Best Pickup Truck of 2026
2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500: Finalist
- Starting price: $39,695
- Output range: 305-420 hp, 383-495 pounds-feet of torque
- Maximum towing capacity: 13,300 pounds
The 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 continues a tradition of excellence from GM’s full-size, mass-market pickup truck. It offers amazing capability and versatility, unrivaled powertrain choices and some technology that no other trucks have.
It starts with the Silverado’s powertrains. There’s a base 310-hp, turbo 2.7-liter four-cylinder that has more torque than some V-8 engines, a torquey and efficient turbo-diesel six-cylinder, and a choice of two powerful V-8s: a 355-hp 5.3-liter or a 420-hp 6.2-liter. The four-cylinder works with an eight-speed automatic transmission, while the other engines team with a 10-speed automatic.
Cab styles range from a two-door work truck to a spacious four-door crew cab, and there are multiple bed lengths. There are also two off-road-capable Trail Boss trims, a seriously equipped ZR2 off-road variant and a High Country luxury trim that’s a lovely place to spend some time. Trailer-towing capability is outstanding, and it’s matched with unique optional technology like Transparent Trailer, which makes the towed trailer disappear in rear camera views. And of course, GM’s Super Cruise hands-free cruise control only continues to get better, with more mapped roads allowing more areas where it works; it remains the only hands-free system that can function while towing a trailer.
With such a wide variety of trims, powertrains, styles and equipment to choose from, the 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 more than earns its spot as a finalist for our Best Pickup Truck of 2026 award.
2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Specs and Reviews | Find a 2026 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Near You
2026 Ford Maverick: Finalist
- Starting price: $28,840
- Output range: 191-250 hp, 155-277 pounds-feet of torque
- Maximum towing capacity: 4,000 pounds
We’ve loved the Ford Maverick ever since the first one was introduced for the 2022 model year, but it’s undergone a few changes since then. Yes, it’s gotten a lot more expensive and is no longer the true and honest bargain that it was when it first launched, but it’s still the least expensive brand-new pickup truck you can buy.
Ford gave the Maverick its first big freshening for 2025 with new front-end styling, an updated interior, new trims and updated drivetrains. Two engines are offered — a gas-electric hybrid powertrain or a turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder — and the truck is available with front- or all-wheel drive. Our choice for utility and fuel frugality would be the hybrid powertrain with AWD.
You can tackle some formidable off-roading in the Tremor trim level or head to your nearest autocross event with the Lobo street-truck version, which offers some sporting suspension bits, a unique transmission, and a book of optional accessories to truly personalize it in the spirit of the sport-truck craze of the 1980s and ‘90s.
We’re a little amazed that no real competitors have been introduced to challenge the Maverick at the cheap and cheerful end of the pickup truck spectrum, but none have arrived that can do what it does. That’s a big reason why the 2026 Ford Maverick is a finalist for this award.
2026 Ford Maverick Specs and Reviews | Find a 2026 Ford Maverick Near You