What do you want? What do you need? What can you afford?
If shopping for a car is tough, shopping for a truck is even tougher.
It comes down to the same three questions:
- What do you want?
- What do you need?
- What can you afford?
You should be wary of buying more truck than you need. Do you really need a massive V8-powered 4-by-4 because twice a year you haul your ATVs to the cottage and back?
Driving that fuel-sucking thing to work every day might look cool, but it could bankrupt you.
My advice would be to get something more efficient for daily use, and if you do sometimes need something bigger, well, that's what rental agencies are for.
We sampled a truck from each of the Detroit Three, all similar in basic layout but different in powertrains and other details, not necessarily to pick a winner as such, but to try and give a glimpse of the variety on offer.
Ford F-150: $19,999-$49,899
This has been the bestselling pickup truck since the earth cooled. Heck, it has been the best-selling vehicle of any type for most of that time.
The main reason: it is simply the best pickup out there.
Its ongoing success gives Ford a massive customer base that tells the company what it likes and doesn't like. This feedback loop helps keep Ford on top.
The F-Series we sampled is an interesting example of how that feedback loop works. While fuel consumption isn't likely your main criterion - you wouldn't be buying a truck if it were - Ford has determined that its customers don't want to pay for more gas than they have to.
That's the carrot. The stick is that the U.S. government is implementing fuel-economy standards for trucks, and every manufacturer has to find a way to meet them.
Ford's response is the application of technologies well-known both in bigger diesel-powered trucks and some high-performance cars: direct fuel injection, and turbocharging.
Called Eco-Boost, this concept was originally a ‘skunkworks' project done by a handful of engineers initially largely on their own time, just to see if they could do it.
Engineers can be like that.
The twin-turbocharged direct-injection 3.5-litre V6 produces the power and torque of a V8 with the fuel economy of a six.
The problem with Eco-Boost, like with a lot of fuel-saving technologies, is that if you want your fuel economy, you'll just have to pay for it.
Eco-Boost is about a thousand dollars more than the price of Ford's brand-new 5.0 litre V8 - it will take some driving to make up that difference.
Frankly, the most appealing engine in Ford's F-Series line-up is the base 3.7 litre V6.
Like the V8, it is also used in Ford's new Mustang. It produces 302 horsepower, more than enough for almost any task, and gets 8.9 L/100 km on the highway.
Chevrolet Silverado: $26,755-$50,645
My youngest daughter is a horsey type. She says horse people hate Fords, and love Chevvies. Go figure.
Not to say the Silverado isn't a very nice truck.
Actually, combined with the mechanically identical GMC Sierra, the General Motors entries have sometimes outsold the Ford.
But for reasons that escape me, GM maintains a separate brand identity for GMC, which eliminates its option for bestseller bragging rights.
We went the other way from Eco-Boost for fuel savings with the GM truck and drove a 6.6-litre Duramax turbo-diesel V8.
There's enough torque here to shove small buildings around; maybe some of those horsey people are hauling Clydesdales. Fuel consumption will be some 30 per cent better than a comparable gasoline engine.
However, with the various mandatory options necessary with the heavier engine, the diesel option will raise the MSRP by more than $10,000. So the payback calculation will be even harder to justify than Ford's Eco-Boost. Chevy, of course, offers a wide range of alternative powertrains, too.
To me, the Chevy feels a bit older than the Ford, but its dynamics aren't bad. Whether you're a horsey type or not, you'll want to give it a look.
Dodge Ram: $26,770-$48,865
Well, actually, it should be ‘Chrysler Ram,' because the truck side of Chrysler's business recently became its own brand, separate from Dodge.
It seems it'll take a while for their interior designers to grasp this - the middle of the dashboard is the only place you'll actually see the word Dodge on this truck.
A couple of years ago, Ram switched to a coil spring rear axle. Everyone knows a coil-spring axle rides better than a leaf spring, which all the other major pickup players use.
The only place I've tested a Ram back-to-back with a traditionally leaf-sprung Ford was at a Ford preview, at Ford's proving grounds, and the Ford felt better. You don't think that was a set-up, do you?
Whatever, the Ram certainly rides well, and in the 4-by-4 models we had for each brand, I'd say the Ram had the edge on that count.
Its 5.7-litre hemi V8 gives 383 horsepower worth of fast, and cylinder deactivation (it runs on four cylinders when you're loafing about) lets it eke a bit more distance out of a tank of gasoline. It actually gives the Ram decent real-world highway fuel consumption.
It is a commanding presence in anyone else's rear-view mirror, and from the driver's seat too ("As a matter of fact, I do own the damned road . . . "), emphasized by the bulbous hood.
Among the neat features on our Ram was the Ram Box, a pair of lockable compartments in the sides of the pick-up box. You can put tools in there and know they're safe.
Despite its in-your-face-and-rear-view-mirror stance, the Ram felt a little old-fashioned inside. Perhaps it was the fake wood trim?
