2026 Ram 1500 Hemi V-8 Review: Sometimes It’s Not About the Numbers
Key Points in This Review:
- The 2026 Ram 1500’s newly available Hemi V-8 makes less power and costs more than the truck’s turbocharged inline-six engine, but it makes better sounds.
- Other aspects of the Ram 1500 Hemi V-8 driving experience, like braking, steering, and ride and handling, are similar to other Ram 1500s.
- More affordable trim levels, like the Warlock and Lone Star, offer nicely finished interiors, while the high-end Longhorn brings a western-style motif.
The full-size pickup truck class is a game of numbers. An automaker will release a horsepower, torque or towing number that’s trumpeted as “best in class” — only to be eclipsed by a competitor when its new pickup rolls out. This perpetual one-upmanship is part of what makes the return of the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine to Ram’s 1500 light-duty pickup so interesting; it’s less powerful but more expensive than its twin-turbo six-cylinder counterparts.
2026 Ram 1500 | Cars.com photo by Christian Lantry
Related: He(mi) Is Risen! Ram Resurrects Famed V-8 Option for 2026 1500 Pickups
Rated at 395 hp and 410 pounds-feet of torque, the Hemi V-8 isn’t the most powerful engine in the 1500 lineup by a long shot; it’s less powerful than both the regular-output twin-turbo inline-six engine, which makes 420 hp and 469 pounds-feet of torque, and the high-output version of this engine, which makes an impressive 540 hp and 521 pounds-feet. And despite its lower output, the Hemi costs $1,200 more than the regular-output six-cylinder and is a no-charge option versus the high-output six.
1 / 112026 Ram 1500 | Cars.com photo by Christian Lantry
Makes the Right Sounds
- Takeaway: With its burble at idle and roar when accelerating, the Hemi V-8 sounds glorious, and the powertrain overall is well tuned and responsive.
So, why would you pay more for less power and torque? The reason becomes clear the moment you press the start button and the Hemi V-8 fires to life with a satisfying V-8 burble that turns into a roar when accelerating. Ram was smart to make the GT exhaust system that had previously been available for the Hemi V-8 standard, as it lets you better hear what you’re paying for: those satisfying V-8 noises. The exhaust system has a nice tune overall, letting you hear enough of the engine when cruising to know what’s under the hood while not being so loud to be annoying on a longer trip. And when you get into the gas pedal and the eight-speed automatic transmission kicks down, that exhaust note is ratcheted up immediately.
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One of the most impressive aspects of the Hemi V-8 powertrain is its responsiveness. Part-throttle kickdowns happen swiftly, and the automatic transmission works well in general with the V-8. And despite all the noises the V-8 makes, it’s a smooth, refined engine. Perhaps not as silky as the twin-turbo six-cylinder, but not far behind.
The rest of the Ram 1500 driving experience is much the same as it was in the refreshed 2025-model-year truck. Braking response is good for a full-size pickup, with more pedal feel and linearity than you get in other trucks. The Ram steers with a light touch, but it’s easy to put the truck where you want whether you’re on-road or off.
1 / 72026 Ram 1500 | Cars.com photo by Christian Lantry
About the make
RAM
Stellantis’ Ram pickup trucks are some of the bestselling trucks in the U.S., competing with Ford’s F-Series and GM’s Silverado and Sierra.
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Ram also had a trailer loaded with a classic pickup that was hitched to a Longhorn trim level, and the Hemi V-8 pulled this setup with ease, readily accelerating the truck up to highway-merging speeds. I could feel the trailer tugging the truck a bit, but it wasn’t excessive. This trailer’s combined weight of 6,100 pounds was well below the Hemi-powered Longhorn’s maximum towing capacity of 9,960 pounds, but it’s not out of the realm of what an owner might hitch to their truck. The Ram’s available towing mirrors have power adjustments for both the upper and lower mirror sections, which is nice, but the mirror housing is big and, combined with the nearby front roof pillars, can block your view when checking for cross traffic at an intersection.
Interior and Technology
- Takeaway: Even lower trims of the Ram 1500 have good interior quality, but the available 12-inch infotainment touchscreen was noticeably laggy.
Besides the high-end Longhorn model, Ram also had less expensive trims available to drive, including the Texas-themed Lone Star. Rather than the Longhorn’s intricate western-style stitching and open-pore wood trim, the Lone Star interior has simpler materials, but its touch points are still nice, with rubberized door-panel surfaces and a high-grade feel to the cab’s switches and buttons. The fabric-trimmed driver’s seat has firm cushioning, but it was comfortable for me, and I like the versatility offered by the available front bench seat that lets you have three-across seating or room for two with a large armrest in between.
