bed Utility Group, totaling $51,030 with destination.

Is the RAM 1500 reliable?

The current DT-generation RAM 1500, which launched for the 2019 model year and continues for 2026, has accumulated 10,636 owner complaints to NHTSA across seven model years, with no critical-severity weakness categories. The prior DS generation (2009 to 2018) accumulated 14,303 complaints across ten model years with three critical-severity categories (steering, electrical, engine). The DT generation tracks significantly more reliable than its predecessor by complaint-severity classification. Full RAM 1500 reliability data by year is in our cluster companion article. Engine-specific complaint data is in The Weekly Driver’s reliability database.

How long is the powertrain warranty on the 2026 RAM 1500?

For 2026, RAM covers the powertrain for 10 years or 100,000 miles on gas-powered 1500s, standard at no extra cost for the original owner. Coverage reverts to 5 years or 60,000 miles if the truck is sold to a second owner, and diesel and fleet terms differ. The loaner reviewed here carried an earlier Monroney that still listed the older 5-year, 60,000-mile coverage because it was printed before the extended-warranty program took effect.

Manufacturer Disclosure

FCA US LLC provided the vehicle for this review with a full tank of gas.

Michael Kahn

Michael Kahn is the writer, photographer, and publisher behind The Weekly Driver. He cares about how cars drive and what they're like to own. He covers automobile industry news, car shows and events, and new car reviews. The reviews come from behind the wheel: day trips that favor back routes, treating a good meal as half the reason to go. He directs and produces the visual media, matching each car to a setting and mood that fit it. When he's not reviewing new cars, Michael races paddleboards, camels, and ostriches, along with the occasional exotic car on the racetrack, and has driven in every state and country visited.

https://theweeklydriver.com