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Pickup Trucks : Review, Rating & Buyers Guide

The Best Pickup Truck Reviews and Best Pickup Truck Ratings

Best Consumer Products.com have reviewed and rated the best pickup trucks for our auto guide. Please let our pickup truck reviews and pickup truck ratings help you to purchase the best pickup truck.

The Reviews

2004 Chevrolet Avalanche

Antiskid control is newly available for 2WD versions of this crossover pickup truck. Avalanche is basically a Chevrolet Suburban SUV with an open cargo bed. It has four full-size side doors and a "midgate" separating cab from cargo bed. Lowering the midgate and rear seat extends the 5.3-ft cargo box to 8.1 ft. The rear window also removes and stores onboard.
Avalanche comes as a half-ton 1500 model with a 5.3-liter V8 and as a heavy-duty 2500 with an 8.1-liter V8. Each offers rear-wheel drive with optional traction control or GM's Autotrac 4WD that can be left engaged on dry pavement and includes low-range gearing. All models have automatic transmission, antilock 4-wheel disc brakes, and standard seating for six; front side airbags and OnStar assistance are optional. Other options include heated front bucket seats, leather upholstery, and a sunroof. Also optional are power-adjustable pedals, satellite radio, and rear-seat DVD entertainment. Available on 2WD 1500s is the Z66 Premium On-Road package that includes a sport suspension with rear self-leveling, and for '04, GM's Stabilitrak antiskid control, which is designed to counteract sideways skids in turns. Cadillac's Escalade EXT is a luxury Avalanche with different styling, more power, and standard all-wheel drive.

Competition With the advent of crossover vehicles, this segment has become less defined. Once the domain of work-related heavy-duty pickups, buyers are now demanding that their full-size trucks to do double duty. Our Best Buys remain Chevy Silverado, Ford F-150, and GMC Sierra. These trucks offer a wide range of powertrain combinations, plenty of luxury accommodations, and ample towing power--though the GM twins are the only ones to offer full-time 4WD and convenient 4-wheel steering.

Big-rig-styled Dodge Ram matches the Ford and GM models in most aspects but can't match their ride comfort or civility. We also like the expensive Toyota Tundra. What it lacks in brute strength, it more than makes up for with refined road manners.

2004 GMC Sierra 1500

Added standard features and the midyear introduction of a light-duty Crew Cab highlight 2004 for GMC's version of GM's full-size pickups. Sierra shares its design with the Chevrolet Silverado. This report covers the half-ton 1500-series models. They offer regular-, extended-, and crew-cab body styles. Extendeds have rear-hinged back doors that don't open independently of the fronts. Crew cabs have four conventional doors. Both include a 3-person rear bench seat. Extendeds and crew cabs offer front bucket seats vs. a bench. Regulars and extendeds are available with conventional 6.6- and 8.0-ft Fleetside cargo beds or a 6.6-ft flare-fender Sportside box.
The new half-ton Crew Cab has a shorter bed than the previous 1500 Heavy Duty Crew Cab, which for '04 is redesignated as a 2500-series model. The new 1500 Crew Cab uses a new 5.8-ft cargo box and is virtually the same length overall as the extended-cab short-bed model.

Sierra comes in Work, base, SLE, and SLT trim. The flagship Sierra Denali is a luxury/performance extended cab with all-wheel drive. Other Sierras come with rear-wheel drive with optional traction control or with one of two 4WD systems. The base 4WD setup must be disengaged on dry pavement. Optional Autotrac 4WD can be left engaged on dry pavement. Unlike Denali's AWD, the 4WD systems include low-range gearing. GM's Quadrasteer 4-wheel steering is standard on Denali and available on other Sierra extendeds; it's due to be available later in the year on crew cabs. It provides a tighter turning radius at low speed and is designed to aid stability at high speed or when towing. A special flare-fender short box is included with Quadrasteer. Antilock 4-wheel disc brakes are standard. Available is a ride-control suspension with two levels of shock-absorber firmness to suit road or load.

Regular and extended Sierras have a 4.3-liter V6 and offer 4.8- and 5.3-liter V8s. The new light-duty Crew Cab will use the 5.3 V8. Denali has a 6.0-liter V8. Crews and extendeds include automatic transmission with GM's Tow/Haul mode. Regulars offer manual transmission or optional automatic.

For 2004, base models gain standard chrome exterior trim and cruise control, SLEs now come with fog lamps, and extendeds offer optional rear under-seat storage. Satellite radio is optional on SLE, SLT, and Denali, and rear DVD entertainment is optional for Crew Cabs. Sierra's performance and accommodations mirror those of similarly equipped Silverados.

Toyota Tundra

Tundra gains a crew-cab body style for 2004, allowing Toyota to claim its first true full-size pickup truck. The Double Cab joins carryover 2-dr regular cabs and extended-cab Access Cabs. Access Cabs have two small rear-hinged doors that do not open independently of the front doors. Double Cabs have four conventional side doors, plus a power-down rear window. Regular cabs have an 8-ft cargo bed, Access Cabs a 6.5-ft bed. Double Cabs have a 6.2-ft box with walls 4 inches higher than on other models. Double Cabs come with front bucket seats; others offer a bench or buckets. Both Access and Double cabs have a 3-passenger split fold rear seat. Double Cabs use a special frame that adds 12.2 inches to the wheelbase and 12.6 inches to the overall length of other Tundras. They're also 3 inches higher and 4 inches wider--close overall to Ford's F-150 SuperCrew crew cab.
A V8 engine and 4-speed automatic transmission are standard in Double Cabs and available in other Tundras. Regular-cab and Access models also offer a V6 with manual transmission or optional automatic. The regular-cab comes in price-leader base-grade trim and along with other models offers SR5 and upscale Limited models. The V8 Access Cab StepSide has a flared-fender cargo bed. All Tundras offer rear-wheel drive or 4WD that must be disengaged on dry pavement but includes low-range gearing. Four-wheel ABS is standard; rear disc brakes are unavailable. Limiteds have a standard power sliding rear window and offer optional leather upholstery. Exclusive to Double Cabs are optional antiskid/traction control, sunroof, and rear DVD entertainment. Available TRD Off-Road Packages deliver special tires, suspension, and trim.