2009 Pickup Truck Comparison: Auto Cross

2009 Pickup Truck Comparison: Braking Challenge Results

2009 Pickup Truck Comparison: Drag Strip Acceleration Results

2009 Pickup Truck Comparison: Towing Results

The competitors represent some of the best engineering from the minds of both Detroit and Japan, entrants this year include the 2009 Chevy Silverado 1500, the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500, the 2009 Ford F-150, GMC Sierra 1500, 2009 Nissan Titan, and the 2008 Toyota Tundra. Competition has driven the capabilities of trucks forward in such a way that this modern crop will do more than their forebears could even conceive. However, this relentless march of capability has left us at a point where numbers no longer relate to real world usability and as such the competitors have begun to differentiate. The Ram with its new focus on ride and handling, the Titan is a bit more athletic, the F-150 is the heavy hauler, which leaves the GM twins as the remaining set of do-alls in a crowd of specialists.

Crowning A Champion>

We're going to come right out and say reviewing trucks is, in a way, a bit silly. Trucks, and specifically the half-ton truck segment, are frequented by some of the most loyal product buyers in the world. Magazines and websites opining passionately on the newest offerings don't really matter for these buyers. Reviews speak primarily in this segment to first-time truck buyers, and these days those are few and far between.

But, that being said, we must crown a winner. If we go by the numbers, it's the 2009 Ford F-150 that emerges as the winner when balancing capabilities against performance, finishing at or near the top in every category. But the absolutes of the statistics leaves out the subjective feel of these trucks and ignores that people buy them for different reasons.

But, saying the Ford is the best of the bunch is simply unfair. Is it the most well-rounded? Yes. But what about the most fun to drive? Certainly not. Is it the best styled? That's up to you. Does it have the best interior? Nope. So why is it the best? It just does everything well. The F-150 is, for lack of a better term, the working man's truck. The new F-series offers the greatest capabilities and the best long-term value resting on top of a long history of accolades. It really is a great pickup, but that's not to say it's everybody's cup of tea.

Then there's the Nissan Titan, which objectively scores in last place among the competition. If we were to build a truck for the person who occasionally needed the capabilities of a truck, wanted something incredibly entertaining on the street, offered reasonable fuel economy and a no-nonsense interior. We'd be hard pressed to build something more fitting than the Titan. Think Nissan Altima in truck form.

That's not to say that nobody wants a monstrously big pickup able to out-tow almost everything, rides like an old Cadillac and has an interior you can live with if you don't look too closely at the details. That would be a slot perfect for the Tundra. A truck so good at doing its job you actually overlook it as trying too hard and delivering where it almost doesn't count anymore.

And what of the Silverado and GMC Sierra? They run down the same assembly line, but have vastly different characters. The Silverado finishes a close second to the the F-150 by the numbers and, depending on what you're looking for, could be a better truck. The GMC feels better but somehow doesn't reflect so in the scoring. In fact, when pressed to make an overall choice, we'd be in a pickle to choose the Titan or the Sierra, the two "losers" in the field. Goes to show how much personal preference plays into the decision.

Anyway, if there's one thing we learned over our two day pickupgasm, it's this — there's a truck out there for everyone who wants one. Unfortunately, there's just not that many people who want them right now.

Drag Strip Acceleration With Trailer: WINNER - Toyota Tundra

One would think the 381 HP and 401 lb-ft of torque out of the 5.7 liter V8 would be outgunned by the GM twins of Chevy and GMC when hooked to a trailer, but you'd be missing an important figure, the rear axle ratio. With a 4.30:1 final drive compare to a 3.42:1 in the GM's, stump pulling is the name of the game for Toyota. With the 6,500 lb trailer hooked up, the Tundra managed a 0-60 MPH of 13.92 and a quarter mile of 20.16 with a trap speed of 72.24. Some of our heaps in college didn't even manage that kind of speed.

Hill Climb Challenge: SPLIT DECISION

We hate to have to do this, but there wasn't an outright winner here. The Chevrolet Silverado stormed the 1720 foot hill in the fastest time with 28.91 seconds while the Toyota Tundra managed the fastest speed at the finish of 61.04 seconds. Both trucks were obviously more than capable up the climb, but the Chevy came on strong from the get-go while the Tundra had to build up a head of steam higher in the rev range.

Head back on over to the full 2009 Half-Ton Pickup Truck Comparison!

Auto Cross Course - Tie, Chevy Silverado And Ford F-150

We're not talking split decision here, we're talking dead even tie. The Chevy Silverado and Ford F-150 tied with the fastest time around the lap at 48.64 seconds and tied with fastest average speed at 30.21 MPH. That's not to say they don't corner, accelerate, and brake differently, they most certainly do. It's a matter of the three different attributes evening each other out perfectly. If this were a "fun to drive" portion, it would be a toss up between the Nissan Titan (damn that thing is fun) and the Silverado/Sierra twins, but there's no room for subjectivity here and the Chevy/Ford combo comes through to win. Full results below.

Head back on over to the full 2009 Half-Ton Pickup Truck Comparison!

Braking: WINNER - Toyota Tundra

With whopping big 13.9 inch brakes on the front and 13.6 inch stoppers on the back, it's no shock the Tundra solidly outperforms its competitors. With 5,800 lbs to drag down to a stop its a good thing its got those boat anchors too. The Tundra stopped with an average distance of 150.5 feet with the shortest stop coming in at 144.34 feet. That figure absolutely crushes the GMC Sierra which somehow finished last even though its Chevrolet brother came in second. The thing they don't tell you about those Toyota brakes though is how much they'll nag you like an overwrought nanny when the traction control gets even the slightest whiff of fun.

Head back on over to the full 2009 Half-Ton Pickup Truck Comparison!

Drag Strip Acceleration: WINNER - Chevrolet Silverado

The newly updated 2009 Chevy Silverado gets a huge boost in acceleration thanks to a 6.2 liter V8 with 403 HP and 417 lb-ft of torque mated to a six speed transmission. A brake stand combined with a matted accelerator get you to sixty miles per hour in a scant 7.04 seconds with the quarter mile following at 15.52 and 94.13 miles per hour. Darn impressive for a pickup.

Head back on over to the full 2009 Half-Ton Pickup Truck Comparison!