Cars for the rough: The best pick-ups 2024

What type of vehicle would you describe as typically American? Yes, the muscle cars are also part of it – but we want to get at pick-ups. Buying a pick-up means off-road feeling and a lot of space on the open loading area, which should appeal to tradespeople with equipment in particular. Find out which pick-ups you can cruise along Route 66 in 2024 here!

What makes a pick-up truck?

Is it an SUV? Is it an off-road vehicle? Or is it a commercial vehicle after all? If you look at a pick-up truck long enough, you will inevitably come to the conclusion that it does not want to be strictly classified into one category. It has attributes of all three vehicle types. However, the unmistakable shape of a pick-up truck makes it easy to identify: You see a driving cab and an open loading area? Then the probability is high that it is a pick-up. Especially for camping holidays or for dog transport, a pick-up seems particularly practical.

You are rightly wondering what distinguishes a pick-up from a flatbed truck – after all, such a truck also has an open loading area. In contrast to the flatbed truck, the loading area of a pick-up truck is not necessarily flat and the wheel arches are cut out. However, both can be used to transport bicycles excellently.

While pick-ups are rather rare in Europe, owning a pick-up in the USA is sometimes seen as a status symbol. Otherwise, pick-ups are often used there as everyday vehicles and they are usually based on SUV or off-road vehicle platforms. Thick pick-ups are also sold in our climes, but despite their practicality for transporting larger items, they are not very popular. They usually also have particularly high towing capacities, which makes pick-ups also suitable for companies or operations with heavy equipment.

If you don't want it to be quite as bulky and also airy, then we recommend off-road vehicle convertibles.

The best pick-ups 2024

Have you already acquired a taste for pick-ups? In view of the generous storage space, the parade discipline of a pick-up truck is: transport. You can accommodate oversized goods on the open loading area, while depending on the size of the cabin, up to four or five passengers can sometimes travel without squeezing and cuddling. The decisive factor here is whether it is a single cab or a double cab. However, we mainly offer double cabs with four doors.

However, such a vehicle can be correspondingly massive and heavy as well as large and confusing: parking maneuvers therefore need to be practiced. Since pick-ups are cars of superlatives in this respect, we don't want to stand in the way of the American attitude to life and give you the space you need in this article just because of their sheer size. We have put together the top pick-up trucks 2024 for you.

Ford Pick-up

Ford Ranger

Unsurprisingly, our first candidate comes from the production halls of a US company: From the pick-up showcase country, the Ford Ranger honors us with its presence on the local automotive market. A truly stately vehicle that lives up to its model name: Because once you take a seat in the comfortable and high-quality interior of the car, you are enthroned above the road and watch the machinations of the small bustling road users like a ranger on a foray through the national park.

Despite the rustic-looking look, you don't have to do without the advances of technology in the Ranger: On your safari tour through wild country road terrain, you can mirror your smartphone on the 10 to 12-inch infotainment display and thus enjoy your mobile phone apps. Of course, the Ford pick-up is not only at home on the asphalt, but above all in the great outdoors, where it can duly demonstrate its off-road qualities thanks to its thick tires and all-wheel drive.

However, accident-free locomotion in the 5.33-metre-long, brute car force also has to be learned first. It's just a shame that the Ranger doesn't exactly meander sparingly around trees and bark: The factory specification of 7.6 to 8.4 liters per 100 kilometers seems a bit utopian in the merciless nature, it's best to add two to three liters in your mind.

Fact check:
✅ 5.33 metres long
✅ State-of-the-art safety equipment
✅ 7.6 – 8.4 litres/100 km

Ford Ranger Raptor

The Ford Ranger remains stubborn – it has probably learned in continuous use in rough terrain: It occupies two places among the best pick-up trucks thanks to its high-performance alternative version called Ford Ranger Raptor. Externally, the Ranger Raptor differs from the conventional Ranger in the modified radiator grille design and the plastic inserts on the wheel arches. As a result, he cries out even more than the ranger for off-road operations.

In addition to its already stately appearance, the Ranger Raptor is joined by the showpiece of the Ford pick-up: the 292 hp petrol engine, which accelerates the almost 2.5-tonne vehicle from 0 to 100 km/h in a brisk 7.9 seconds. In favor of the lively response of the V6 gasoline engine, however, vehicle owners have to do without economy in the tank container - on average, the car should consume 13.8 liters per 100 kilometers, in practice 17 liters should not cause a miraculous surprise. A great consolation: The extensive equipment with 360-degree camera, blind spot warning, first-class sound system and great security equipment.

