Pickup Trucks By The Numbers: Who Wins On Fuel, Power, Towing, Payload

There's a whole lot of dick-measuring happening right now on how half-ton trucks stack up on power, fuel economy, payload, and maximum towing capacity. Here's your guide to decoding what every US automaker's truck in this class is really putting down.

This chart compares half-ton pickup trucks sold in the US. To see some specs on the US market "mid-sized" trucks, check out this chart right here.

2WD Half-Ton Pickup Trucks

4WD Half-Ton Pickup Trucks

Things to note; the "maximum payload" and "maximum towing capacity" don't necessarily reflect specs of the same truck, it's a pure "top end." Some models had lower payload maxes to get the highest max towing and vice versa. Max capacities on both those figures are also generally referring to when a "tow package" is fitted.

Chevy Silverado figures are identical for the GMC Sierra.

So, what can we see here?

GM's still holding down the power crown with their 6.2 V8. Even Ford's mighty 3.5 EcoBoost V6 can't come close on power... though it pulls 3 more combined MPG.

The GM 6.2 is also close enough on towing that the difference is almost negligible, but the payload max in Ford's 3.5 EcoBoost and 5.0 V8 are untouchable by anybody at a whopping 3,300 pounds.

Ram's EcoDiesel puts out a fine effort on twisting power with 420 lb-ft of torque, but Ford's 3.5 EcoBoost matches it there. Of course, the EcoDiesel gets 3 MPG better in combined driving and 4 better on the highway.

Toyota and Nissan's maximums basically look pathetic stacked next to the Big Three, and makes a pretty clear case as to why they trail so hard in sales. Their engines are much bigger, and generally make way less power at the cost of more fuel.

And finally, a useless fact...

If you add up the peak power of each automaker's most powerful pickup, you get 1,898 horsepower!

Want to see all these broken-out by category?

I thought seeing every stat in one spreadsheet would be the best way to compare the pros and cons of each truck, but here's each attribute in it's own chart for closer scrutiny.

Highest Horsepower & Torque By Make

Best Fuel Economy By Make

Towing

Payload