From the February 2015 issue of Car and Driver.
As any dime-store undergrad psych major can tell you, it’s a tough climb to the top of the hierarchy of needs pyramid, the point at which we supposedly have everything we desire. There are challenges at every level, from finding solid traction in the physiological realm to cresting the summit of self-actualization. Any base full-size pickup truck has the capability to get you there, but if you’ve got around $60,000 to spend, why settle for anything less than total fulfillment in a crew-cab, four-wheel-drive, luxury salon on stilts?
So the dean of the needs hierarchy himself, Abraham Maslow, is in the metaphorical driver’s seat for this comparison of top-of-the-line, half-ton personality haulers. Of course, Chevrolet and Ford are here, as are Ram and Toyota.
Naturally, the paradigm-shattering event that inspired this test is the all-new 2015 Ford F-150. Now fitted with a cab and bed that use aluminum instead of steel for every panel except the fire wall, the F-150 is potentially the great breakthrough the truck world has been secretly craving. But there’s still some cognitive dissonance here as this now mostly aluminum truck was maxed out for our test with the highest “Platinum” trim. Will a turbocharged V-6 be enough to overcome such an internal contradiction?
In general specifications, the Chevrolet Silverado is stunted. It’s mostly steel, there are leaf springs supporting it in back, and the engine is a straightforward pushrod V-8 that shares its bore spacing with the small-block that Chevy introduced 60 years ago. But there’s a primitive satisfaction that comes with familiar engineering; it’s a comfort zone where minds can relax. And, according to the trim, that zone is sold as the High Country.
Cushioning the world’s vicissitudes with a set of air springs, the Ram 1500 is practically a mood stabilizer. Under its hood is a Hemi V-8 featuring the only iron engine block in the test. Further, it is upsetting that this cowboy-chic Ram Laramie Longhorn can’t figure out if it’s a large sheep, a town in Wyoming, or a cow.
Toyota’s Tundra appears here in elongated “CrewMax” form, which sounds suspiciously like a hormone-therapy drug. The V-8 under its hood is equipped with four cams and 32 valves, or as many valves as Chevy and Ram use combined. Like the F-150, this Tundra is a “Platinum” model, though the only use of that metal in the truck is likely a few precious grams in the catalytic converters. That may be authentic enough for marketing purposes, but it’s hardly a coherent personality strategy. Relax on the chaise as we examine further.
Fourth Place: Toyota Tundra
The Tundra is indeed a rolling existential crisis. Toyota’s profits don’t depend upon it, and it seems developmentally challenged anyway. Just more than 100,000 were sold last year, and it’s not clear how many people—save those who assemble it in Texas—would miss the Tundra if it were to go away. It’s been 16 years since Toyota sold its first Tundra, and these teenage years are proving awkward.
HIGHS: Toyota quality, the rear window goes down.
LOWS: Unrefined feel, thirsty, cheesy interior.
THE VERDICT: A generation behind. Okay, a generation and a half.
The Tundra was refreshed for the 2014 model year, and most of its substance is familiar from the 2007 redesign, including the chassis and the 381-hp 5.7-liter DOHC 32-valve port-injected V-8 under the hood. Eight years ago the engine was class-leading. Today it sounds ragged and loud. And while the Tundra’s V-8 is more powerful than the F-150’s EcoBoost V-6, it trails behind all contenders in torque production.
Light, unsettled, and fitfully communicative steering has the $49,820 Tundra always feeling as if it’s driving on tippy-toes, though the P275/55R-20 Bridgestone Dueler tires are the same size as those on two of the other trucks. The rear axle is always dancing beneath its leaf springs instead of settling down for a freeway cruise. There’s an anxiety built into the chassis that cries for a Freudian reengineering.
Designed to emphasize its mass, the Tundra’s styling didn’t earn much affection. Too self-conscious, verging on the insecure. Inside, the plastics look cheap, and the diamond-tufted leather upholstery accents seem archaic. The seats themselves are accommodating, the instrumentation is easily scanned, and visibility is excellent. But the navigation and infotainment system is outmoded. Break out the smartphone.
This is the only pickup in which the entire rear window rolls down electrically, and that’s a boon to anyone running the Tundra with a shell or camper. And since this is an extended CrewMax model, rear legroom is epic.
Roaring through the six gears of its automatic transmission, the 5894-pound Toyota made it to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 15.3 seconds at 92 mph. That’s ahead of the even heavier Ram, but well behind the lighter Ford and Chevy. The Tundra’s combination of prodigious weight and short highway gearing resulted in a worst-in-test 14-mpg observed fuel economy.
The Tundra is a capable hauler and Toyota trucks have a hard-won reputation for long-lasting durability, but that’s not enough to earn it any love, much less esteem.