1 / 82026 Ram 1500 | Cars.com photo by Christian Lantry
The Ram 1500 has a standard 8.4-inch infotainment touchscreen, and portrait-style screens that measure 12 or 14.5 inches are available. The 12-inch screen had a noticeable amount of lag when going between menus like navigation and audio, which was concerning to see in a brand-new vehicle. In our experience, touchscreen lag only gets worse the older the vehicle gets.
Shop the 2026 RAM 1500 near you
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Make Mine a Hemi
- Takeaway: The Ram’s high-output six-cylinder is an impressive engine, but it lacks the wonderful noises that make the Hemi V-8 a more compelling powertrain.
The power and refinement of the Ram 1500’s high-output six-cylinder engine is impressive, and it was one of the reasons a Ram 1500 Tungsten won our 2024 Full-Size Pickup Truck Challenge, beating luxury trucks from Ford and GMC. However, when compared to the Hemi V-8 with its glorious roar, it feels like you’re only getting half the experience with the six-cylinder engine because those desirable noises just aren’t there.
Ram says that 40% of customers would switch brands if a V-8 wasn’t available, which is a huge number when you consider how much brand loyalty there is in the full-size pickup class. This statistic alone makes you wonder why Ram would have ever even considered dropping the Hemi V-8 from the 1500 lineup. That’s now water under the bridge, I guess, and if you can’t wrap your head around the pricing of the V-8, a short drive is all you need for your heart to convince you.
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Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.
Senior Road Test Editor
Mike Hanley has more than 20 years of experience reporting on the auto industry. His primary focus is new vehicles, and he’s currently a Senior Road Test Editor overseeing expert car reviews and comparison tests. He previously managed Editorial content in the Cars.com Research section.
How Much Is the 2026 Audi Q8?
By Robert Duffer
September 17, 2025
Share2026 Audi Q8 | Manufacturer image
Key points:
- For the 2026 model year, the Audi Q8 SUV starts at $76,895 (all prices include $1,295 destination fee).
- The Premium Plus and Prestige trims get more standard features for 2026.
- The SQ8 and RS Q8 performance models carry over unchanged.
For 2026, the Audi Q8 luxury SUV rolls into the new model year with more standard features and available option packages on certain trims, while the 500-horsepower SQ8 and 631-hp RS Q8 carry over unchanged. For 2026, the Q8 starts at $76,895.
Related: 2025 Audi RS Q8 Performance: Brand’s Most Powerful Combustion Engine Starts at $137,495
What’s New?
After a refresh for 2024, the 2026 Q8 SUV arrives with more standard features on the mid-grade Premium Plus and top Prestige trims. The five-seat variant of the three-row Audi Q7, the Q8 represents a sportier take on the luxury SUV, especially with the SQ8 and top RS Q8 Performance variant that was updated for 2025.
The Q8’s base Premium trim can be had with a Convenience Plus Package that blackens certain exterior trim bits and adds more luxurious interior features, such as a heated steering wheel and Bang & Olufsen sound system. The Premium Plus trim now gets dual-pane acoustic glass on the side windows for a more hushed ride, ventilated front seats, heated rear seats and other soft touches. (The SQ8 starts with the Premium Plus trim.)
For 2026, the range-topping Prestige adds rear-axle steering for more nimble handling at speed and for easier parking at low speeds. A Sport Plus Package takes a half-step to the SQ8 with an adaptive air suspension, red brake calipers, 23-inch wheels wrapped in summer tires and massaging front seats. (The RS Q8 only comes in the top Prestige trim and includes the goodies in the Sport Plus Package.)
Pricing and Release Date
The 2026 Audi Q8 family is on sale now. Full line pricing is as follows.
Q8
- Premium: $76,895
- Premium Plus: $82,095
- Prestige: $87,495
SQ8
- Premium Plus: $100,995
- Prestige: $108,495
RS Q8
- Prestige: $139,595
Shop the 2025 Audi Q8 near you
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Powertrain Specs and MPG
The turbocharged V-6 and twin-turbocharged V-8 engines carry over in the 2026 Q8 family. The Q8’s turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 makes 335 hp and 369 pounds-feet of torque. The SQ8 has a 500-hp, twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 churning out 568 pounds-feet, shaving the 0-60 mph time from 5.5 to 4.0 seconds. Then there’s the RS Q8 with the altered V-8 tuned to 631 hp and 627 pounds-feet; it hits 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds. All three models send power through an eight-speed automatic transmission to Audi’s signature Quattro all-wheel drive.
Official EPA ratings for the 2026 Q8 lineup are not yet available, but Audi says the SUV gets the same EPA estimates as the 2025 model. The EPA rates the 2025 Q8 at 17/23/19 mpg city/highway/combined, while the SQ8 returns 15/21/17 mpg. The RS Q8’s trade-off is a slash rating of 14/20/16 mpg.
