In recent years, pickup trucks have become notably less popular.
Nowadays, people who would have owned a truck in the past now ride around in boring and mundane SUVs and crossovers. As vehicles become more complex and innovative, the truck has diminished in popularity, in favor of SUVs and crossovers.
While SUVs and crossovers serve a purpose, there are many reasons why trucks are better than SUVs and crossovers. Here are ten reasons why you should own a truck and not an SUV.
10. Value
As crossovers flood the market, they have become a dime-a-dozen. There are so many Honda CRVs and Nissan Muranos on the roads and in the dealerships that they are worthless.
"Real" SUVs are no longer as common as they used to be, and come at a premium when compared to their pickup truck counterparts.
If you look at a Honda CR-V from 2012, it retailed at $26,095 for a mid-range EX model. According to Kelly Blue Book, in the year 2017, a 2012 CR-V EX with around 50,000 miles would sell for around $14,500. That works out at $2,319 of yearly depreciation, which admittedly isn't awful.
Now, if you look at a Chevrolet Silverado from the same year, it retailed at $33,035 for a four-door, RWD, crew-cab variant. According to Kelly Blue Book, an example with 50,000 miles would sell for around $22,500. This works out at just $2,107 of annual depreciation, which trumps the Honda.
And while the Silverado did cost more to purchase new than the CR-V, you do get a 4.8 liter V8 producing a respectable 302 horsepower and 305 foot-pounds of torque out of the deal.
Plus, driving one doesn't make passersby assume that you're an accountant or a soccer mom. A win-win, if you ask us.
9. Hauling, Towing, and Off-roading
Many people argue that you need an SUV such as a Land Rover or a Jeep to haul anything or go off-roading. This simply isn't the case.
While Jeeps have a traditional coil-spring suspension setup and Land Rovers have these very complex air-suspension setups, many modern pickups utilize archaic leaf springs for the rear suspension.
While leaf springs aren't your best option for handling, they are perfect for hauling. They can take quite a lot of weight, making them better for pulling things than SUVs.
Furthermore, they have significantly greater cargo capacity. The thing is, SUVs have roofs over their cargo areas. Pickups usually don't.
As a result, you have the entire sky to stuff full of cargo. Though there are some constraints to this idea, such as the laws of physics, it's still good to think about.
8. Versatility
Trucks are much more versatile than SUVs. No other vehicle can take your family to dinner, your boat to harbor, or your pigs to market like a truck can.
Okay, yes, you can take your fancy Range Rover out to dinner, tow a boat, and throw a pig in it.
The problem is, pigs are quite nasty. When a pig defecates on your 100% grain leather interior, you will have a frankly awful evening of cleaning it up.
If you had bought a Silverado or a Ram instead, all you had to do was throw the pig in the bed and carry on about your day. If it decided to do its business, all you need is a hose and you're good to go.
7. Equipment
The days have gone where the interiors of trucks were about as bland and boring as most U.S. congresspeople.
Nowadays, trucks can be as luxurious as many modern luxury cars, with plush leather seats and advanced infotainment systems available.
The latest Ram interior is shown above, the best example of luxury in modern pickups. It is quite nice to have the capability of a truck with the luxury of, dare I say, a Mercedes.
6. Fuel Economy
Pickup trucks are no longer the big V8 gas guzzlers that they have been known to be. I mean, you can still get virtually any truck with a big V8, but you can also get a smaller displacement six-cylinder.
Ford has a 2.7 liter turbocharged "EcoBoost" V6 which is the base engine in the F-150 lineup. It produces a respectable 325 horsepower and can get 19 miles per gallon city and 26 highway, which is quite good given the weight of the truck and its power output.
5. Easy to Modify
The modification scene for trucks is very well regarded. Trucks tend to be very easy to repair and modify, hence the massive pool of available aftermarket parts for any mainstream pickup truck. Lift kits, chunky tires, and massive wheels are very easy to find for a reasonable price. There isn't a huge Dodge Durango or Honda CR-V modifying scene, is there?
4. Image
Trucks will always have a certain road presence unparalleled by any car. A pickup will always stand out in a fleet of boring, mundane, cars and SUVs. A truck is like a nice suit; it will never (completely) go out of style.
3. Variety
There is a wide variety of trucks available in the United States. If you need just a small truck to drive the family around, you can have it.
If you require something a bit bigger, you can go for a Silverado, Ram, or F-150. If you need something, really big, you can have a Ford F-650. The possibilities are endless!
2. Safety
The great thing about modern trucks is that they have many of the same safety features that modern cars have. The one thing that a truck has that a car doesn't is massive weight. As a result, high weight combined with modern safety amenities makes it much more likely for any passengers to survive a crash with little injury.
1. Nostalgia
As a result of our great nation being more concerned about fuel economy and style than anything else, the truck is a dying breed. While it will never entirely disappear, they are becoming less and less common in people's driveways. Trucks have existed almost as long as the car itself has.
The fact of the matter is, you can't compare a Dodge Ram to a Kia Sorento. That's a bit like comparing peanut butter to Benito Mussolini. There is absolutely no correlation at all.
Trucks are great, and America wouldn't be the nation it is today without them.
This post was originally published on December 3, 2019.
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