2015 Toyota Tundra Platinum 4x4 CrewMax
381-hp V-8, 6-speed automatic, 5894 lb
Base/as-tested price: $48,975/$49,820
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 6.7 sec
100 mph: 19.3 sec
1/4 mile: 15.3 sec @ 92 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 189 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.71 g
C/D observed fuel economy: 14 mpg
Third Place: Ram 1500
Leaving its former identity as a Dodge behind, the $57,810 Ram 1500 has a significant advantage over the other players here. Its air-sprung suspension produces the most controlled and comfortable ride. In fact, it rides so well that it calls into question why the others are sticking with rear leaf springs for the relatively light duties that half-ton pickups encounter.
HIGHS: lick and smooth air suspension, lots of storage in both the cab and fenders.
LOWS: Weight dampens reflexes, narrow bed floor, the rotary shifter is fey. Fey is a real word.
THE VERDICT: The best Dodge truck to never wear the name.
What that suspension has to contend with, however, is 5964 pounds of Ram. While that’s only 70 pounds greater than the Toyota, it’s almost 400 more than the Ford. That mass smothers performance. The 5.7-liter Hemi pushrod V-8 is rated at 395 horsepower and feeds its torque to an eight-speed automatic transmission, but it takes 7.4 seconds for the Ram to hit 60 mph and 15.7 seconds for the quarter-mile to pass at 88 mph. That weight also shows up in braking distances, with the Ram taking 10 more feet, for a total of 199, than the next-worst pickup in the stop from 70 mph.
In normal traffic, the Ram doesn’t feel slow or strained, but the steering is numb and takes a bit more effort than the other trucks’. It’s a small price to pay for the composed ride. And there’s something amusing about a truck that lowers its own ride height during cruising for aerodynamic efficiency, then boastfully announces its achievement on a screen between the tach and speedometer. It’s a smug one, this Ram.
Though the Hemi lacks leading-edge tech such as direct injection, it has a cylinder-deactivation system that shuts down half the combustion chambers under light loads. That helps the Ram carry the same EPA mileage ratings as the lighter Silverado, or 15 mpg city and 21 highway. On our test, we ran in, up, and around California’s Panamint Valley, chasing wild burros and getting buzzed by low-flying F-16s while achieving an average of 15 mpg, 1 mpg better than the Tundra.
A rotary dial at the bottom of the center stack selects the transmission gears and may seem wimpy compared with the big sticks in the other trucks, but it pays off. It frees up the center console for oversized cup holders and a massive storage bin under the armrest. The rest of the interior is straightforward, intuitive, comfortable, and full of interesting surfaces. The front captain’s chairs are regal, there’s plenty of room in the back, and the material quality is a big leap forward for Chrysler products.
There’s no identity crisis with the Ram. Its appearance is a direct development of the little big-rig styling introduced for the 1994 model year. Adding the optional, usable RamBox bins in the rear fenders makes it better but shrinks the floor down to 51 inches wide for the length of the bed. That’s between 13.6 and 15.4 inches narrower than the others.
Still, the Ram is lovable. And that’s always something.
2015 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn Limited 4x4 Crew Cab
395-hp V-8, 8-speed automatic, 5964 lb
Base/as-tested price: $53,770/$57,810
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 7.4 sec
100 mph: 20.7 sec
1/4 mile: 15.7 sec @ 88 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 199 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.71 g
C/D observed fuel economy: 15 mpg
Second Place: Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Chevy’s full-sizer is consistently familiar. Though it was all-new last year, it doesn’t look that much different from the previous three generations of big Chevy pickups. There’s nothing particularly novel in its chassis design, either, and the body is made mostly of plain old steel. It’s a truck’s truck: unpretentious, self-confident, and full of classic virtues such as a column-mounted shifter. And at 5658 pounds, it’s only 81 pounds heavier than the aluminum F-150.
HIGHS: Athletic, handsome, easygoing, powerful.
LOWS: Stiff ride, overwrought upholstery.
THE VERDICT: The Channing Tatum of pickups.
More than two inches shorter in height than the other trucks, the Silverado seems to hunker down on the road. From inside, it feels comparatively smaller, tidier, and easier to place between parking-lot lines. The Chevy’s ride is stiffer than the Ram’s and the Ford’s, but its steering is more responsive with better feedback. There’s a direct, engaging feel to how the Silverado drives that’s missing from the other trucks.
At 420 horsepower, the direct-injection, variable-valve-timing, 6.2-liter EcoTec3 small-block V-8 is the most powerful in the test, and it’s complemented by GM’s new 8L90 eight-speed automatic transmission. It’s a version of the same transmission now offered in the Corvette, and it keeps the engine in the thick part of its power band without resorting to manual shifting. The wide ratio spread, along with GM’s cylinder-deactivation system, allowed this large V-8 to average 16 mpg, matching the Ford’s turbo V-6.
