10 Best Used Small Trucks

2019 Nissan Frontier Red Off Road Front Three Quarter ・ Photo by Nissan

Americans like their trucks big. The best-selling vehicles in America are pickups that come in sizes ranging from huge to massive. So even our small trucks aren’t that small.

But if you’re looking for a pickup that’s smaller than the biggest, and you want to save money by choosing a used model, we’ve rounded up a diverse group of models. There aren’t many makes and models to choose from, so to broaden your options, we include a wide range of model years to include multiple generations of some of the same models. Here are the 10 best used small trucks.

1. 2017 Chevrolet Colorado

One of the most well-rounded small pickup trucks in recent years is the Chevrolet Colorado, which has been on sale in its current form since 2015. It’s tough, hardy, and useful, yet also comfortable and refined. Our choice is the 2017 model, which received enhanced crash protection while still being old enough to be a great bargain.

Buyers get a choice of extended cab and crew cab body styles, and one of three engines: a budget-priced gasoline four-cylinder, a smooth and powerful gasoline V6, and a fuel-sipping, towing-champion four-cylinder turbodiesel. The off-road-ready ZR2 trim level provides extra capability without sacrificing on-road civility. You won’t find the most posh interior or the most safety technology, even for a small pickup, but this is a well-rounded machine that will serve you well.

Photo by General Motors

2. 2017 GMC Canyon

The GMC Canyon is a mechanical twin to the Chevrolet Colorado, sharing the same platform and engines, and most of the same pros and cons.

The main difference is that the Canyon has an entirely different exterior design. GMC dumps the Colorado’s curves in favor of a blockier aesthetic with squared-off headlights, grille, and fender arches. We like how the Canyon turned out, but more broadly, we appreciate that you can choose your flavor of this great truck depending on your own stylistic preference. In another difference, GMC offers a high-end Denali version with richer interior materials and more luxury features than you’d find the Colorado, but no equivalent to the extra-capable Colorado ZR2. Here too we’re picking the 2017 model, but you’ll get a similar experience everywhere from 2015 to the present.

Photo by GMC

3. 2011 Ford Ranger

The 2011 Ford Ranger is the last truly small truck sold in the U.S. The smallest survivors are part of the “mid-size” class, which means the middle ground between a full-size pickup and this old Ranger.

We have to go all the way back to 2011 to get this Ranger, since that’s the last year before Ford discontinued it (only to resurrect it years later as a mid-size). This Ranger is a small vehicle with a bed on the back, without the mighty capability or generous rear seat room that define its modern successors. You can choose a single cab (also called a “regular cab,” though it’s now the rarest configuration) or an extended cab with center-facing jumpseats. But you can still choose a 6-foot-long bed, just like today’s mid-size pickups.

Photo by Ford

4. 2019 Ford Ranger

If a truly small truck isn’t to your tastes, or you just want something newer and in better condition than a 2011 Ranger would be, you can consider the reinvented Ranger. It appeared in the U.S. for the 2019 model year, though Ford had never stopped selling the vehicle internationally.

There’s basically no comparison between the new and old Rangers. One is bigger, more powerful, more capable, and high-tech; the other is smaller and cheaper. Compared to other recent-model mid-size pickups, the Ranger delivers a compelling blend of acceleration, towing and payload capabilities, safety, and fuel economy with its 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. But it lacks the ride and handling polish of a Chevy Colorado. And since it just arrived for 2019, you won’t be able to save money by buying a slightly older used vehicle. Extended cabs and crew cabs are available, but only the one engine is offered.

Photo by Ford

5. 2020 Jeep Gladiator

Another newly introduced mid-size pickup is the Jeep Gladiator, which just appeared for 2020. But we’re seeing plenty of examples of this unique truck on the used market, which is good news since it’s quite expensive when new.

