Overview

When Ram Trucks Australia last had the Express grade present in its 1500 line-up, it was a great mover of metal. In the previous DS-generation 1500, the Express ran from 2018 through to 2024 before the new-gen DT arrived, during which time it accounted for almost  50 per cent of Ram’s locally-converted volume.

Now, it’s back, and with it so are expectations at Ram’s local office that the 1500 Express Black Edition will once again become a core part of the range – and it all comes down to cost.

Priced at $109,950, the 2026 Ram 1500 Express Black Edition is the most affordable factory-backed full-size pickup in Australia with  a $5000 lead on the next-cheapest segment offering, Ford’s F-150 XLT.

It’s also within striking distance of Ford’s other mega-ute, the Ranger Super Duty, which in newly-minted XLT pickup form retails from $99,990. Both have 4.5-tonne towing capacities, but the 1500 Express provides substantial gains in size, cabin space, power and torque over Ford’s superhero medium ute.

Counterbalancing those advantages, however, is the Express Black Edition’s stripped-down spec’ sheet. After all, with $32,000 separating the Express from the Ram’s mid-range 1500 Laramie Sport and 1500 Rebel, a substantial right-sizing of the equipment list was necessary.

As such, the infotainment screen shrinks to a mere 8.4 inches across, the leather upholstery is substituted with cloth, the door trims lose all of their soft-touch elements and even the rear bench seat loses its 60/40 split – though it does at least fold up in a single piece to permit in-cabin cargo carriage of big boxes.

Even the dual-zone climate control you’d normally find in a Ram 1500 is gone, replaced instead by a completely manual single-zone air conditioning system.

Audio?

While the Laramie Sport and Rebel get a 19-speaker audio system, the Express Black Edition gets just six – and no volume control on the steering wheel, either.

How about power-adjustable pedals?

Sorry - the Express doesn’t even get a height adjuster for the driver’s seat. The provision of standard side steps feels properly generous by comparison, and thank god they didn’t delete the reversing camera and front/rear parking sensors from the spec’ sheet either.

But what the Express Black Edition does get are the pure basics when it comes to a truck that needs to do truck things. The bed is still big, still fitted with a sprayed-on tub liner, and still accessed via a convenient spring-loaded extendable rear bumper step.

An integrated light illuminates it, and built-in adjustable cargo rails help you position tie-downs exactly how you want them. One other advantage: the Express holds a significant payload advantage over all other 1500s, with a total 1014kg payload rating and a combined tub/towball load limit of 520kg (the Rebel is rated for 500kg, the Laramie Sport 480kg, and the Limited just 460kg.)

In the cabin, the loss of luxuries like the passenger-side 10.25 infotainment display is actually a good thing, because it liberates a space in the dash for a very capacious cubby hole that’s arguably far more useful.

Speaking of, you also still get the under-floor storage compartments beneath the rear footwells, which are great for stowing wet gear or muddy boots.

And there’s also no loss under the bonnet. The Express still receives Ram’s tremendously grunty and quite likeable 3.0-litre twin-turbo ‘Hurricane’ petrol inline-six, which makes the same 313kW and 635Nm outputs that the Laramie Sport and Rebel get (Only the 1500 Limited makes more, with its High Output Hurricane producing 403kW and 703Nm).

The 4WD system does get a slight downgrade, with the auto 4WD mode that every other 1500 variant enjoys not being present in the 1500 Express, and no locking differential. That said, it still retains a low-range transfer case and has the same gearing as the rest of the range

Driving impressions

It’s a pleasant thing to drive, the 1500 Express, particularly on outer-urban and country roads where the 1500’s bulk is rarely a factor (though tight bridges can get squeezy) and the absence of traffic and intersections mean you can enjoy its plush suspension and the relaxed and torquey powertrain.

The twist-knob gear selector takes a little getting used to, being mounted above your left knee and obscured by the steering wheel, but throw it in Drive and mash the accelerator and the engine’s masses of mid-range torque get the 2.5-tonne Express moving smartly, even chirping the rear tyres on the first-to-second gear change.

Ram’s decision to focus on the Hurricane inline six instead of bringing back the V8 was a solid decision – it’s easily the superior motor.

It’s not an efficient motor – the factory claim is 10.74L/100km and we only saw 13.4L/100km over mainly country road driving – but it’s definitely easy going.

That said, we didn’t have the opportunity to drive a heavily laden example or do any towing to really see how mass affects fuel burn.

The transmission is a little less likeable, holding high gears for a little too long when gradients increase and only responding with a downshift after the accelerator is given a substantial push. Manually controlling the gearbox is possible, but it’s a painful task given the up/down buttons are located on the face of the steering wheel and respond slowly.

There’s no big complaints about the suspension, though. Bump suppression and vibration isolation are superb, the coil spring suspension and huge 20-inch alloys and their 275/55R20 tyres easily flattening sharp-edged potholes and bridge expansion gaps. Adaptive cruise control also survived the de-contenting process, which is handy for long journeys, and can be flipped over to regular cruise control if you prefer.

And even though it’s pushing a great volume of air aside, the cabin remains quiet at highway speed. This is definitely one of the more comfortable rigs to drive long distances, and gives nothing away to its higher-priced rivals in that regard.

It’s somewhat refreshing that the 1500 Express Black Edition retains all of those pragmatic traits of load-carrying ability, long-distance comfort and a strong powertrain despite also being the most affordable in its segment. Buyers won’t be receiving much in the way of modern luxuries, but we’re willing to bet that there’s a good chunk of Australians who didn’t want them anyway.