If you’re looking for one vehicle that can tackle most tasks, a pickup truck is usually a good option. You can get a five-seater with usable backseat space for a family, a bed for additional storage, and some good tech and safety options.
Whether you’re looking for a full-sized pickup trucks that can help you tow a trailer or pick up supplies for your spring gardening or something more compact that drives like a large car or SUV while still offering the utility of a truck bed, this list has you covered for the most popular, affordable options on the market today. When we say affordable, that doesn’t mean that they are indeed cheap, but rather affordable in a truck segment. If you consider them being trucks then you have to know that they are going to be pricier then a hatchback.
What Made the List
This list is comprised of the most popular trucks on the road today under $50,000, with a general breakdown of what features buyers may be looking for today between tech upgrades and safety mechanisms — after all, there has to be some reason to spend the extra money to buy new besides enhanced appearances and factory warranty.
To keep things even across the board, all fuel economy statistics are a reflection of the combined highway and city miles per gallon (mpg) provided by the US Department of Energy, and all safety ratings come directly from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
2025 Ford Maverick — $26,995
The 2025 Ford Maverick is a compact pickup refreshed for this model year. It offers four doors across all options with seating for five and the option for front-wheel drive or all wheel drive. Standard features include a larger infotainment system at 13.2 inches, lane departure warning, and stability control. Buyers have the option between a hybrid drivetrain and a standard 4-cylinder engine, or a turbocharged 4-cylinder for a bit of a power boost.
In terms of fuel economy, the Ford Maverick HEV provides up to 38 mpg combined, with the standard drivetrain offering less at 25 mpg, the Lobo trim level at 24 mpg, and the Tremor at 23 mpg.
Across all variations of pickup, the 2025 Ford Maverick has an overall crash safety rating of 4 out of 5 stars.
2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz — $28,750
The 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz is a sporty-looking, smaller truck option for buyers who want the utility of a pickup without feeling like they’re driving one. The Santa Cruz offers a handful of standard safety and tech features, including stability control, rear cross-traffic alerts, lane departure warnings, and blind spot monitoring.
There are two engine options for the Santa Cruz: a more modest 4-cylinder engine, which offers up to 25 mpg combined between city and highway driving, or a slightly more powerful turbocharged option, which can bring your fuel economy down as low as 21 mpg combined.
Both the front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive variants of the Santa Cruz have an overall crash safety rating of 5 out of 5 stars.
2025 Toyota Tacoma — $31,590
The 2025 Toyota Tacoma is an option for buyers who love Toyota reliability but need something a bit larger and utility. The Tacoma — or “Taco” as some enthusiasts have nicknamed it — comes with a handful of cab configuration options, ranging from four-door cabs for more space to shorter two-door options. Standard features give you everything you’d want from a modern-day vehicle, such as forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, lane departure steering assist, lane-centering steering assist, and adaptive cruise control.
The Tacoma also comes with a variety of drivetrain options, ranging from a more fuel-efficient turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that offers a combined 23mpg both with the hybrid system and without, down to 20mpg with the 4WD MT trim level that comes with a manual transmission, which we give major bonus points for coolness.
At the time of writing, the 2025 Toyota Tacoma has incomplete crash safety ratings from the NHTSA.
2025 Chevrolet Colorado — $31,900
The 2025 Chevrolet Colorado is a five-seater mid-sized pickup that is only offered as a crew-cab short-box with the choice of rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. Towing capacity ranges from 6,000 pounds to upwards of 7,700 pounds, making it a very usable option for the size. Standard features include a larger 13.1-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane departure assist, and rear-seat reminder.
You can expect to get up to about 20 mpg combined with the standard 2.7-liter 4-cylinder engine or as low as 16 mpg with the ZR2 Bison edition, so it isn’t the most fuel-efficient option on the list, but it makes up for it in other ways, such as towing capacity.
According to the NHTSA, the Chevy Colorado has an overall crash rating of 4 out of 5 stars, but at the time of this article, the Bison edition has not yet been rated.
2025 Nissan Frontier— $32,050
The 2025 Nissan Frontier has some updates from the previous model year that make it worth the splurge. Buyers have the choice between a King Cab with smaller rear doors and back seat or a larger, more spacious crew cab. Regardless of cab size, standard safety features include forward collision with automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitors, and rear cross-traffic alerts, many of which are updated standard features from the 2024 model.
The 3.8-liter V6 engine can be found across all trim levels, with the choice between four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, with fuel economy expectations ranging upwards of 21mpg combined in the standard 2WD or as low as 18mpg in the 4WD PRO4X.
As of right now, the NHTSA has only released overall crash ratings for the Crew Cab version of the Nissan Frontier, which is 4 out of 5 stars, and the King Cab options have not yet been rated.
2025 Ford Ranger — $33,080
The 2025 Ford Ranger is a mid-sized pickup with seating for five that gives consumers Ford reliability without the size of the F-150. It comes with a handful of desirable safety and tech features across all trims, including wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and lane departure warning.
Engine options include a turbocharged 4-cylinder that gets an expected fuel economy of 23 mpg, a twin-turbocharged V6, or a slightly more powerful twin-turbo V6 in the Raptor model that offers slightly less fuel economy at an estimated 17 mpg combined.
Both the rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options of the Ford Ranger received an overall safety rating of 4 out of 5 stars.
