The half-ton truck industry is booming, reporting sales numbers akin to those seen before the gloom of the 2008 recession set in. That also means that many businesses and handy men who purchased a new truck pre-2008 are about ready to trade in for a new workhorse, and automakers are happy to oblige.
In partnership with the Canadian Truck King Challenge, AutoGuide.com put everyone’s new metal to the test. And this was no beauty contest. We had time to experience how every truck handled a 6,000 lb. trailer, hauled 1,000 lbs. worth of payload and dealt with a fairly mud-laden off-road course.
It wasn’t just about driving either. Using one of these tools every day can bring some small annoyances to the surface that a simple test drive may not address, so the hitching process, tie-down points and even the backseat’s ease of use were taken into account.
Fuel economy was also an important part of the challenge and every truck was fitted with a data logger to capture the real-world fuel economy numbers. The information presented here is not from the manufacturers computer read outs; this is info collected straight from the truck.
