Unless you’ve been living under a rock recently, you will likely know of the Ram TRX. It’s a very simple formula where Ram 1500 + Hellcat engine = one of the most exciting pickup trucks to hit the market. But how does it fare against a purpose-built off-road vehicle like the Can-Am Maverick X3 Turbo RR? Thankfully, The Fast Lane Truck is here to answer that.
In comparing the two, there will be a drag race on dirt, a time trial on dirt, and a drag race on pavement. While these two machines produce their performance in very different ways, we’d wager that the results will actually be very close.
Since the first challenge involves a straight-line sprint, we’d be remiss not to mention power numbers. Sure, the TRX has over 700 horsepower (521.9 kilowatts) compared to the Can-Am’s 195 hp (145.4 kW), but the Maverick is a featherweight next to the Ram – it turns out that the supercharger on the TRX is actually bigger than the engine of its smaller rival. As such, the latter was victorious in the first race, but the former took the victory after another run.
The dirt time trial was much the same story where both competitors were incredibly close on the timesheets. While the TRX was five seconds slower, the driver was being very conservative in his run – we certainly don’t blame him though, as the base truck comes in at an eye-watering $69,995.
The drag race on paved ground proved to be a bit of a role reversal where the Hellcat engine powered the pickup to an easy victory. However, on a second attempt after getting a better launch, the Mav was victorious. While both of these competitors are incredibly different, it’s impossible to escape the fact that the Can-Am X3 starts at less than half the price of the TRX.