Think of the Gladiator as a pickup version of the iconic Jeep Wrangler. Instead of a cargo hold behind its rear seat, you get a 5-foot bed. But you still get a convertible top, removable doors, and tremendous off-road capability, along with classically Jeep styling. And although its extra length makes the Gladiator bulkier both on and off the road than the Wrangler, it also gives the pickup a smoother ride. Every Gladiator is a four-door crew cab.

Photo by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

6. 2018 Nissan Frontier

The Nissan Frontier is the longest-running pickup on the market today. It hasn’t changed much since way back in 2005. It’s hardy and attractively styled, but never polished and upscale, providing an honest vibe that some buyers might find missing in fancier trucks. It may be bigger than the pre-2019 Ford Ranger, and there’s no single-cab body style, but it’s closest to that vehicle’s all-business vibe.

We’re picking the 2018 Frontier because that’s the year a backup camera arrived as standard equipment, making it easier to park the truck. But you can get most of the same benefits, including the optional 4.0-liter V6 engine with a hearty 261 horsepower, going back another dozen years.

Photo by Nissan

7. 2018 Toyota Tacoma

The Toyota Tacoma is consistently America’s best-selling small truck, on the strength of its top-notch reputation for capability and reliability. The flip side is that this demand keeps resale values high; that’s good news when you sell your Tacoma later, but it means you’ll pay more for a used model right now.

The current-generation Tacoma arrived as a 2016 model, but we’re drawn to the 2018 model, which is when Toyota began including a suite of advanced safety features as standard equipment. That’s an unusual perk for a pickup truck, and it helps offset the Tacoma’s middling acceleration, on-road driving experience, and seating accommodations. Choose between four-cylinder and V6 engines, and an extended cab or crew cab body style.

Photo by Toyota

8. 2015 Toyota Tacoma

Going back to the previous-generation Toyota Tacoma means you lose the latest safety and infotainment features, along with the current model’s ruggedly handsome styling and improved fuel efficiency. But if you want to get a more affordable small truck, you still get the same off-road capability.

What’s more, if you don’t want a touchscreen infotainment system and lots of sophisticated safety systems in your pickup, you enjoy even greater reliability; the 2005-2015 Tacoma enjoys even higher reliability scores than the current generation, since there are fewer little things to go wrong. You can even get a single-cab configuration in addition to extended cab and crew cab models, at least for most of this generation’s lifespan. As with the current model, though, you won’t get the best on-road driving experience or seat comfort.

Photo by Toyota

9. 2017 Honda Ridgeline

The Honda Ridgeline is all a crew cab pickup that provides everything that many buyers need. And by and large, they want nothing to do with it.

Essentially a pickup version of the Honda Pilot family crossover, the Ridgeline’s tremendous space efficiency gives it the huge cabin that’s more typical of a bulkier, more expensive full-size model. In return, its front-wheel-drive roots and unibody construction limit is total capacity, even if it’s enough for many buyers. This is a comfortable, mild-mannered pickup that’s great if you don’t have heavy-duty needs and know it. But if you’re looking for a fun rough-and-tumble vibe, or you want a simple utility tool, the Ridgeline won’t be your best fit. Our pick is the more attractive, higher-tech current generation that arrived in 2017.

Photo by Honda

10. 2018 Ford F-150

Hold on a minute. Isn’t the Ford F-150 a full-size pickup? Well, yes, but this best-seller’s huge model range includes some surprises.

Most relevantly for this list of the 10 best used small trucks, you can get a single-cab F-150 with a 6.5-foot “short bed” configuration. So equipped, the full-size F-150 is actually an inch and a half shorter than the supposedly small Ranger, though a few inches wider. The F-150 also has a tighter turning radius, and its EPA fuel economy ratings of up to 22 mpg in mixed driving (with rear-wheel-drive and the 3.3-liter V6 engine that was standard in 2018) beat several smaller pickups. There’s no backseat, true, but for capability without excess bulk, the F-150 or another full-size single-cab short-bed model might be just what you need.

Photo by Ford