Top 5 Great Trucks Nobody Buys: Surprising Overlooked Gems

As the July 2016 truck sales reports were released last week we thought it’d be fun to look at the trucks that get overlooked – either by consumers or manufacturers. These are the Top 5 hidden gems of the pickup truck world. They are also something you possibly could get a good deal on considering their low numbers… if you can find one, that is.

2015_nissan_frontier

#5: Nissan Frontier – If the Tacoma and Colorado/Canyon twins are the new kids on the block then the frontier is the “stay off my lawn!” guy. It has been around seemingly forever and Nissan is tight-lipped about a replacement but it continues to chug away as a capable everyday workhorse. When equipped with the Pro 4X package it is also an excellent off-roader.

Toyota Tundra

#4: Toyota Tundra – It’s no surprise that it’s taking forever to get a new Tundra. The largest auto manufacturer in Japan is not known for rushing new products to market. The tradeoff is reliable vehicles that rarely let you down. Just check out this 1,000,000-mile Tundra that Andre caught during a recent trip to Texas.

2017 GMC Sierra Denali 2500 HD

#3: GMC HD – We actually see a lot of these trucks in the Denali trim level but not so much in base form. It is apparently the truck of choice for the successful contractor who wants to be coddled during drives to the job site. We are often asked to test base model trucks – and we would like to – but manufacturers simply don’t send them to us.

2016-ford-f-150

#2: Ford F-150 5.0L V8 – EcoBoost is all the rage with the kids these days but what about a good ‘ole American V8? That’s right, when you need to tow and haul there’s still room for a naturally aspirated V8. The old adage concerning a replacement for displacement still holds. Can you believe the 2017 Raptor will only be available with a twin-turbo V6?

2016-ram-1500-hemi-rt

#1: Ram R/T – A throwback to the sport trucks that were popular in the early 2000s, the 1500 R/T is a single cab short bed pickup with a 395-hp, 410-lb-ft Hemi V8 that feeds power only to the rear wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission. Not the most practical truck – it has just two bucket seats – but perhaps the funnest.

Watch the video at the top of the page to find out why Andre and Nathan like these trucks so much.