How many trucks can I compare at once?

The Compare Engine supports up to four trims side by side in a single view, with normalized columns for price, towing, payload, MPG, dyno-tested 0-60 and quarter-mile, and TCO score. Two-trim comparisons get the cleanest layout; three- and four-trim views auto-collapse secondary metrics into expandable rows.

Where do the towing and payload numbers come from?

Every towing and payload figure shown in the Compare Engine is sourced from AutoMototrke's instrumented testing at our Loveland, Colorado facility, cross-referenced against SAE J2807 dyno runs and owner-reported capacity from the Long-Term Truck Index. Manufacturer-supplied brochure figures are flagged in the row header so you always know the provenance.

How is the TCO score calculated?

TCO combines five-year depreciation, scheduled maintenance, fuel cost (using EPA combined MPG and the current national diesel/gas average), insurance band, and expected reliability from owner-survey data — weighted against the 1,247-vehicle Long-Term Truck Index. The model is reviewed quarterly and the full methodology is published on the Methodology page.

Does the Compare Engine include heavy-duty and medium-duty trucks?

Yes. The 412-trim dataset covers half-ton, three-quarter-ton, and one-ton pickups plus Class 3-6 chassis cabs currently sold in the U.S. market. Discontinued model years are archived in the Long-Term Truck Index but excluded from the live side-by-side view.

Can I save and share a comparison?

Signed-in readers can save comparisons to a personal Garage and generate a shareable permalink that preserves the exact trim selection, options, and scoring snapshot at the time it was created. Saved comparisons re-sync to the latest TCO data automatically when reopened.

Heavy-duty pickup truck strapped to a chassis dynamometer in the AutoMototrke test facility.

Vol. 11 · Issue 04 Thursday, August 14, 2025 I-70 EASTBOUND · CLEAR · 68°F 412 TRIMS · LIVE INDEX

THE COMPARE ENGINE · INSTRUMENTED RESEARCH DESK

Two trims.
Seven categories.
One confident decision.

412 current U.S.-market pickups and heavy-duty workhorses, normalized into a single side-by-side research view — price, towing, payload, fuel economy, TCO score, and the numbers our chassis dyno actually recorded. No manufacturer-supplied figures. No dealer-deck rounding. Just the spec sheet, scored.

Compare Any Two Trucks See the Source Data

BY THE EDITORIAL DESK Mark Reynolds, Editor-in-Chief · 19 staff · 9 ASE-certified technicians · 4 ex-OEM engineers

Popular matchups:

CATEGORY AutoMototrke normalized score

CHEVROLET Silverado 2500HD LTZ 6.6L Duramax Turbo-Diesel · 4WD · Crew Cab $74,890 2025 MY

FORD F-250 Super Duty Lariat 6.7L Power Stroke V8 Turbo-Diesel · 4WD · Crew Cab $76,215 2025 MY

EDGE

Price & Incentives Sticker · regional incentives · freight normalized to ZIP 80302

$74,890−$0 active incentives

$76,215+$1,250 Power Stroke premium

CHEVY

Towing Max conventional · SAE J2807 verified

18,500 lbConventional · 5th-wheel: 22,420 lb

20,000 lbConventional · 5th-wheel: 23,900 lb

FORD

Payload Max cargo · curb weight subtracted · per SAE J2180

3,759 lbSteel-bed 6'10"

4,268 lbAluminum-body 6'8"

FORD

Fuel Economy Instrumented 70-mph loop · dyno-verified

17.4 mpgCombined · 14.9 hwy · 12.1 tow

17.1 mpgCombined · 14.6 hwy · 12.4 tow

CHEVY

TCO Score (5-yr) Depreciation · fuel · maintenance · insurance · repairs

8.4/10Est. $58,140 5-yr cost

8.1/10Est. $60,710 5-yr cost

CHEVY

Dyno-Tested 0–60 Loveland chassis dyno · 14,000-lb hub capacity · Datalogged

7.8 secQuarter-mile: 15.9 @ 87.4 mph

7.4 secQuarter-mile: 15.6 @ 88.9 mph

FORD

Owner-Reported Reliability Long-Term Truck Index · n=347 trucks · 30k+ miles

94.2%No unscheduled repair · avg 41k mi

91.8%No unscheduled repair · avg 38k mi

CHEVY

AutoMototrke Verdict Edge: 4 of 7 categories

Buy the Chevy if TCO, fuel economy and ownership history dominate the math.