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- Research the Audi Q8
Safety Features
Audi equips the 2026 Q8 with a comprehensive suite of advanced safety systems. Standard equipment includes forward collision warning with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-centering steering, blind spot monitors, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors, traffic-sign recognition and automatic high beams. Optional safety equipment includes an upgraded forward collision warning system that watches for cross traffic during turns, an automated parking system, a 360-degree parking camera, a head-up display and a night-vision camera.
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Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.
About the make
Audi
Audi is Volkswagen’s luxury brand, offering a lineup that ranges from subcompact sedans to seven-seat SUVs and includes a growing roster of EVs.
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2026 Nissan Leaf Review: Value Victory
By Conner Golden
September 12, 2025
2026 Nissan Leaf, front | Cars.com photo by Conner Golden
How Much Does the 2026 Nissan Leaf Cost?
- When it goes on sale later in the fall, the Nissan Leaf S+ trim level will start at $31,485 (including destination), making it the most affordable electric vehicle on the American market, beating out the Hyundai Kona Electric and Chevrolet Equinox EV.
How Does the 2026 Nissan Leaf Compare With Other Electric SUVs?
- Against the Equinox EV and Kona, the 2026 Leaf falls between them in charging, range and performance but beats both on price. It’s also one of the smaller electric SUVs available, with a footprint that’s closer to subcompact than compact.
It’s 2025 — electric vehicles are no longer novel. Folks don’t buy EVs just because they’re electric, and they especially won’t slide in the seat if there’s still a whiff of the dorky EV of yesteryear that carried a trunk brimming with cultural baggage. The Nissan Leaf? Oh, that’s one of the original EVs, right down to its dowdy hatch appearance and interior that managed to be boring, funky and outdated all at the same time.
Mind you, I’m talking the first- and second-generation Leaf, the latter replaced for the 2026 model year with the third gen of Nissan’s electric bread and butter. I’d never accuse the latest Leaf of being granola, as its scaled-up, sleekened exterior and genuine stylistic flair indicates it ain’t your weird aunt’s EV anymore.
Related: 2026 Nissan Leaf Goes Crossover, Finally Gets the Range It Deserves
Even before you set butt to seat, you can tell Nissan spent considerable effort to distance the redesigned 2026 Leaf from both its immediate ancestors and the workaday Nissan lineup as a whole. The minimalist interior offers a mature, measured translation of the familiar funky-futuristic design language found on so many EVs, surprisingly taking more inspiration from the current Nissan Murano than the Ariya, Nissan’s other electric SUV.
It’s a sharp-looking space to match the Leaf’s fastback exterior, which is a clear attempt to capture the enduring popularity of the SUV-style “coupe.” Emphasis there is on “SUV,” as the Leaf sheds its familiar compact-hatch skin for that of a (slightly) lifted, cladded crossover, an identity shift that slots right in with what’s popular among U.S. consumers.
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How Big Is the 2026 Nissan Leaf?
It’s a crossover, but quite a compact one. At Nissan’s first-drive event for automotive media, my Leaf test vehicle was loaded with three people, with Cars.com’s 6-foot-tall videographer sitting behind my 5-foot-11-inch frame as I rode shotgun to my drive partner. (Cars.com pays for its own travel and lodging when attending such manufacturer-sponsored events.) This arrangement required that I scoot the front passenger seat relatively far forward so as to not crush my colleague’s legs. The happy medium found my legs moderately bent against the slanted passenger footwell, with my knee resting against the hard edge of the protruding panel on the dash for the push-button gear selector.
Comparing manufacturer-listed interior dimensions between the new and previous Leaf tells the full story. For the new car, front legroom remains nearly unchanged, with an extra 0.3 inch, but it cuts a substantial 1.7 inches from rear legroom that, in turn, leeches space from the front as passengers compensate. Checking over exterior dimensions reveals more shrinkage, with the 2026 Leaf actually cutting 0.4 inch from the wheelbase and 3 inches from the overall length. Nissan-measured cargo space of 20 cubic feet behind the backseat is slightly less than it was before, but maximum cargo capacity with the backseat folded blooms by 25.5 cubic feet to 55.5.
2026 Nissan Leaf, rear angle red | Cars.com photo by Conner Golden
It gets stranger the more you compare. The new Leaf is wider than the old hatch but is both shorter in height and ground clearance. That’s no typo: If you plan on tackling the Rubicon, perhaps spring for a last-gen Leaf and its additional 0.6 inch of ground clearance over the new model’s 5.3 inches. (Editor’s note: Don’t take any Leaf on the Rubicon Trail.)
What Is the 2026 Nissan Leaf’s Interior Like?
Materials are the biggest conversation piece here; frosted plastic dash trim and controls give way to a neat textile panel that runs the perimeter of the cabin, lending a flat, matte appearance to the interior that’s a welcome change from gloss-black and faux carbon-fiber surfaces. Top-of-the-line Platinum+ grade features include heated seats and steering wheel, a 10-speaker Bose sound system, a wireless device charger, a head-up display, rain-sensing wipers and a hands-free power liftgate.
