Edmunds Top Rated Truck 2025
2025 Ford Ranger
Why did the Ford Ranger win?
The latest Ranger is so much more refined than the previous generation you would barely believe they shared a lineage. In the past, if you wanted a pickup with a nice interior, you needed to go shopping for a full-size. But the Ranger bucks that trend by offering a quality interior, keeping plenty of physical buttons and knobs to go along with the Ranger's easy-to-use touchscreen, and adding driver aids that we longed for on the previous generation.
What stood out?"The new Ford Ranger packs full-size pickup capabilities in a midsize pickup footprint." — Steven Ewing, director, editorial content
The Ranger has come a long way in the last five years. The previous generation felt like it was sold in the U.S. as an afterthought. Thankfully, the most recent truck has been thoroughly reengineered from the ground up to be used hard. The Ranger packs tons of capability, including a maximum of 7,500 pounds of towing capacity and 1,805 pounds of maximum payload capacity when properly equipped. Few truck owners can claim to need more.
2025 Ford F-150
Why is the Ford F-150 highly recommended?
The Ford F-150 remains the quintessential full-size truck because it combines practicality, comfort and seemingly endless options. There's genuinely an F-150 for everyone. When properly equipped, it can tow up to an incredible 14,000 pounds, its hybrid engine can power large household appliances, and the King Ranch and Platinum trims transform the truck into a full-blown luxury vehicle.
What stood out?
There are six engine options, two of which are only available on the sporty Raptor trim. The hardest part about shopping for an F-150 is deciding how to customize it, but when there's an F-150 for everyone, we only see that as one of its greatest strengths.
2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz
Why is the Hyundai Santa Cruz highly recommended?
The Hyundai Santa Cruz, as a compact truck, fills a long-standing void in the American pickup market. The Santa Cruz shares a platform with the Santa Fe SUV, which may put off truck purists but should be appealing if you want the utility of a pickup truck without all the drawbacks of driving a land barge. Hyundai packed the Santa Cruz with many clever features, including an in-bed trunk great for stowing muddy gear and an available roll-up tonneau cover. There's also an XRT model to help take you farther off the well-worn path.
What stood out?
The Santa Cruz offers tons of utility despite its small size. It sits 8.6 inches off the ground, nearly matching the off-road-ready Subaru Outback, and its bed features a rail-track system, lockable storage and in-bed lighting. That's in addition to a handy list of tech features, including a 12.3-inch touchscreen, an optional 360-degree camera and USB-C charging ports.