Fact check:
✅ 292 hp
✅ From approx. 75,000 euros RRP
✅ 13.8 litres/100 km

VW Pick-up: VW Amarok

Fundamentally different on the outside, but they share the inner values – VW relies on the pick-up expertise from many years of production at the American car brand Ford for the production of its well-known Amarok model. Both the VW Amarok and the Ford Ranger are manufactured in South Africa, but go after customers with different brand logos. Of course, the pick-up shape doesn't change much in the comparison between the two, but the Amarok has at least been given the VW-typical timeless – and admittedly quite expressionless – front face. The infotainment familiar from other VW models is also installed in the interior, which can be operated more clearly due to the increase in space in the VW pick-up.

The hobbyhorses of the long-lasting Amarok are its high payload, the 350 kilograms of roof load and torque on the accelerator pedal - regardless of whether the choice ultimately falls on the engine with 170 or 205 hp. Shifting is done without much human intervention via a gentle dual-clutch transmission called DSG. Luxury is pre-programmed in the 5.3-metre colossus, you can balance out how much of it you can personally tolerate yourself using the five available equipment lines.

Fact check:
✅ 5.3 meters long
✅ Luxurious interior
✅ 2-year warranty

Jeep Pick-up: Jeep Gladiator

Oops, did something just crackle under your Jeep Gladiator? Oops, that was probably another one of those small cars that are always in the way. Of course, this is not a realistic scenario, but we had to use cynicism in the face of the Jeep Gladiator's massive appearance to be able to put the power of its presence into words: Because you will hardly find a more clichéd pick-up truck in our latitudes and longitudes. Typical Jeep, the pick-up battleship pleases with its rustic look and its off-road capability, which is truly unparalleled. And then call the car Gladiator – the car doesn't just stay tough on paper when it gets dirty.

So it would hardly be surprising if the pick-up also has a lot of power under the hood – no sooner said than done: The brute elemental force of the car is fueled by a 6-cylinder engine with 264 hp. Of course, such a degree of power needs to be nourished – recognizable by the pronounced thirst of the car, which, according to the data sheet, is supposed to be 8.8 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers. The Jeep with an open loading area may promise driving pleasure, but in order to enjoy the indestructible pick-up, you have to pay a lot of bills: The RRP is a hefty 77,500 euros.

By the way: In the near future, there will also be an electric off-road vehicle from the manufacturer.

Fact check:
✅ Rustic design
✅ Loading area with power connection
✅ 8.8 litres/100 km

Toyota Pick-up: Toyota Hilux

The huge Toyota Hilux pick-up truck emerges from Japanese production as the oversized brother of the already spacious RAV4 model. The result: space and storage space as far as the eye can see, both in the Single and Double Cab for all limbs of the passengers as well as on the coverable loading area for the transported goods. It is not without reason that foresters or tradespeople in the construction sector often rely on the Toyota Hilux, because in addition to the enormous amount of space, it is characterized by its off-road capability.

The model name alone succinctly sums up what can be expected from the car: "Hilux", a compressed form of "High Luxury", is intended to be the exact opposite of the current "Hidden Luxury" trend: Toyota emphasizes the high level of comfort of the vehicle with its comfortable seats that offer sufficient lateral support. Its external robustness is continued in terms of the engine, because both the 150 hp entry-level diesel and the recommendable 205 hp diesel engine tease strong performance out of the heavy pick-up.

Fact check:
✅ Well-known pick-up truck from Toyota
✅ Extensive standard equipment
✅ 9.8 liters/100 km

Mitsubishi Pick-up: Mitsubishi L200

There is good and bad news about the L200 – let's start with the bad news: The Mitsubishi L200 pick-up is unfortunately no longer produced as a new car and is therefore not configurable. The good news: It is one of the best pick-ups on the market and can still be purchased as a one-day registration or as a used car from some dealers.

The adult pick-up truck from Japanese production always knew how to impress its loyal clientele: The reliable all-wheel drive system, the sophisticated technology and the variety of equipment in terms of loading area were impressive. The L200 could even be equipped with dog boxes, a roof tent or a kitchen module ex works. Not to forget: The L200 can move up to 3.1 tonnes of towing capacity. That's how flexible a pick-up has to be!

Fact check:
✅ Production discontinued
✅ Many great extras ex works
✅ Reliable car

Nissan Pick-up: Nissan Navara

Toyota, Mitsubishi and now Nissan? Although the pick-up vehicle type describes a phenomenon in particular in the US, the Japanese car manufacturers are apparently particularly active when it comes to the production of pick-ups. So the carmaker Nissan from the Renault-Nissan alliance is not slouching and is offering its own product on the truck market with the Nissan Navara. Since 2020, there has already been a facelift of the current model generation, which in turn has been in place since 2015 - but the facelift has never arrived here in Germany, because the European plant in Barcelona was closed in 2021 due to a lack of operating profits. However, the closure says nothing about the quality of the Navara: Among the pick-up trucks, Nissan's Ford Ranger competitor has earned its place among the best.

