5 Pickup Trucks That Made A Splash In 2026

Drive a mile down any thoroughfare, and you'll immediately witness America's obsession with the pickup truck. Whether being used as a daily driver, hot-shotting across the interstate highway system, hauling a new project car, or putting in a hard day's work at the jobsite, it's hard to beat the versatility of these powerful vehicles. The Ford F-150, for example, has spent over 40 years atop the best selling vehicle list in the U.S., even beating out more affordable cars like the Toyota Camry and Honda CR-V.

While you can still get a single cab work truck with rubber floors, steel wheels, and fleet white paint, modern trucks now also offer heated, ventilated, massaging Nappa leather seats, chrome 22 inch wheels, panoramic moonroofs, and even self-driving capabilities. For 2026, automakers continue expanding their offerings and improving their lineups with exciting model refreshes, new features, and even brand new models that will be joining showrooms later this year. Some of these updates are in direct response to consumer feedback, while others are due to government rules and regulations. Either way, these model updates will continue shaping the truck landscape.

Back in 2024, Ram announced that its long running lineup of HEMI V8 engines would be discontinued. The replacement, a twin-turbo V6 called the "Hurricane," offered better efficiency, performance, and towing capabilities, but the general public was not impressed. This led to Ram reintroducing the 5.7L V8 back in the 1500 pickup for the 2026 model year, complete with an apology and the "Symbol of Protest" badge proudly adorning the front fenders of all new V8 equipped trucks. But Ram wanted to keep pushing the envelope, creating the all new Rumble Bee SRT.

Remember the Ram TRX? This souped-up, off-road ready Ram 1500 featured the Supercharged HEMI V8 motor that also adorned the Hellcat for close to a decade. It too was discontinued at the end of the 2024 model year — much to the dismay of brand loyalists. The newly introduced 2027 Ram 1500 Rumble Bee SRT picks up right where the TRX left off. The Hellcat motor returns, this time producing the full 777 hp and 680 lb-ft of torque (up from 707 and 650, respectively), which Ram claims is the best-in-class.

Unlike the TRX though, the Rumble Bee SRT is built for the streets. It's available only in quad cab short bed configuration, offering a lower curb weight and shorter wheelbase. Lightweight 22-inch aluminum wheels, ultra-high performance Goodyear tires, six-piston Brembo front brake calipers, and available four-corner air suspension will allow this truck to outhandle some sports cars. Oh, and it'll still do 0-60 mph in about 3.4 seconds, a quarter mile in 11.6 seconds, and reach 170 mph.

The Ford Maverick Lobo's introduction in 2025 marked the return of the 90s mini-truck craze. 19-inch turbofan wheels, body painted bumpers, ground effects kit, lowering springs, and a torque-vectoring rear differential all came together to produce a truck that put looks and street performance ahead of practicality. There was just one major complaint: the powertrain.

Although the Lobo gets a unique seven speed automatic (it's mechanically identical to the eight speed unit in other Mavericks but tuned to skip second gear for better performance), the engine itself is the same 2.0 EcoBoost turbocharged four cylinder found in every other trim. Producing 250 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque, it's not necessarily a slouch, but it's not fitting of a performance street truck either. The new SV300T performance package aims to fix that.

Start with a larger turbo (ripped from the Ecoboost Mustang), add an upgraded intercooler, and Borla catback exhaust to produce a whopping 300 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque. Outside of the engine bay, you'll get unique 20-inch wheels (in either bronze or black) and special graphics for the hood and sides. These upgrades are officially authorized by Ford and can be purchased at the parts counter if you already own a Maverick or installed onto any Maverick on the showroom floor, making it eligible for leasing and financing. It'll even be backed by a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty.

Toyota's TRD Pro series was first introduced back in 2015 for the Tacoma, Tundra, and 4Runner. Designed for peak off-road performance, these models feature unique suspension, skid plates, and aggressive wheel and tire packages to help conquer any terrain and obstacles standing in their way. To help them stand out even more, Toyota has embraced the tradition of offering a unique TRD Pro exclusive paint color every single model year.

Just revealed for the 2027 model year, The Tundra TRD Pro, along with the Sequoia and Tacoma, will be available in an all-new shade known as "Honeycomb," while the 4Runner will be offered in a nearly indistinguishable shade called "Hot Honey." This golden yellow hue was crafted to help the TRD Pro stand out on and off the road. To help compliment the TRD badging and wheel center caps, the Tundra now gets red painted front tow hooks as well, a feature that was sorely missed on earlier models.

