Haulin’ in Style: Top 4 Lifestyle Trucks for Everyday Use

March 29, 2023March 23, 2023 Michele Boyarsky 0 Comments Chevy Silverado, Daily Driver, GMC Sierra Denali Ultimate, Luxury Truck, Off-Road Truck, RAM 1500, Tonneau Covers, Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro, Truck Accessories, Truxedo, Work Truck

Choose your fighter! Here are four driver lifestyle profiles and the trucks well-designed to suit them.

Modern pickup trucks have perhaps never been more capable – or versatile. They haul heavy work equipment and raw materials to the job site, then tow the family camper to the weekend rental. They blast through off-road obstacles on a backwoods adventure, only to display perfect road manners amid luxury settings on the highway cruise back home.

The utilitarian workhorse has really bumped up its resume, becoming a verifiable jack-of-all-trades.

That’s not to say these trucks have lost all sense of individuality. For as much as automakers have turned their pickups into do-it-alls, they’ve spent an equal amount of time crafting enough trims, special editions, and add-on packages to make anyone’s head spin with the customization opportunities.

So, if you’re suffering from a little decision fatigue these days and would like to narrow down your truck choices based on how you drive and use your vehicle, this list might help.

THE WORKHORSE

Are you worried trucks have ‘gone soft’? Do luxury appointments make you itchy? If your daily driver works a dirty job, it’s understandable you might shy away from marketing material that celebrates features like plush leather seating, enormous touch screen displays, and jeweled rotary shifters (seriously).

You’re searching for a true work truck – something rugged and reliable, with respectable payload, towing, and gas mileage. That doesn’t mean technology is off the table, but it stands to reason you don’t necessarily require a center stack with more camera angles than an Instagram influencer.

You need a truck that… well, trucks.

Chevrolet Silverado

It may be second banana in the bid for America’s best-selling pickup truck, but the Chevy Silverado is a first pick when it comes to work trucks.

Offering four powerful engine options, a max towing capacity of 13,300 lbs. and a max payload capacity of 2,300 lbs., this is a truck that isn’t afraid of some manual labor. It’s traditional, with few frills outside the fancy higher trims. And frankly, that’s why we picked it.

The interior is conservative but comfortable; there’s enough tech to feel up-to-date without dipping into the territory of overwhelming. What’s more important, however, is the Silverado’s excellent handling and firm braking – two pretty important features when you consider how massive modern pickup trucks have gotten.

What really seals the deal for us though is the fact that the Silverado is still mostly made of steel. That greater inherent strength and structural integrity is, in our opinion, better-suited to heavy-duty jobs. Yes, aluminum is lighter and doesn’t corrode as easily, but tell that to all the Ford F-150 owners finding serious rust issues under their low-mileage models.

Nothing is maintenance-free, and while a steel Chevy will require a little extra TLC, we’d argue the juice is worth the squeeze.

THE WEEKEND WARRIOR

For those who can’t pass up a muddy trail, rocky hillside, or hell, even that giant pothole in the grocery store parking lot, this is your moment in the history of pickup production. Whether you’re heading just off-pavement or totally off-grid, there have never been more factory-fresh adventure options waiting to make your acquaintance. Unfortunately, many of them wear exceptionally high price tags and more than a few unnecessary bells and whistles.

That said, there are still some “affordable” options out there that check the boxes of a capable off-roader: 4WD, higher ground clearance, quality suspension, gnarly tires.

But only one seems to do it with such unerring regularity.

Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro

A modern symbol of adventure, the indomitable Taco promises you much more than a smile-making trek into the great unknown – it guarantees you’ll make it back home again.

This compact and nimble hauler is cherished by fans for its rugged dependability, with many examples gracefully rolling past the odometer’s 300,000-mile mark and holding onto a resale value that defies mathematics.

In the highly-capable TRD Pro model, adventure-seeking enthusiasts will find not only a seriously stylish ride but also some of the best off-road equipment money can buy, including 2.5-inch Fox Internal Bypass Shocks paired with TRD-tuned springs, 1/4-in.-thick aluminum TRD Pro skid plate, and knobby all-terrain tires wrapped around 16-inch black alloy wheels. Sitting at the top of the Tacoma food chain, the TRD Pro is only available in a double cab, 5-ft bed configuration with four-wheel-drive. Under the hood is a 3.5L V-6 engine, which pushes out 278 horsepower and 265 lb.-ft. of torque and still offers the choice of a 6-speed manual transmission.

THE FAMILY HAULER

We get it, some people need their trucks to do a little bit of everything, everywhere, all at once. In addition to hauling materials from the local garden center and towing the family camper a few times each summer, the modern daily driver also needs to be comfortable toting around the entire clan – from kids to grandparents.

As a result, interior appointments carry a little more weight here during shopping. Features like leg room and head room really start to matter when there’s the potential for sibling arguments to break out. Same rules apply to things like cupholders and USB charging ports. Cargo space is important too, as we have yet to meet a child who doesn’t come with an entourage of stuff.

RAM 1500

When redesigned for its new generation in 2019, the RAM 1500 really set the bar on what a truck’s interior could look and feel like. Comfort was ramped up significantly with higher-quality materials, clever storage, and judicious elbow room that helps limit those backseat brawls.

Adding to passengers’ in-cabin experience is the truck’s exceptional ride quality. RAM ditches the traditional leaf spring setup that many competitors use and instead offers a standard coil spring rear suspension. For an even cushier ride, buyers can upgrade to a four-corner air suspension with adjustable ride height and load leveling.

This doesn’t mean the RAM 1500 trades all ruggedness for refinement. All the “trucky” bits are still there – two cab styles, three respectable powertrain options, a 12,750-lb. max towing capacity, 2,320-lb. max payload capacity, and one of the best infotainment systems in its class.

THE LUXURY RIDE

If you need any further proof that the pickup truck has evolved, look no further than this category. A luxury truck… Henry Ford is either rolling in his grave or hammering his fist that he didn’t think of it first.

Look, not everyone is content to throw $60,000 at a German sedan; some want to throw $80,000 at a domestic pickup truck. And when that kind of money is on the table, you can expect one thing is certain: This ride will have the absolute bougiest cabin, stuffed to the brim with novelty tech.

All joking aside, we get why this is a fast-growing segment. These trucks truly offer it all – power, capability, comfort, convenience and, in some cases, industry-changing technology.

GMC Sierra Denali Ultimate

Apparently, dominating the luxury truck segment wasn’t enough for GMC, as the automaker kicked its own standard up a couple notches by recently introducing the Denali Ultimate. The even higher, high-class model ups the ante on, well, everything.

A powerful 6.2L V-8 sits under the hood pumping out 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque, but can cleverly deactivate cylinders to save on fuel. The handsome exterior design not only stands out in a crowd, but ensures you don’t look silly scrambling inside thanks to electronically-deployed running boards. And the interior not only drips in upscale materials like full-grain leather and open-pore wood, but also features delicately embossed topographical map patterns of Mt. Denali’s summit. Now that’s what we call fancy.

The cherry on top, however, is the integrated technology. The Sierra Denali Ultimate offers massive screen coverage – over 40 inches (diagonal) of combined driver-focused digital displays – the most in its class. Even more impressive is the inclusion of Super Cruise. Compatible on more than 200k miles of roads in the U.S. and Canada, the industry-first technology allows for hands-free operation of everyday driving functions as well as automatic lane changing and even hands-free towing.