Buy the Ford if max towing, payload and straight-line grunt are the job.

SPLIT

Run This Matchup Open in Trim Picker Test data refreshed Aug 12, 2025 · 47.4M cumulative owner miles in dataset

WHAT THE ENGINE NORMALIZES

Seven categories. One score per trim.

Every trim in the 412-unit database is run through the same seven-category scoring matrix — built from instrumented dyno pulls, our 1,247-truck Long-Term Index, and freight-and-incentives normalization to ZIP 80302. Categories are weighted by what in-market buyers tell us matters.

01

Price & Incentives

Sticker plus active regional incentives minus freight, normalized to a single ZIP. Updated every Monday from manufacturer order guides and dealer-network feeds.
02

Towing

Max conventional and 5th-wheel ratings verified per SAE J2807. The Engine flags trims whose marketing sheet exceeds what the chassis is actually rated for.
03

Payload

Curb weight subtracted from GVWR per SAE J2180. Crew-cab, long-bed, and chassis-cab variants are scored separately — apples to apples, not stickers to stickers.
04

Fuel Economy

Instrumented runs on our 1.6-mile Loveland test loop and validated on the dyno. Three readings per trim: combined, 70-mph cruise, and tow-mode under load.
05

TCO Score

Five-year cost-of-ownership: depreciation, fuel, scheduled maintenance, insurance, and unscheduled repairs. Weighted against the Long-Term Index.
06

Dyno-Tested Performance

0–60, quarter-mile, and 30–50 mph passing times — pulled on our 14,000-lb hub-capacity chassis dyno and cross-checked with GPS over the Loveland loop.
07

Owner-Reported Reliability

Uns scheduled repair rate, days-out-of-service, and powertrain warranty claim frequency — sourced from the 1,247-truck owner fleet, 47.4M cumulative miles.

1,247 Owner-tied trucks in the active fleet Logging an average of 38,000 instrumented miles per vehicle

47.4M Cumulative miles of owner telemetry Tied to VIN, trim, and powertrain — refreshed every 72 hours

412 Current U.S.-market trims scored Across all major pickups and Class 2B–3 heavy-duty workhorses

312 Distinct configurations dyno-tested in 2024 Payload, towing, fuel economy, and 0–60 benchmarks per trim

Reference data partner for U.S. News & World Report's Truck rankings since 2021 · "Most Trusted Truck Review Site," 2024 Diesel Power Products Reader Survey (n=58,400)

Where the prices come from.

Manufacturer order guides pulled every Monday at 09:00 MT. Active regional incentives from a 2,400-dealer feed. Freight normalized to ZIP 80302. Destination charges are added, not hidden. We do not include dealer-added accessories or market-adjustment markups.

Where the towing & payload come from.

OEM ratings verified against SAE J2807 (towing) and SAE J2180 (payload) where published. Where the marketing sheet exceeds the SAE test, we flag the trim with an orange banner. Our 312-configuration 2024 dyno sweep back-tested 9 of the 12 disputed ratings.

Where the reliability score comes from.

The Long-Term Truck Index — 1,247 owner-subscribed trucks, 47.4M cumulative miles, refreshed every 72 hours. Unscheduled repair rate, days-out-of-service, and powertrain warranty claim frequency are weighted against the trim's cumulative mileage in the fleet.

Where the fuel-economy number comes from.

Three runs per trim on our 1.6-mile instrumented Loveland loop, then validated on the chassis dyno under steady-state load. Tow-mode fuel economy is recorded at 8,000-lb trailer load, 70-mph cruise, ambient 68°F.

How the TCO score is weighted.

Depreciation 35% · fuel 25% · scheduled maintenance 15% · insurance 10% · unscheduled repairs 15%. Weights were set from a 58,400-respondent Diesel Power Products survey and held constant across MY 2022–2025 for cross-year comparability.

How often the data refreshes.

Prices & incentives every Monday. Towing & payload monthly. Fuel economy quarterly per trim. Long-Term Index continuous. Each spec row on the Compare Engine carries a "last refreshed" timestamp you can audit.

THE WORKING VERB