Car and Driver ranked the "Best Mid-Size Pickup Trucks" and "Best Full-Size Pickup Trucks" based on roughly 200 data points encompassing acceleration, handling, comfort, cargo space, fuel efficiency, value, and how enjoyable they are to drive. 

Car and Driver's rankings are arrived at from the results of instrumented testing of more than 400 vehicles each year and from our expert editors' subjective impressions gained in real-world driving.

Winner, Winner: 2023 Best Mid-Size Trucks

For 2023, the following seven trucks were named as "best" of the mid-size pickup truck category: 

• 2023 Honda Ridgeline

• 2023 Chevrolet Colorado

• 2024 GMC Canyon

• 2023 Jeep Gladiator

• 2023 Nissan Frontier

• 2023 Ford Ranger 

• 2023 Toyota Tacoma

Winner, Winner: 2023 Best Full-Size Trucks

For 2023, Car and Driver named the following 10 trucks as "best" of the full-size pickup truck category: 

• 2023 Ram 1500

• 2023 Ram 1500 TRX

• 2023 Ford F-150

• 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor

• 2023 GMC Sierra 1500

• 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

• 2023 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2

• 2024 Toyota Tundra Hybrid

• 2024 Toyota Tundra

• 2024 Nissan Titan

How Does Car and Driver Test these Trucks? 

For more than 60 years, Car and Driver has been performing vehicle tests and sharing the results with the public. Those tests have changed over the years, currently focusing on the following areas: 

• Performance testing.

  • Acceleration

  • Braking

  • Maximum cornering (skidpad)

  • Following set test-vehicle prep protocols

• Interior sound level (noise/vibration/harshness).

• Fuel economy and driving range. 

  • Highway fuel economy test at 75 mph on a 200-mile out and back loop.

  • Highway driving range.

  • Observed fuel economy. 

• Cargo space and storage.

  • Carry-ons (how much standard luggage can it fit?)

  • Ping pong balls (filling interior pockets with ping pong balls)

  • Lift-over height.  

• Visibility and seating height. 

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