Fourth Annual Truck Trend Best in Class Picks

Every year, we dive into our industry-valued Best In Class story to collect, research, and present just about every spec we can find for every new pickup truck and sport/utility. It takes hundreds of hours and reading a lot of the fine print from each manufacturer, but we know it's worth it. Why? Because this story allows us to offer to you, category by category, the best of the best, as they compare with every other vehicle in their class.

This type of thorough head-to-head specification competition is practically unprecedented in the automotive industry. Others might say they do this in order to declare a winner, but we actually show you all the information and let you see our thought processes. The real beauty of this type of story is that, even if you don't agree with our decision, you have all the data, specifications, and pricing info in front of you, so you can make your own best-case decision. We tend to like big motors that can tow and offer as much versatility as possible, but those don't have to be your criteria. In fact, like many other independent-minded truck and SUV lovers, we assume they're not. In that case, take your own priorities, weigh your favorite categories, and make your own choice--your personal Best In Class winner.

Although we've made every attempt to collect the right information from as many sources as necessary, feel free to let us know about any mistakes you find. On our final check, we found four we couldn't change. Happy hunting. All pricing was collected from the "2004 Models Kelley Blue Book New Car Price Manual Second Edition." If you're looking for even more information on your favorite vehicle, go to www.trucktrend.com.

Finally, it's worth noting that this year, in the enormous category of Midsize SUV, we've decided to select three separate winners: Under $35,000, Over $35,000, and Overall. With close to 30 different competitors and a significant range in pricing, we're going to do more than choose just one winner.

3/4-Ton 4WD Regular Cab Longbed
Winner: Dodge Ram

With the work-truck class, our editors tend to examine vehicles based on how they perform when under heavy load. Although there were positive affirmations made about the Silverado 2500HD and Super Duty F-250, our voting crew liked that the BR2500 offers a large interior for big men and a huge center armrest that can double for a good-size storage bin. Beyond that, the predictable ride and handling feel and the rigid and stiff frame make the Ram a comfortable choice. Although our last 3500 in-house had the 8.0-liter V-10 (which now goes away, until the larger 6.1-liter Hemi comes out next year), we give the burly-man truck award to Dodge.

To get more information on all the vehicles included in this class, please click on the headline graphics above to reveal a spec chart.