10 Best Pickups With Self-Driving Features for 2021

Ford F-150 BlueCruise ・ Photo by Ford

Modern pickups can do it all. They can carry heavy payloads, tow large trailers, and tackle challenging off-road conditions. And the same vehicles can turn around and be comfortable, feature-packed commuter cars. What’s more, they can even drive themselves — at least to some extent. 

While fully autonomous driving is still likely years away, most of today’s pickups already handle many driving tasks for you. Useful semi-autonomous features you can buy today include adaptive cruise control, which maintains a minimum distance from the car in front of you even as it changes speed; automatic emergency braking, which slams the brakes by itself if it detects a likely collision; blind-spot monitoring, which alerts you if you might be changing lanes into another vehicle; lane-departure warnings, which alert you if you drift over the line; and lane-keeping assistance, which autonomously makes steering corrections to keep you in place. Here are 10 great pickups that include these useful technologies. 

1. 2022 Toyota Tacoma

The Toyota Tacoma mid-size pickup is better known for its hardy durability than its advanced technology. But like most modern Toyotas, the 2022 Tacoma is packed with self-driving features. Even the base model provides adaptive cruise control — which is often missing from pickups costing twice its base price of $26,500 — along with a forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and a lane-departure warning. Blind-spot monitoring is missing from most trim levels, though, and lane-keeping steering corrections aren’t available. 

We also don’t love the Tacoma’s raucous engine, tight rear seat, or fast-rising price tag. But this is a rugged truck that looks great inside and out, and that comes with a long list of advanced driver aids. We also appreciate Toyota’s upgrades in recent years, which include a modern infotainment system and a height-adjustable driver’s seat. 

Photo by Toyota

2. 2022 Ford Ranger

The Ford Ranger is a Tacoma competitor with even more self-driving features on its options list. Unlike the Toyota, only a forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking come standard. But Ford lets you add a blind-spot monitor and lane-keeping assistance to all of its trim levels, and adaptive cruise control is an option except on the base model. 

Our favorite Ranger feature is under the hood: its turbocharged four-cylinder engine delivers lively power and plenty of hauling ability along with comparatively economical fuel economy. This truck is also a bit roomier than the Tacoma, but it’s comparatively drab inside and doesn’t have great ride or handling. Ranger prices start at $25,070. 

Photo by Ford

3. 2022 Ram 1500

Moving up to larger pickups with self-driving features, the RAM 1500 is a reliable favorite among the half-ton-truck field. It doesn’t always win on the spec sheet, and it doesn’t have the segment’s best gas mileage unless you pay up for its diesel engine. But it has an unusually smooth ride and a beautifully finished interior. 

And although you have to pay extra for its self-driving features, it has plenty of them: automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, and even a partially automated parking system that spins the steering wheel for you to navigate into a space. The Ram 1500 starts at $33,975. 

Photo by Ram Trucks

4. 2022 Rivian R1T

A flurry of electric pickup trucks is coming to the market, but just one is already in production as we write: the 2022 Rivian R1T, the first product from a new American electric-vehicle maker. Slotting between the traditional mid-size and full-size classes, the R1T combines exceptional on-road and off-road capability — all without producing tailpipe emissions. 

The R1T also comes standard with a suite of self-driving tools called Driver+. Aside from fancy graphics showing the traffic around you, they’re the industry standard: automatic emergency braking, automatic steering assistance where you have to keep your hands on the wheel, adaptive cruise control, and blind-spot monitoring. But at least they’re all standard equipment, as is lots of other luxury kit. That helps justify its base price of $67,500. So does a $7,500 federal tax credit. 

Photo by Rivian

5. 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

The Chevrolet Silverado is a traditional full-size pickup that has historically lagged for its self-driving features. This year, Chevy has turned things around in a big way. Now, instead of being hard-to-find options, several key technologies come standard on every half-ton Silverado 1500: automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and lane-keeping assistance. 

What’s more, the Silverado is newly available with General Motors’ Super Cruise system. An enhanced version of regular adaptive cruise control, Super Cruise openly encourages drivers to take their hands off the wheels on more than 200,000 miles of compatible U.S. highways. The updated Silverado also has a redesigned dashboard for a more upscale vibe. Ride quality and gas mileage could be better, but this year’s improvements address two of the big Chevy’s biggest shortcomings. The updated 2022 Silverado is set to go on sale in early 2022, likely at a premium to the 2021’s base price of $29,300. You can find the same pros and cons with a different face by buying the GMC Sierra. 

