2015 Ford F-150 wins Truck Trend’s Pickup Truck of the Year Award

Updated Jan 8, 2015
2015 Ford F-150 SV32015 Ford F-150 SV3

Despite parent publication Motor Trend‘s choice to award its coveted Truck of the Year award to the dark horse Chevrolet Colorado, Truck Trend went with the heavy favorite in choosing its Pickup Truck of the Year.

The Truck Trend editors said that while the newly redesigned F-150’s fuel- and weight-saving aluminum design are impressive, the truck took the publication’s top honor for being a “full-package combination of capability, everyday usability and fantastic performance.”

Several trucks were tested in the five-day evaluation process for the award including the Colorado and its brother the GMC Canyon, the Chevy Silverado 1500, Ford F-350, GMC Sierra 2500, Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Tundra and Ram Power Wagon. The evaluations included 0-60 tests on a quarter-mile strip done with and without a payload; long towing loops in highway traffic; 100 miles of off-road driving and fuel economy testing.

Truck Trend tested the F-150 XLT SuperCrew FX4 equipped with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6. The Ford beat its competition in half the “grueling” testing categories, drawing unanimous support from the editors as the top dog.

According to the announcement, testing concluded that the F-150 “led in three out of six scoring categories (Highway (20%), Empirical (15%), Daily Living (5%), while coming in Second Place in the Tow/Haul (20%) portion of the test to the other Ford in the field, the F-350 Super Duty. The other two categories were Off-Road (20%) and Interior/Exterior Execution and Functionality (20%).”

The editors did note that some of the other pickups had their charms as well. For instance, if you’re in the market for a speedy off-roading pickup, the Toyota Tundra and Tacoma with the TRD Pro packages can’t be beat. The publication also praised the Silverado 1500 High Country for its “graceful styling” and smooth ride. And in terms of utilitarian style, the editors loved the Power Wagon’s vinyl floors, front bench seat, ample storage space and RamBox containers.