Dual 14.3-inch driver and infotainment displays arrive at the second-from-the-top SV+ trim, and they’re both responsive and high-fidelity — ditto for the current iteration of the NissanConnect infotainment system. It’s worth mentioning that some of the Leaf’s most practical goodies are reserved for the higher trims, including Google Built-In infotainment tech with route planning, a heat pump and a vehicle-to-load outlet in the cargo area.
About the make
Nissan
Nissan is one-third of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance and produces a full selection of cars and SUVs as well as the mid-size Frontier pickup.
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2026 Nissan Leaf, front-row wide | Cars.com photo by Conner Golden
How Does the 2026 Nissan Leaf Drive?
You’d think that this ground-huggin’ stance and new rakish profile indicates the new Leaf is some manner of electro hot hatch, but you’d be dead wrong. Out on some moderately snaked California mountain roads, the 2026 Leaf was remarkably uncomposed, with a weird amount of squirminess and continued rebound from the suspension over bumps. Slow steering and an incongruously firm ride combined with those body motions for a noxious carsickness concoction that had all three of us separately remarking at just how jostling the ride can be over pavement that really didn’t seem that broken or undulating.
It can’t corner or coddle worth a darn, but you can ignore everything — everything — mentioned above if you restrict the third-gen Leaf to urban surface streets or arrow-straight highways. Through the short portions of downtown San Diego and its network of wide interstates, the Leaf was utterly and entirely acceptable from a ride quality perspective, only returning a bit of squiggle through slow road dips and over speed bumps.
Stay away from the countryside, I guess. On the other end of the spectrum, the Leaf’s brake blend — or the balance between purely regenerative resistance and the physical brakes — is well tuned. All four levels of regen braking were both usable and effective, and while Nissan’s max e-Step regen mode isn’t quite one-pedal driving, it wicks away a significant amount of speed before tapering and eventually disengaging around 5-6 mph.
2026 Nissan Leaf, wheel red | Cars.com photo by Conner Golden
How Much Power Does the 2026 Nissan Leaf Have?
Power and performance from the single front-mounted electric motor is more impressive than its 214 horsepower and 261 pounds-feet of torque might indicate. Even with three dudes and a load of camera gear, the electric drivetrain’s insta-torque was more than enough for safe passing and highway merging. My test vehicle was a top-of-the-line Platinum+ grade, which comes with the more powerful motor and larger battery that most trims have; stick with the basest-of-base S grade, and power drops to 174 hp and 254 pounds-feet.
More Nissan Leaf News From Cars.com:
- All-New 2026 Nissan Leaf Remains Cheapest EV Available, Starts at $31,485
- 2026 Nissan Leaf Up Close: Third Time’s Truly a Charm
- The EV Tax Credit Is Ending; What Should an EV Shopper Do Now, and What’s Next?
- What to Know Before Purchasing an Electric Vehicle: A Buying Guide
- Here Are the 11 Cheapest Electric Vehicles You Can Buy
How Fast Does the 2026 Nissan Leaf Charge?
There are dual charge ports — a J1772-style port that supports Level 2 charging and a Tesla-style North American Charging Standard port that supports DC fast-charging at up to 150 kilowatts. Under ideal conditions, road trippers can expect to juice the Leaf from 10% to 80% in 35 minutes, according to Nissan, but make sure you pick the right trim for your needs, as range varies greatly. For now, Nissan only has range estimates for the bigger 75-kilowatt-hour battery that goes in every trim save the base S, with the S+ offering 303 miles of range, 288 miles for the SV+ and the heaviest Platinum+ having a still-solid 259 miles.
1 / 25| Cars.com photo by Conner Golden
But here’s the best part: As of this writing, the 2026 Leaf is still the most affordable EV available on the U.S market. As previously mentioned, the S+ lands at $31,485 (including destination), undercutting both the Hyundai Kona Electric and Chevrolet Equinox EV as the bargain champion, with the as-of-yet-unrevealed Leaf S presumably coming in around the $29,000 or $30,000 mark. The new Leaf is a no-brainer at its low-to-middle pricing, but the value proposition becomes foggy as you reach the $40,000 mark with a top trim.
It ain’t perfect, but this third-generation Leaf slingshots Nissan’s O.G. EV into the modern electric era while still retaining the affordability that made the nameplate so well liked in the first place. Look for your local Nissan dealer to stock them sometime later in the fall, but just make sure you absolutely, positively don’t have a curvy road on your morning commute.
Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.
West Coast Bureau Chief
Conner Golden joined Cars.com in 2023 as an experienced writer and editor with almost a decade of content creation and management in the automotive and tech industries. He lives in the Los Angeles area.
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