Photo by Chevrolet

6. 2022 Ford F-150

The Ford F-150 is another half-ton pickup that’s getting a fancy new self-driving feature within the next few months. That’s BlueCruise, which is Ford’s equivalent to Super Cruise: a system that lets you take your hands off the wheel, even if you ask the lawyers who approved its owner’s manual. The F-150 also comes standard with automatic emergency braking, and all but the base model include lane-keeping assistance and blind-spot monitoring. 

Adaptive cruise control is already a costly add-on, though; BlueCruise is even more so. And if you buy your eligible F-150 now, the BlueCruise software won’t be available yet; Ford will provide a software update once it’s finalized. Most F-150s also boast powerful yet relatively economical “EcoBoost” turbo engines, and a fully electric F-150 Lightning is due this year. This isn’t an ultra-luxe truck like the RAM 1500, but nor is it spartan. The 2021 F-150 is priced from $29,290; the 2022 model should be similar. 

Photo by Ford

7. 2022 Honda Ridgeline

Moving away from conventional pickups, the Honda Ridgeline holds fast to the idea that many truck buyers don’t really need a truck. The Ridgeline trades some hauling and off-road capabilities for on-road prowess, which it delivers in spades. For the price of a comparable mid-size pickup ($36,890 and up, with lots of standard equipment), the Ridgeline has the smooth, quiet ride and wide, cushy seats that send many people into giant trucks. 

The Ridgeline also goes big on self-driving features. Standard equipment includes adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and lane-keeping steering. Blind-spot monitoring joins the lineup after the base model. There’s nothing cutting-edge in these features, but at least you don’t have to pay a fortune to get them. And the rest of the Ridgeline experience is like nothing else. 

Photo by Honda

8. 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz

Now, wait a minute, you might be saying. The Ridgeline doesn’t have the “car-based pickup” segment to itself. Two hot new models moving into this niche, including the Hyundai Santa Cruz.

The Santa Cruz isn’t as big and cushy as the Ridgeline, but it has a lot more spunk and value — without coming up too short on comfort and utility. True, it has only a stubby 4-foot-long bed, but the Santa Cruz also starts at just $23,990 for a well-equipped crew-cab model. Its standard self-driving features include automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping assistance. However, you need the top Limited model ($39,720) to get adaptive cruise control. That big jump does at least buy you a much more powerful turbocharged engine, along with a healthy helping of luxury. 

Photo by Hyundai

9. 2022 Ford Maverick

The other brand-new car-based small pickup is the Ford Maverick. While the Santa Cruz emphasizes funky design and the Ridgeline offers a big-truck vibe, the Maverick is a cheerfully functional small truck. It’s inoffensively handsome, is available with a fuel-sipping hybrid powertrain (a livelier but less economical turbo is also optional), and starts at just $19,995. 

Ford provides automatic emergency braking even on the base model, which also bundles blind-spot monitoring and lane-keeping assistance as a $540 option. With starting prices this far below any other crew-cab pickup, we don’t mind paying a bit extra. Similarly, while adaptive cruise control is part of a $3,340 “luxury package” on the top trim level, the grand total still comes to less than $30,000 for a well-equipped pickup. Modest towing capacities are modest at 2,000 to 4,000 pounds, but if you want a pickup bed and a manageable monthly payment, you can’t do better.

Photo by Ford

10. 2022 Nissan Frontier

We’ll end today with the redesigned 2022 Nissan Frontier. It’s a fairly conventional mid-size pickup, but this year’s redesign introduced a slew of new self-driving features. Forward automatic emergency braking is standard equipment, and a $990 option package on all trim levels adds blind-spot monitoring, a lane-departure warning (without steering assistance), adaptive cruise control, and rear automatic braking. None of those features were available at any price on last year’s Frontier. 

Other recent Frontier upgrades include fresh styling, a modern infotainment system, and a potent 310-horsepower V6 (introduced in the final year of the truck’s previous generation). With a base price of $27,840, it has become a formidable challenger to the best-selling Toyota Tacoma. If you’d like a traditional truck and don’t need a huge one, heavy low-speed steering and limited rear legroom are our primary quibbles with the new Frontier. 

Photo by Nissan