2027 doesn't just add some fancy paint though. All new adjustable Tundra-tuned Fox enhanced Q3S shocks offer improved response and ride quality over uneven terrain. Inside, you can now get the same IsoDynamic seats first found in the 2025 Tacoma TRD Pro. These seats feature an internal shock absorber located in the backrest to help dramatically reduce bobbing and side-to-side motion when offroading. There will also be a new TRD Performance package, which Toyota claims will offer more dynamic performance, although details are yet to be announced as of this article.

Vehicles seem to be getting more and more expensive — according to Kelly Blue Book, the average MSRP of a new vehicle in 2026 is $51,607. The all new Slate EV is aiming to buck that trend by offering its new truck with a starting MSRP of only $24,950. This makes it the most affordable new pickup in America. It's also made the Slate one of the most talked about vehicle launches in the last few years.

The Slate Truck is a very unique proposition, designed to be completely customized by the end user and their specific needs. Everything is a la carte and modular. That base MSRP doesn't even include a single speaker or paint. Manual locks and windows adorn the doors. You get a phone mount where an infotainment screen would normally be. You install any and all accessories. You vinyl wrap the exterior panels. You wire up the optional sound bar. Want to turn it into a fastback SUV with seating for five? Slate sells a kit for that too. Think of it as driveable Ikea furniture.

Performance wise, the Slate will offer 205 miles of range on a single charge courtesy of a rear-mounted 135kW motor (there is no AWD option or larger capacity battery pack available). It sports an NACS charging connector with DC fast charging. It'll be able to tow up to 2,000 pounds. Despite its extremely compact 174.6 inch long footprint, you'll still even get a 5 foot bed. For reference, a 2026 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab with the same 5 foot bed measures over 212 inches. 

The Honda Ridgeline is a bit of an enigma. On paper, a powerful naturally aspirated V6 engine, standard crew cab, and 5.3 foot bed make it sound like a competitive pickup truck. However, its unibody platform (shared with the Pilot and Passport crossovers), FWD biased drivetrain, and lower ground clearance lead to quite a bit of smack-talking from fellow truck owners. Still, the Ridgeline was just named Consumer Reports' Top Pick for Midsize trucks.

Unlike the Pilot, which entered its fourth generation in 2023, and Passport, which received a full redesign for 2026, the second generation Ridgeline remains largely unchanged since debuting back in 2017. It still uses Honda's SOHC J35 series V6 engine, which has hardly changed from its original debut over a decade ago compared to the more-efficient DOHC variety now found in its platform mates. Honda is one of six automakers legally obligated to continue meeting California's vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standards, requiring reduced fleetwide emissions, regardless of Federal policy rollbacks.

Honda made the choice to pause production until the next generation, which will likely feature a hybridized powertrain, is officially unveiled in 2028. If you've been considering adding this truck to your fleet, you'll have to act fast. Reviewers praise the Ridgeline for being easier to live with compared to the rest of the midsize truck class. The car-like driving dynamics and limited payload capacity are still plenty for most owners. There's a reason it's continued winning numerous awards into 2026, including "Best Midsize Pickup Truck For Families" from U.S. News & World Report and Top Finisher in "Best Value Mid-Size Pickup Trucks" from Cars.com.

Automakers seemingly announce new models and features every week. With that in mind, we focused on the most major automakers and news related to the industry at large by highlighting vehicles the average consumer is likely already familiar with. These trucks mentioned above will be making a splash by putting the competition on notice, whether it be power or pricing. While this list hardly scratches the surface, it should serve as a broad report on the state of trucks in 2026.

We started by looking for trucks breaking the status quo and setting new records — any claims their brand made, such as "fastest" or "most affordable" were verified for accuracy by consulting various automotive news publications such as Edmunds, The Drive, and MotorTrend. We then chose to highlight updates that were in direct response to the consumer's wants and needs. This included browsing owner forums and reviews of existing models and comparing their notes with the recently announced updates. Finally, we focused on significant changes driven by outside factors, such as environmental standards, since these changes are likely to trickle throughout the automotive industry. For these, we looked for OEM press releases that announced discontinued models or powertrain options and an explanation as to why.