The findings are for the last 10 years of production. The trucks had to be in production for the last 10 years to be in the study. It did not distinguish between engine/transmission options or trim level - just make and model.

Interesting results. You get FAR more longevity for your dollar in the mid sized truck segment than you do for the full sized truck segment.

Another interesting finding: Toyota apparently makes a better mid sized truck than they do a full sized truck. That surprised me because the 5.7L Tundra is considered almost legendary. The Toyota Tacoma is one of the best vehicles around period.

Another weird story with GM - Chevrolet's full sized trucks are best in class, but their mid sized trucks are not. In both cases, Chevrolet's truck outranked their GMC counterpart due to GMC's much higher average transaction price.

Nissan, not Ram is in the basement in terms of being a poor value given its relatively short lifespan. Nissan performed poorly in both full sized and mid sized segments. Oddly enough, Ram outperformed the Ford F-150 in longevity and value This shouldn't surprise most of you that have owned a Ford in the last 4-5 years or have seen truck prices lately.

Honda's Ridgeline did exceptionally well. It's a reasonable price and has a very long average lifespan. It's a great option for people who don't need to tow heavy loads. The Ridgeline average lifespan actually outpaces the Toyota Tacoma.

TL;DR crowd - try to find a good price on Tacoma, Ridgeline, or Silverado.

LINK

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Looking at the data for 2023 midsize trucks, there are both expected and surprising results.

First, this is no surprise, the best-selling midsize truck, the Toyota Tacoma, tops the list. This truck is largely considered the most-reliable midsize truck and has historically had one of the highest resale values in the segment.

Next, is the Honda Ridgeline. While people will argue “it’s not a truck,” thanks to its unibody design, it has been pretty reliable with the average odometer reading outpacing the Tacoma.

The top two trucks are followed by Chevy Colorado and the GMC Canyon. Keep in mind, this data is for the older models of the truck, and the jury is still out on the new 2023 models.

Finishing in last, and a big surprise, is the Nissan Frontier. This midsize truck has had good reliability ratings over the years; however, with the odometer reading being 100k less than the top two and an average new car price right around the midsize truck average, it sure doesn’t look like the Frontier is a good truck to buy.

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The best 2023 full-size trucks for the money are full of surprises as well.

In first place is the Chevy Silverado 1500 with an above average lifespan and a below average new-truck price. This truck has been pretty solid for reliability with some minor known problems.

Next, and this is a surprise, is the Toyota Tundra. Why a surprise? Because it isn’t first. Toyota has long claimed to be the most-reliable truck with the best resale value. It was literally edged out of first place by just $5. That $5 difference is going to be a talking point around Toyota’s offices this week.

After that you have the Ram 1500, which is right at the average for both price and lifespan. The current model has seen reliability improvements, and it will be interesting to see if the 2025 Ram 1500 keeps that trend going.

Next the Ford F-150 comes in below average, and this is pretty surprising for a few reasons. First, the average truck price is much higher than the Chevy Silverado 1500. Why is that surprising? They both have massive truck businesses, and one would think the sheer volume of trucks would help reduce the average price. Second, the lifespan could be explained by the volume of sales. Yet, higher price and lower lifespan is sure to be a turn off for consumers.

The GMC Sierra 1500 comes in fifth. The average new price is a part of the problem here, and this makes sense with GMC becoming a more premium brand than Chevy, resulting in higher prices.

Finally, the Nissan Titan comes in last and is just another reason why Nissan ultimately pulled the plug on this truck.