2025 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 — $37,000
The 2025 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 has a stacked roster for the model year, ranging from fully electric to a gasoline-powered V8 — and, of course, a diesel option. Configurators for the Silverado 1500 give buyers a wide range of options depending on their needs, including multiple cab sizes with varying seating capacities and several truck bed sizes, and of course, the choice between rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive.
Because of the many drivetrain options for the 2025 Chevy Silverado 1500, expected fuel economy ranges from 70mpge for the electric options to as low as 15mpg with options like the ZR2.
The new Silverado 1500 received a perfect 5-star rating across the board according to the NHTSA.
2025 Ford F-150 — $37456
The 2025 Ford F-150 is a full-sized pickup that is so popular you probably see one every time you leave your house — and for some pretty good reasons. As shared by Ford, the F-Series trucks have been one of the best-selling trucks in America for 48 years running, bringing with them a history of reliability and some desirable standard safety features in the 2025 model year. That list includes Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, automatic emergency braking, blind spot warning, rear-cross traffic alerts, rear parking sensors, and forward collision warning.
Fuel economy for the 2025 Ford F-150 varies depending on engine option and drivetrain configuration, reaching as high as 23 mpg combined with the 4WD HEV option or as low as 16 mpg in the performance-oriented Raptor edition.
Regardless of cab size, drivetrain, or trim level, the 2025 Ford F-150 has a full five-star safety rating overall across the board.
2025 Jeep Gladiator — $38,100
The 2025 Jeep Gladiator has all of the charm of the Jeep Wrangler with the utility truck bed. Towing capacity ranges from 6,000 pounds to upwards of 7,000 pounds for buyers looking to haul reasonably sized loads, such as a car trailer or a modestly sized boat. The Sport trim level comes with a handful of options standard that make it a bit hardier for any off-road action, such as skid plates for the fuel tank and transfer case. The Gladiator doesn’t crowd your driving experience with a long list of standard safety features, either, which may be a good option if you want a simpler driving experience.
Every trim level for the 2025 Jeep Gladiator shares the same 3.6-liter V6 engine mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission that provides 19mpg combined fuel economy, so you don’t have to factor gas consumption into the equation if you’re debating between different Gladiator options.
As of the time of this article, the 2025 Jeep Gladiator does not have official safety ratings from the NHTSA.
2025 GMC Canyon — $38,400
The 2025 GMC Canyon is a mid-sized pickup packed with some desirable standard safety features and some added tech for a touch of luxury. That list includes forward collision warning with pedestrian and cycling detection, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane departure steering assist, blind spot intervention with trailer coverage, rear cross-traffic alert with automatic braking, a following distance indicator, rear parking sensors, and rear seat alerts.
In way of fuel economy, for the 2025 GMC Canyon you can expect to get as little as an estimated 16mpg with the AT4X AEV 4WD option or as much as 20mpg combined with the two-wheel drive 4-cylinder engine.
Although the AT4X is not currently rated, the other rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options have an NHTSA safety rating of 4 out of 5 stars overall.
2025 Toyota Tundra — $40,090
The 2025 Toyota Tundra is a full-sized pickup with seating for five, whether you pick the Double Cab or the CrewMax cab style. Buyers can opt for rear-wheel or four-wheel drive depending on preference and a range of trim levels, all toting a similar twin-turbo V6 or the option for a hybrid system V6. The towing capacity starts at 8,300 pounds, making it a solid option for bringing along a modest trailer, camper, or boat with ease, and bed lengths that can be as short as 5.5 feet and as long as 8.1 feet, giving it some extra utility if needed.
The Toyota Tundra 2WD can offer fuel economy of a combined 22mpg and ranges downward of 19mpg with the higher, more performance-oriented trim levels.
As of this moment, the hybrid version and base model of the 2025 Toyota Tundra have received NHTSA safety ratings, earning a solid five stars overall.
2025 Honda Ridgeline — $40,150
The 2025 Honda Ridgeline is another mid-sized SUV that is reported to handle more similarly to a car, which may once again appeal to buyers who want utility without the mass and road presence of a full-sized pickup. Across the board, the Ridgeline is powered by a V6 engine with all-wheel drive — no options for rear-wheel drive are available — a 5,000-pound towing capacity, and seating for five. This leaves it up to the buyer to select trim levels based on the features they do — or do not — care about. Standard features include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the Honda Sensing suite of active safety features, and remote start.
The Ridgeline offers fuel economy pretty on par with what we’ve seen amongst other mid-sized pickups. The 3.5-liter V6 engine found across multiple trim levels provides a combined fuel rating of 21 mpg, with only a minor dip to 20 mpg in the AWD TrailSport variant.
The NHTSA gave the 2025 Honda Ridgeline an overall safety rating of 5 stars for both the front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive options.
Pickup Trucks Worth the “New Car” Status
If you’re going to spend the money on buying a truck brand new from the dealership, it’s best to opt for one that is the most well-rounded, with options suited to your needs. In today’s economy, you want to make sure you’re getting the best deal for your hard-earned money, and even though the list of needs and wants changes for everyone, these options offer a solid variety to hopefully fit the bill no matter what you’re looking for.
From basic standard safety features to loaded with the latest and greatest tech, the trucks listed here are a great start to your pickup truck journey, with some average market prices and a candy shop worth of options.