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Best Turbocharged Trucks for 2025

These are the best turbocharged trucks based on iSeeCars' analysis of each vehicle’s reliability, resale value and safety.

Many lists ranking turbocharged trucks may already exist, but those depend mostly on subjective editorial criteria. iSeeCars' Best Turbocharged Trucks are ranked using a data-driven and objective methodology. By applying data science to over 330 million vehicles, iSeeCars analyzes each car to understand its reliability and how long-lasting it is, its safety, and how well it holds its value over time. Each turbocharged truck is compared to others within its own category, and the best one in a given category is the model with the best ratings across these three key areas, summarized by the iSeeCars Quality Score. Here are the top models in each turbocharged truck category:

The best turbocharged midsize truck is the Toyota Tacoma (8.8 quality rating), with the Ford F-150 being the best turbocharged full-size truck (8.8 quality rating). The Ram 3500 ranks #1 for the best turbocharged heavy duty trucks (9.4 quality rating).

Full-size pickup trucks were powered almost exclusively by V8 engines for most of their history. But over the past 20 years an increasing number of them have offered smaller V6 and even four-cylinder engines. That’s because turbocharger technology has evolved from a horsepower upgrade for high-performance sports cars to a fuel efficiency enhancement for every type of vehicle, including trucks. The result is powertrains like the twin-turbo 2.7-liter and 3.5-liter EcoBoost engines offered in the Ford F-150 and the 2.7-liter Turbo V6 engine available in the Chevrolet Silverado 1500.

The benefits of a turbo engine are particularly meaningful for full-size trucks, which are among the largest, heaviest vehicles that often employ four-wheel drive and offer towing capacity over 10,000 pounds. All of these features add weight while reducing performance and fuel economy. But a turbo can counter the impact of increased weight while still delivering V8-like horsepower and torque for pulling a trailer or hauling a heavy load.

iSeeCars has identified the best turbocharged trucks and ranked them below. The models are ranked by their iSeeCars quality score, which takes reliability, resale value, and safety into consideration. New and used pricing is also provided for each model, along with horsepower specs and EPA ratings for miles per gallon (MPG).

Turbocharged engines don’t just benefit full-size trucks like the GMC Sierra 1500, Toyota Tundra, and Ram 1500. They also deliver better fuel economy and performance to midsize trucks like the Chevy Colorado, Ford Ranger, Nissan Frontier, and Toyota Tacoma. When paired with other new car technology, like direct injection, 8-, 9-, or 10-speed automatic transmissions, and stop-start engine operation, modern trucks have continued to improve their fuel efficiency and exhaust emissions.

Many of these full-size and midsize trucks previously relied on diesel and turbo-diesel engine technology to improve horsepower and lb-ft of torque. But increasing emissions standards and Volkswagen’s diesel scandal of 2015 gave that technology a negative image, with brands like Chevrolet discontinuing its Duramax diesel inline-6 engine in recent model years. Heavy duty trucks from General Motors still offer diesel engines, while Ram’s parent company Stellantis (owner of Chrysler, Dodge, and Ram) keeps working with engine partner Cummins to provide turbo diesel engines for their heavy duty pickups.

Regardless of brand and size, turbo technology has fully penetrated the truck world, giving buyers a wide range of powerful and (relatively) fuel efficient turbocharged trucks to choose from.

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How We Rank These Cars

The best turbocharged cars rank vehicles by iSeeCars Score which is based on our proprietary assessment of a vehicle’s reliability, resale value and safety (based on ratings from IIHS and NHTSA).

We analyze data from over 12 million new and used vehicles in our Longest-Lasting Cars and 5-Year Depreciation Studies, combined with the NHTSA's Safety Ratings to give you an unbiased guide to the best vehicles in each segment.

iSeeCars Score is an analysis of three factors: reliability, resale value and safety. It is calculated based on the latest research and analysis by our data science team. The data analysis comes from over 12 million new and used vehicles in our Longest-Lasting Cars and 5-Year Depreciation Studies, combined with NHTSA and IIHS Safety Ratings.

Vehicles are scored in three categories:

Reliability

The reliability score represents an analysis of iSeeCars' proprietary research on the longest-lasting vehicles.

Value Retention

The value retention score is based on our data science team's statistical analysis and prediction of 5-year depreciation from MSRP to determine which cars hold their value best, using US Bureau of Labor Statistics data to adjust for inflation.

Safety

The safety score is calculated based on the last five years of crash test ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and incorporates the latest Top Safety Pick information from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).