Pickup Trucks for the City: Which Models are Best?

Back in the day, you would become a mechanic, get a job in an urban environment, and expect to work on a steady flow of small cars and sedans. These days, though, auto technicians working in larger cities are seeing an increasing number of pickup trucks.

Overall, truck sales in Canada are significantly higher than those of small to mid-sized cars. Auto executives even find it difficult to pinpoint just who buys a pickup truck, because that demographic is now pretty much anyone who drives.

Utility and Image

It used to be that pickup trucks were primarily for people who needed to haul large loads or do towing on a routine basis. This made them must-own vehicles for many living in rural areas. In the cities, they were mostly useful for people who worked in moving or construction, and maybe an auto mechanic that provided roadside assistance would need one as well.

Before, families who owned a pickup truck generally needed a second vehicle as well, because you can’t fit the kids in such a small cab. When owning two cars stopped being an option for many, the pickup truck needed to find a way to accommodate more passengers while still offering the same power and storage. This spawned the creation of the crew cab in the late 1990s. The pickup truck as the only family car became an option, and it was a successful one.

This also made it possible for people to buy a pickup truck out of a need for utility combined with a desire for a rugged style, or, in some cases, style alone. People can now project the image of a pickup truck owner while transporting multiple passengers and, in some cases, doing so in luxury as well. Plus, if they ever need to tow a trailer or a boat or help a friend move, they can do that, too.

The Best City Pickups

Many pickup trucks built these days are ideal for city driving. Here are a few:

• Toyota Tacoma: This midsized truck has 4-cylinder fuel efficient engine and gets 21 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway. It also has four doors and is not that much bigger than an average Toyota sedan.
• Chevrolet Silverado: While midsized trucks are the best for city driving, the Chevrolet Silverado is a full-sized pickup truck option that is almost as slender. While wide like a full-sized, its length, 205.6 inches, is comparable to most mid-sized options.
• Nissan Titan: The next model of Nissan’s Titan will have four cameras that assist with parking in tight spots along with leather and real wood interiors. It will also have a 5.0 litre V8 turbo-diesel engine, produce 310 horsepower and 555 lb-ft. of torque.

Do you see the trend of urban pickup trucks continuing? Are you excited to work on new pickups?