Considering the Silverado’s power and weight, we expected it to be the test’s rocket. But at 5.7 seconds to 60, it was actually a tenth behind the Ford. Even so, by the end of the quarter-mile the Chevy’s additional horsepower showed up to beat the Ford by a tenth, running the distance in 14.3 seconds at 98 mph. Clearly, Ford and Chevy pickups remain as closely matched as they ever were.
The column shifter frees up center-console space, and the Silverado’s infotainment system was the easiest to master using the eight-inch touch screen built into the center stack. The dash design is straightforward, with most controls oversized and conventional dial gauges where so many vehicles have gone digital.
Soft upholstery in a caramel hue with contrasting piping and stitching makes the interior feel like the world’s most comfortable five-seat catcher’s mitt. Buster Posey’s signature should be embroidered on the headrests.
Our scoring has the Silverado finishing behind the F-150. The Chevy is good enough that something as simple as a styling preference or the need for your business to use magnetized signs on the truck’s doors could sway a purchase without regrets. This is a truck that’s easy to embrace. It knows what it wants to be.
2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 High Country 6.2L 4WD Crew Cab
420-hp V-8, 8-speed automatic, 5964 lb
Base/as-tested price: $54,540/$56,485
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 5.7 sec
100 mph: – sec
1/4 mile: 14.3 sec @ 98 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 186 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.73 g
C/D observed fuel economy: 16 mpg
First Place: Ford F-150
The new F-150 seems engineered to make us forget that it’s made of aluminum. Everything is oversized, from the shiny plastic door handles thick enough to fill your palm to the heavy doors that need to be muscled open like a 737’s. Inside, the seats are fulsomely tufted, the dashboard appears massive and blocky, and there’s a huge shifter in the center console that could have been salvaged off the bridge of the HMS Ark Royal. Ford has saved some weight by going nonferrous, but it’s not about to cede the F-150’s reputation as a tough hauler.
HIGHS: Excellent tech package, sweet power of the EcoBoost turbo V-6, quiet.
LOWS: Feels heavier than it needs to, thirstier than it should be.
THE VERDICT: Built like a beer can, drives like a tank.
And it hasn’t saved that much weight. At 5577 pounds, this $61,520 F-150 still weighs more than two Fiesta STs. It’s the lightest truck in this test, but not by as much as it should be. There’s truth to the quip that by saving 600 pounds, Ford finally got its truck to weigh as little as a Chevy.
That noted, this F-150 is as quiet as an aluminum tomb. Good insulation and excellent management of the air around the vehicle keep down noise. The sounds that are heard—some tire rumble, a hint of turbo whine—are muffled or pleasant.
With an eight-inch digital screen embedded between the speedometer and tach, the F-150 offers the most advanced and easiest to read instrumentation. Throw in the new 360-degree camera system that eases everything from hitching up a trailer to crawling over obstacles at low speed and the Technology package here is the most fully realized and the best available. The Sync entertainment system still isn’t as intuitive or as smart as we’d like, but it’s getting better.
With rear leaf springs, the F-150 can’t match the Ram for ride quality, and it isn’t as athletic as the Silverado, but its ride-and-handling balance may be the best. Though some found the steering too light, others thought it nicely weighted, even if it doesn’t have much to say.
The twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 bears a rating of 365 horsepower. It’s well matched to the six-speed automatic transmission, but extracting the performance one expects in today’s trucks means keeping the turbos on boil almost all the time. That burns fuel, and the F-150 only matched the Silverado’s 16 mpg during our mixed on- and off-road exploration of the Panamint.
The perfect truck—the self-actualizing full-size hauler—would be as nimble as the Silverado, ride like the Ram, and pack in the useful technology of the F-150. Right now Ford is the best compromise, even if perfect fulfillment still eludes it.
Ah hell, Abraham Maslow probably never drove a truck anyhow.
2015 Ford F-150 Platinum 3.5L EcoBoost 4WD SuperCrew
365-hp twin-turbo V-6, 6-speed automatic, 5577 lb
Base/as-tested price: $55,980/$61,520
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 5.6 sec
100 mph: 16.4 sec
1/4 mile: 14.4 sec @ 95 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 179 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.75 g
C/D observed fuel economy: 16 mpg
John Pearley Huffman has been writing about cars since 1990 and is getting okay at it. Besides Car and Driver, his work has appeared in the New York Times and more than 100 automotive publications and websites. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara, he still lives near that campus with his wife and two children. He owns a pair of Toyota Tundras and two Siberian huskies. He used to have a Nova and a Camaro.
