Most Satisfying New Pickup Trucks

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Compact, midsized, and full-sized trucks Consumer Report’s surveys reveal are the ones that make their owners (if not their dogs) happiest.

Avoiding Buyers’ Regret

If you are going to buy a new pickup truck that can cost you anywhere from a minimum of $24,000 to $96,00, it is not a decision to take lightly and at the very least you will want to be sure that it is the model that will make you happy. Especially if you are pushing the limits of your budget and will incur some serious truck debt.

Consumer Reports Latest Truck Listing

However, when it comes to buying a pickup truck today―budget isn’t everything. And the good folks at Consumer Reports realize this when it comes to analyzing their Annual Auto Surveys.

According to CR analysts on their latest listing:

The pickup trucks below are the compact, midsized, and full-sized models that most satisfy our members, according to their responses in our latest Annual Auto Surveys. They’re ranked in order of their owner satisfaction rating, starting with the best, by category. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, and not every one is recommended, because of a low test score or below-average reliability, or both. But some buyers and owners put happiness with their vehicle as a key priority.

Is It Happiness…or Loyalty?

One measure I would like to see from these Annual Auto Surveys is that of “Brand Loyalty” and how it factors into CR’s “Most Satisfying” or “Happiness” categorizations. Because the two are nearly synonymous.

Bear with me on this thought.

For good or bad, there’s a lot to be said for pickup truck brand loyalty that often can be traced back to what your old man bought back in the day and the ribbing he both dibbed out and endured from his friends. The many disparaging acronyms for FORD come to mind that still persist even to the present. “Fix Or Repair Daily” is a truism that I can identify with when it comes to those older models.

However, I take umbrage with “Found Off Road Dead” because true Ford owners never leave their fallen behind.

In other words, mining deeper into their Annual Auto Surveys data with “loyalty” as a factor under statistical analysis could reveal something more accurate than “Most Satisfying” or “Happiness” categorizations. And, I suspect that something is more akin to a love/hate type of relationship between a man and his truck. I’m also pretty sure there is a Country-Western song somewhere out there about this.

If you need further convincing, check out the pickup truck summarized list below and note how that “Predicted Satisfaction” and “Predicted Reliability” scores are incongruous if not anomalies that warrant closer consideration before making that final truck buying decision―especially in the case of the 2024 Rivian R1T!

But I digress.

Most Satisfying New Pickup Trucks

That said and done, here is a summary of those makes and models Consumer Reports list truck owners have shared were the ones that were the most satisfying.

For a more detailed breakdown of each vehicle, please visit the CR website. Note that while access to some information requires a CR membership, the potential savings make it negligible in comparison when looking for the latest information to aid your truck buying research.

COMPACT AND MIDSIZED PICKUPS

Ford Maverick Hybrid 2024

Price Range: $23,815 - $34,855

CR MPG: Overall 37 / City 33 / Hwy 39 mpg

#2 of 3 Small pickup trucks

Predicted Reliability Score: 60/100

Predicted Satisfaction Score: 5/5

Honda Ridgeline 2024

Price Range: $39,750 - $46,350

CR MPG: Overall 20 / City 13 / Hwy 29 mpg

#1 of 9 Midsized pickup trucks

Predicted Reliability Score: 57/100