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Road Test: Comparison Test
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2000 Full-Size Pickup Truck Comparison Test
The Big and Brawny Ones
By
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor
Date posted: 12-29-2000
Did you hear about the recent Congressional Bill H.R. 2488? Sponsored by that lovable Senator Jesse Helms, it has been dubbed the
"True American" bill. From now on, all citizens must buy a full-size pickup truck and use it to make frequent trips to Home Depot, tow large fishing boats and help friends and neighbors move. All Americans who don't comply will be deported to France to drive Fiat Puntos and drink prissy
8-ounce bottles of Evian.
In terms of vehicles, it doesn't get any more American than pickups. Barely causing a sales ripple in the rest of the world, full-size trucks are hugely popular here (in case you haven't noticed). Once just an agrarian workhorse, pickups have moved mainstream, occupying both ranchland and suburban driveways at the same time. The top two selling vehicles in the U.S. are full-size pickups. And why not? Today's trucks can do almost everything a car can do, but they also have the added capabilities of towing, hauling and off-road prowess.
Edmunds.com's previous test of full-size pickups was in 1997. It included the Chevrolet Silverado, the Dodge Ram 1500 and the Ford F-150. The onset of the new millennium seemed like a good time for another test. Chevrolet redesigned the Silverado for 1999, and both the Dodge and the Ford have received minor updates since 1997. There's also the new 2000 Tundra, Toyota's first true full-size pickup (the T-100 doesn't count).
We collected examples of each truck for our four-way comparison test. All of our test trucks came in a four-door extended-cab short-bed configuration with four-wheel drive, V8 power and automatic transmissions. Pricing was surprisingly similar, with as-tested pricing for all four vehicles being in the low 30s.
Since full-size trucks have so many uses, we felt we had to be rather general in our evaluation. We were looking for: 1) a strong powertrain that could handle heavy payloads; 2) comfortable rear seating for children or adults; 3) secure handling with a good ride quality on the pavement;
4) sure-footedness on challenging terrain or during slippery conditions;
5) a wide range of customizable configurations and optional features. In short, we wanted to find the truck that was the best at doing everything.
Beyond our normal testing and evaluation procedures that we perform for every comparison test, we also evaluated the vehicles in terms of how they performed when attacking off-road trails and how they drove with 1,000-pound payloads. We also wanted to test the vehicles in terms of towing, but not all of our test vehicles came equipped with tow packages, so we had to scratch that component of our test.
So, are you ready to find out which full-size pickup Edmunds.com recommends? Is the excitement frothing inside you so much that you can't push your computer's mouse button fast enough? Testing trucks is what we do; we do it for you. If you don't like it, go to France.
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