Which truck should i buy

Towing Pickup trucks are well-suited to hauling boats, cars, utility trailers, and campers behind them. Buyers can have the manufacturer or dealer install towing equipment, or they can add it themselves, using aftermarket parts. Purchasing from the factory is the best choice because installation could involve complex wiring for the trailer brakes and lights, special attachment points for the tow hitch, and accessories such as a heavy-duty alternator and a transmission oil cooler.

In addition, the manufacturer-engineered packages come backed by the factory warranty. Most pickups can be ordered with a trailer-brake controller. Other available towing features include a hill hold assist, trailer sway control, a transparent trailer-view camera that allows the driver to seemingly see through the trailer, and steering assist that compensates for a trailer.

They include cab and bed size, wheelbase length, rear axle ratio, and the presence or absence of a factory towing package. The differences can be significant: A properly equipped truck can safely tow more than 12, pounds, but some configurations are limited to as little as 5, pounds.

A typical compact pickup truck can tow between 5, and 7, pounds, and most full-sized class trucks can handle 9, to 12, pounds. Heavy-duty pickups can be configured to tow over 35, pounds. For ambitious hauling or towing, consider getting a diesel engine; many are available in both regular and heavy-duty models.

The higher torque output associated with diesel engines makes heavy towing easier. Ride and Handling Trucks are designed to carry weight in the bed, so most deliver a stiff ride when the bed is empty. The heavy-duty models are borderline punishing. Some models, such as the Honda Ridgeline and Ram , have made the greatest strides in delivering a reasonably comfortable and quiet ride.

With just about any truck, placing even a modest load in the bed helps calm the ride somewhat. But when it comes to handling, the sheer bulk of many of these gargantuan machines means that buyers should abandon all hope of nimble moves.

Again, compared with full-sized trucks, the compact models have an edge when it comes to responsive handling—relatively speaking. However, buyers should expect trucks to have clumsy and somewhat ponderous handling. Further, our road tests detail issues regarding child seat installation and headlight performance. Forward collision warning FCW , automatic emergency braking AEB with pedestrian detection, and blind spot warning BSW are crash-avoidance technologies that CR believes should be standard on all vehicles.

These should be on the next new or used model you buy. AEB responds to an imminent collision, braking if the driver does not react in time. Learn more about car safety.

There are certainly benefits to buying a brand-new pickup truck. Most notably, new trucks have the latest safety gear and engineering improvements. Further, there are tons of choices for color, trim line, and option levels. And financing rates are typically lower than those for a used truck. The key drawback of buying a new truck is how quickly it will depreciate.

When you need to pull heavy trailers or multi-ton loads, a full-sized, heavy-duty truck is the most reliable. The intended purpose of the truck is the main factor determining which model is best suited for you. Toyota , Nissan , and Honda are Japanese manufacturers with a much smaller share of the pickup truck market. Full-sized pickup trucks are considered to be half-ton trucks that typically have the designation.

The full-sized models are the best sellers in the pickup truck market. These full-sized models ride higher than compact trucks and often serve as work trucks or secondary family vehicles. Pickup trucks with the to series designation are considered to be heavy-duty pickup trucks. These vehicles are designed for commercial purposes, multi-ton loads, and to haul fifth-wheel trailers. The Ram heavy-duty pickup is the and The fact is that all these different engine sizes and their accompanying transmissions together they're part of what's called the powertrain can make the pickup-truck buying process even more complicated.

Full-size trucks have the most diverse choices. The hierarchy can get convoluted here, because the engine size and pricing don't follow the same logic across brands. For example, the base engine on the Sierra is a turbocharged 2. Conversely, the top engine on the Sierra is a 6. It can get confusing. So, we suggest prioritizing what you primarily want to use the truck for before buying one. Generally, the smaller the engine, the better the fuel economy.

However, don't forget that these engines typically have to work harder than larger options to move the additional weight, which may affect fuel economy. Those who plan on towing a lot will want to look into the more potent engines as well as the diesel options that are offered on many models, even mid-size trucks such as the GMC Canyon.

Diesel powertrains are one of the more expensive options, but they tend to be more fuel efficient and have substantial amounts of torque that make towing easier. The diesel-versus-gas debate is particularly noteworthy when it comes to heavy-duty trucks, which have fewer powertrain choices than their light-duty counterparts. Of course, the cost of diesel fuel and other maintenance costs unique to these oil-burning engines have to be factored in, too. We saved the most advanced truck topic for last.

Although we don't want to get too complex, there are certain things that must be discussed when talking about a pickup truck's payload and towing capacity. Both ratings are influenced by the size and classification of the truck in question, which means bigger and heavier trucks can pull more weight behind them and haul more pounds in their cargo bed. Obscure variables such as the available axle ratios, gross vehicle weight rating GVWR , and gross combined weight rating GCWR also impact the final figures.

Higher axle ratios equal higher tow ratings. The GVWR is the maximum allowable weight of the vehicle and its passengers and cargo.

Combine that amount with the maximum weight of a trailer and its cargo, and you have the truck's GCWR. Confused yet? Expect around 30mpg from both engines. A maximum towing limit of 3,kg puts the Hilux in the middle of the class, while the load bay can carry over a tonne itself.

This is certainly one of the plushest pickups on sale right now, with the high-quality interior fit and finish you expect to find in a Volkswagen. The Amarok is fitted with a 3. All models come with selectable four-wheel drive as standard and if you choose an automatic gearbox, the Amarok is capable of towing up to 3,kg. This model comes from the more utilitarian end of the pickup spectrum than some of the others in this list.

The truck pulls strongly, but sounds a little rougher than some rivals, while its suspension is less comfortable on-road than some of its rivals, too. However, all models are just about unstoppable off-road and most are pretty cheap to buy in the first place, too, which will make them more appealing to buyers planning to use them for work.

Isuzu has cottoned on to buyers wanting a beefy-looking truck, as the D-Max is now available in a rugged-looking XTR spec. The driving experience is still quite old-school however — there's no doubting this is a commercial vehicle at heart, and it's far from being the most fuel-efficient model in the class.

A new Rhino LWB model gives you an even longer bed 1. The Ford Ranger Raptor is unlike any other pickup on this list. It stands much higher than the standard pickup, and few cars offer the same presence. While a similar pickup sold in the United States would probably come with a huge V8 petrol engine, the Ranger Raptor makes do with a bhp 2. It has a lot of pulling power but is far from the quickest vehicle around, which might surprise you given its looks.

At least it costs roughly the same to run as a normal Ranger. If you need the space but not the rugged off-road and loading capabilities of a pickup, then check out our guide to the Best eight seater cars. Towing with an electric car, hybrid or plug-in hybrid - what's the capacity and can you tow a caravan?

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