Posted on 05/31/2024 6:31:49 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Yes, we mean something other than the Tesla Cybertruck.
You can’t really go wrong with a pickup truck. They’re like the Swiss Army Knives of the automotive world. Wanna haul or pull some crap? There’s a bed and you can tow. Wanna carry people? There’s a number of cab configurations to suit your needs. Want one with luxury features that rival a BMW 7 Series or Genesis G90? You can drop six figures for a truck that’ll coddle you.
This isn’t to say that they’re all good. Take the Hyundai Santa Cruz, for example. It was first shown as a concept at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, and it took nearly a decade before the Santa Cruz went into production. The original concept was a cool-looking, Millennial-targeted extended cab crossover truck with a 190-horsepower turbodiesel engine that could get 30 mpg. What we got was a Tucson with a bed.
Don’t get me wrong, the Santa Cruz is a great looking little pickup, it’s just that the execution isn’t good. The bed has less usable space than the aforementioned Tucson does with its rear seats up, and carrying a bike means either removing one of the tires of the bike or having it hang over the tailgate. Its fuel economy isn’t as great as it could be, either. With the base engine the Santa Cruz gets 21 mpg city, 27 mpg highway and 23 mpg combined; you lose one mpg in the city and combined when you spring for the 281-hp turbocharged engine and all-wheel drive.
The Santa Cruz is less a pickup and more of a lifestyle vehicle masquerading as a pickup. In my opinion, that sadly might make it the worst pickup truck on the market right now and possible one of the worst ever made.
Now we ask you, Jalopnik reader. Aside from the obvious choice of the Tesla Cybertruck, what do you think is the worst pickup ever made? If there’s slim pickings out of the current offerings, you can go for something that’s not on sale anymore. Whatever it is, let us know in the comments.
We had a Chevy Luv around 1979-1982. It was the poor person’s answer to a “new truck”. LOL
Love it. But Tesla can laugh at themselves all right. They have an Easter Egg on board their trucks showing what? Yep - broken window.
Also seeing broken glass decals you can get for your Cybertruck.
I drive a 12 year old Honda Ridgeline. I bought it used a few years ago. It gets terrible gas mileage, but tows my utility and boat trailers without any problem and it is almost impossible to get it stuck in the mud.
chevy luv has my vote as one of the worst- The old datsun trucks were ok- not real rugged, but they seemed to go and og and go-
Interested in reading responses.
I was merely re-sizing the photo for John Galt. I have no dog in this fight. Plus I’m a fan of small pickups with a diesel engine.
Cab was way too small for me. They might be great if you're not too tall!
or the Pontica LeMans Safari
Ford Courier gets my vote, underpowered for much of anything.
I drove a Chevy LUV as a teenager, it was the shop truck for a motorcycle dealer I worked at in the mid-70s. It was a useful high-gas-mileage utility vehicle in the time right after the OPEC oil shocks. The class of vehicle has been killed in the US by import regulations.
Learn to size your photos!
Happens when they don’t preview before posting.
I didn’t like the harsh ride. But to be fair, there’s more to like in a Maverick besides the harsh ride.
If I thought like you that the Taco and Ranger were too big, I’d get a Maverick. But I’m perfectly happy with my Frontier.
To each his own.
That’s just pickup truck sacrilege.
I say that as a former owner of 2 Beetles and a Bus. Loved all three...wish I’d kept them.
The Chevy Corvair 95 (Post 54) is right out of the Matchbox collection. Great for kids to play with horrible for front end crashes.
Rivian has $40,000 body work for a fender bender.
https://www.autoblog.com/2023/10/04/rivian-r1t-fender-benders-can-turn-into-40k-repair-bills/
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