In its heyday, the Navara was sold with a 2.3-liter diesel engine with 163 or 190 hp – enough to move the pick-up over hill and dale with a lot of power even in rugged terrain. Like other vehicles in its class, the Navara also knows how to impress with plenty of space in the cab and plenty of storage space on the open loading area. However, Navara prospective buyers will have to bite the bullet and get hold of one of the models with high mileage on the used car market. In fact, the latest Navara generation was never presented in the USA, and it was not until 2022 that Americans received the new Nissan pick-up called Frontier.

Fact check:
✅ Production in Europe discontinued
✅ Well-known pick-up from the manufacturer Nissan
✅ Basis also for Renault Alaskan and Mercedes X-Class

RAM Pick-up: RAM 1500

It doesn't get much more authentic than this: Lovers of the American lifestyle can't get past the RAM 1500 when looking at various pick-ups. Mightily tall and mightily good – there will hardly be a more fitting choice of words than "mighty" for the RAM flagship pick-up. The car colossus has some amenities that make driving a true experience: The RAM with air suspension roars over the streets, invites passengers to get in with the electrically extendable running boards and defies the adversities of the wilderness with the sophisticated all-wheel drive.

The pick-up is available with a 264-hp diesel engine or one of the powerful – albeit particularly thirsty – gasoline engines, which produce either 305, 401 or even 712 hp in the top model TRX. In the most powerful variant, however, the standard consumption already scratches the 20-liter limit, which in times of growing environmental awareness triggers more head-shaking than leaps of joy, especially since the high consumption is not a favor for the wallet either. Nevertheless, there is no denying the fact that the appearance of the RAM 1500 makes more than a statement on the road – it pays homage to the fascination that American pick-ups are able to trigger.

Fact check:
✅ Typical American pick-up truck
✅ Up to 712 hp
✅ Modern equipment and safety systems

 

Buying a pick-up: What you should consider

As with any new car, we recommend that you take a test drive before buying a pick-up truck. Due to the enormous size dimensions of such a car, you should familiarize yourself with the dimensions by test drive and check whether you can cope with the car colossus in everyday traffic. If you have a private parking space such as a garage or carport, this not only gives you better conditions for car insurance, but also an advantage in terms of finding a parking space. Searching for parking in the big city with a pick-up is almost certainly not much fun.

In the following bullet point list, you can find out what you should look out for when buying a pick-up in addition to the size of it:

• Consumption: Economy is not an attribute that defines a pick-up. The unvarnished truth is: Pick-ups are drunkards and can rarely be driven under 9 or 10 liters per 100 kilometers, even with diesel engines. Of course, you can also build your pick-up hopes on all-electric pick-ups like the Rivian R1T, but here your wallet will have to prepare for yawning emptiness after purchase.
• Purchase price: A pick-up is usually not a bargain, unless you do without any amenities and drive a purist car without a particular variety of equipment. A little comfort is certainly allowed - and the manufacturers take this as an opportunity to charge princely surcharges.
• Double Cab or Single Cab: How much space do you need for passengers? Based on this question, you can decide whether you need a pick-up truck with only two or more seats. However, many pick-ups are only offered with a double cab, so the decision is taken away from you, so to speak.
• Turning circle: Big car, big turning circle. Pick-ups are not known for their manoeuvrability, but rather for the rough. For frequent driving maneuvers in confined spaces, it is better to keep your hands off the pick-up.
• Seating position and entry: The elevated seating position in the pick-up will appeal to those who already like good road visibility in SUVs. Thus, pick-ups are also suitable for seniors to a certain extent, but the length of the car that has to be manoeuvred is likely to cause problems for older people. In addition, getting into some pick-ups already seems like getting into a truck, as you have to help with running boards, depending on the elevation.

 

Are there also electric pick-ups?

Large and heavy, with high fuel consumption – pick-ups are actually predestined for versions that are powered by the pure power of electricity. And indeed, electric pick-ups are on the rise and could open up an extremely exciting new market.

Probably the best-known electric pick-ups include the Tesla Cybertruck and the Rivian R1T. But other manufacturers are also busy developing electric trucks: Ford is planning three all-electric pick-ups with the F-150 Lightning, Maverick Lightning and Ranger Lightning models. VW is also getting involved, with the electric pick-up coming to the USA under the name Scout to help. Also on board: the traditional American brands Chevrolet and Hummer, which want to enter the off-road electric business with the Silverado EV and GMC Hummer EV pick-ups. With the Fisker Alaska, a smaller American car company is also involved in the progress of battery-powered off-road vehicles.

The electric pick-up market is still in its infancy and therefore serves as a playground for many established corporations and also for start-ups. Among the new electric developments from various young automotive companies are, for example, the Bollinger B2, Lordstone Endurance pick-ups and the Canoo pick-up truck.