How Do the Features of Base-Model Full-Size Pickups Compare?

You can still get plenty of good stuff in the least expensive truck trims.

Emme Hall | 

Jun 14, 2023 | 4 min read

Ford

There is no getting around it: full-sized trucks can be expensive. It's easy to configure an $80,000 truck with all the bells and whistles, but that doesn't mean that less expensive options don't exist. Base models have plenty of features that can satisfy consumers. Let's go through what's available and its affordability.

Nissan

2023 Nissan Titan S

The latest Nissan Titan S base model comes in around $42,000, but has a powerful 5.6-liter V8 with 400 horsepower under the hood. This two-door king cab comes with a 6-and-a-half-foot bed and two-wheel drive. The Titan goes all in with driver convenience: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, as well as Nissan Safety Shield 360. This suite of features includes blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning, automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning. The base Titan can tow 9,320 pounds.

Toyota

2023 Toyota Tundra SR

The Toyota Tundra entered a new generation in 2022, which introduced new standard safety technology and a powerful V6 powertrain. The base SR goes for around $41,000 and comes in a four-door double cab — but that rear door is small — with a 6-and-a-half-foot bed. The Tundra packs a punchy 3.4-liter twin-turbo V6 under the hood with 389 horsepower. The base model gets a few upscale features like LED headlights and taillights as well as power heated side mirrors. Toyota Safety Sense 2.5 is also standard with forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, lane tracing assist, automatic high beams, and road sign assist. This base-model Tundra can tow 8,300 pounds.

Ford

2023 Ford F-150 XL

The Ford F-150 is the best-selling truck in America, but the base XL is pretty bare bones. This trim with a regular two-door cab and a 6-and-a-half-foot bed can be had for just under $36,000. Under the hood is a 3.3-liter V6 with 290 horsepower. You won't get four-wheel drive at this price point, but the base F-150 comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard. That's about it for technology, however. The XL does come with power windows, but the only active safety features include forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking. This base truck can tow 5,000 pounds.

Chevrolet 

2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 WT and GMC Sierra 1500 Pro

These Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups are built on the same underpinnings, but the GMC's design is a bit more sophisticated. Both feature a regular two-door cab with a 6-and-a-half-foot bed and two-wheel drive, as well as the same 2.7-liter turbocharged engine with 310 horsepower.

GMC 

Both trucks also get the full suite of safety features, including automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane departure warning and lane keeping assist. You'll also find a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on both trucks. The Chevy gets LED headlamps only while the GMC gets LED lighting all the way around. The Silverado can tow 9,100 pounds, the Sierra a bit less at 9,000 pounds. The Silverado WT can be had for around $37,000, and depending on seasonal deals, the GMC for roughly the same, give or take a few hundred dollars.

Ram

2023 Ram 1500 and Ram 1500 Classic

Ram's pickup line can be split two ways: the legacy Ram 1500 Classic, which is based on a design that dates back to the early 2010s, and the standard Ram 1500 that was fully redesigned in 2019.

The Ram 1500 Tradesman features a four-door quad cab design with two-wheel drive and a 6-foot 4-inch bed, which starts at about $39,000 with a standard 3.6-liter V6 engine. The Ram's base powertrain includes a mild-hybrid system that features an electric motor to improve fuel consumption. At as high as 23 mpg combined with the V6, the base Ram is among the least-thirsty full-size pickups.

The Tradesman is otherwise somewhat sparse on features. Its 5.0-inch touchscreen is like a bite-size version of displays offered on other versions, and Ram also charges extra for automatic emergency braking.

Ram

If you're really looking to stretch your dollars, the Ram 1500 Classic Tradesman offers a combination the newer 1500 does not — regular cab, 8-foot bed V6 — for about $33,000. That lower price does mean you lose a few things, such as power windows and locks. Surprisingly, the Classic comes with the same basic 5.0-inch touchscreen.

Emme Hall

Emme Hall loves small convertibles and gets out to the canyons in her 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata whenever she can. You can also find her in the dirt in her lifted (yes, that's right) 2001 Mazda Miata, or racing air-cooled Volkswagens in races like the Baja 1000. She's taken first place twice in the Rebelle Rally — once driving a Jeep Wrangler and then a Rolls-Royce Cullinan the second time. She was also the first driver to take an electric vehicle to the Rebelle Rally when campaigning the Rivian R1T to a top-five finish.