Top 10 Mid-Size Pickup Trucks 2022 — Best Overall + Best Value

The driveway problem: one truck, four jobs

Picture a buyer with a $32,000 ceiling, a 5,000-lb travel trailer, a 40-mile round-trip commute, a gravel forest-service road to a family cabin, and a garage that measures 19 feet deep. Every one of those constraints eliminates trucks, and they eliminate different ones. That is the actual shape of the 2022 mid-size pickup decision — not "which truck is best," but "which truck survives my four hardest constraints simultaneously."

Run the elimination. The 5,000-lb trailer is fine for almost everything here: the Tacoma V6 tows up to 6,800 lb, the Ford Ranger up to 7,500 lb with the trailer tow package, the Chevrolet Colorado V6 up to 7,000 lb and the 2.8-liter Duramax diesel up to 7,700 lb, the Jeep Gladiator up to 7,650 lb with Max Tow, the redesigned Nissan Frontier up to 6,720 lb. But it kills the hybrid Maverick outright — that powertrain is rated at 2,000 lb, and the 4,000-lb figure requires the 2.0-liter EcoBoost with the tow package, which also means giving up the 42 mpg city number that made the truck interesting. The Hyundai Santa Cruz gets to 5,000 lb only in turbo AWD form, right at the limit with nothing left over. The Honda Ridgeline hits 5,000 lb with standard i-VTM4 all-wheel drive and does it more comfortably than anything else here.

Now apply the commute. Forty miles a day at roughly 19 city / 24 highway mpg from a Tacoma V6 4WD is a real fuel line item; the Maverick hybrid's 37 mpg combined nearly halves it. Apply the gravel road: that is not a locker-and-low-range situation, so the Colorado ZR2's Multimatic DSSV dampers and dual electronic lockers are capability you are paying $42,600 to not use. Apply the 19-foot garage, and crew-cab-plus-six-foot-bed configurations start scraping the door.

What falls out is that the buyer's binding constraint is almost never towing capacity. It is usually the combination of price ceiling and daily use. That is precisely why the Tacoma and the Maverick bookend this class: the Tacoma is the truck that clears the most constraints at once without excelling at any single one, and the Maverick clears the price-and-efficiency constraint so decisively that it changes which other compromises you can afford. A buyer who genuinely tows 7,000 lb monthly should be shopping the Colorado/Canyon diesel or the Ranger. A buyer who tows twice a year and commutes daily is buying capability they will finance for 72 months and use for six hours.

How the segment actually splits: body-on-frame versus unibody

The single most consequential engineering fork in the 2022 mid-size pickup class is chassis architecture, and it explains nearly every spec difference downstream. Body-on-frame trucks — Tacoma, Colorado, GMC Canyon, Frontier, Ranger, Gladiator — bolt a separate cab and bed onto a ladder frame. Unibody trucks — Maverick, Ridgeline, Santa Cruz — integrate the bed and cab into a single stamped structure derived from a car or crossover platform.

Body-on-frame buys you three things. First, torsional isolation: the frame absorbs twist from uneven terrain and heavy tongue loads instead of transmitting it through the passenger cell, which is why the Gladiator can offer removable doors, a removable roof, and a folding windshield without structural compromise. Second, low-range gearing — a transfer case with a genuine low ratio, which the unibody trucks simply do not offer. Third, higher tow and payload headroom: the Tacoma's roughly 1,685-lb payload and the Frontier's 1,610 lb come from that architecture.

Unibody buys you ride quality, packaging efficiency, and fuel economy. The Ridgeline's flat-floor five-foot bed, lockable in-bed trunk, and dual-action tailgate exist because there is no frame rail eating vertical space under the bed. The Maverick's 4.5-foot Flexbed with integrated slots for DIY dividers is the same idea at a lower price point. The Santa Cruz shares its bones with the Tucson SUV and drives like one, with a 4.3-foot lockable bed — the smallest here.

Here is where buyers get it wrong: they treat body-on-frame as strictly superior and unibody as a compromise. In practice, a Ridgeline towing 4,500 lb on pavement is a better experience than a Tacoma doing the same job, because the unibody's rigidity and independent rear suspension resist trailer-induced yaw better than a leaf-sprung solid axle. The body-on-frame advantage shows up at the extremes — heavier loads, articulated terrain, and long-term abuse — not in the middle of the range where most owners actually live.

The practical rule: if you need low range, you need body-on-frame, and the decision is made. If you do not, unibody is on the table and usually wins on the metrics you experience daily. Roughly speaking, the crossover point sits around 5,000 lb of towing and any terrain requiring more than mild all-wheel-drive traction.

The numbers that actually separate these trucks

Powertrain first, because it drives everything else. The 2022 class spans an unusually wide spread. The Nissan Frontier's standard 3.8-liter V6 makes 310 hp and 281 lb-ft — the strongest base engine in the segment, paired with a nine-speed automatic. The Colorado and Canyon's 3.6-liter V6 makes 308 hp and 275 lb-ft. The Jeep Gladiator's 3.6-liter V6 makes 285 hp and 260 lb-ft, with a 3.0-liter EcoDiesel alternative at 260 hp but a segment-topping 442 lb-ft of torque. The Ridgeline's 3.5-liter V6 makes 280 hp and 262 lb-ft. The Tacoma's optional 3.5-liter V6 makes 278 hp and 265 lb-ft, with a 159-hp 2.7-liter four as the base.

Then the turbos and hybrids. The Ranger's 2.3-liter EcoBoost makes 270 hp and 310 lb-ft through a 10-speed automatic — more torque than any gas V6 here, from the smallest gas displacement. The Santa Cruz's optional 2.5-liter turbo makes 281 hp and 311 lb-ft with an eight-speed dual-clutch and standard AWD. The Maverick's standard hybrid makes 191 hp and 155 lb-ft; its optional 2.0-liter EcoBoost makes 250 hp. The Colorado/Canyon 2.8-liter Duramax makes only 181 hp but 369 lb-ft.

Notice the pattern: horsepower ranks almost inversely to towing utility. The 310-hp Frontier tows 6,720 lb. The 181-hp diesel Colorado tows 7,700 lb. Torque and gearing, not peak power, set tow ratings — which is why the Ranger's four-cylinder outpulls most of the V6s.

Towing, ranked: Colorado/Canyon diesel 7,700 lb, Gladiator gas V6 with Max Tow 7,650 lb, Ranger 7,500 lb, Colorado/Canyon V6 7,000 lb, Tacoma V6 6,800 lb, Frontier 6,720 lb, Ridgeline 5,000 lb, Santa Cruz turbo AWD 5,000 lb, Colorado ZR2 5,000 lb, Maverick EcoBoost 4,000 lb, Maverick hybrid 2,000 lb. The ZR2 entry is the one people miss: the off-road flagship tows less than the ordinary Colorado it is built from, because the lift, wider track, and 31-inch tires cost rating.

Fuel economy, EPA: Maverick hybrid FWD at 42 city / 33 highway / 37 combined; Ranger RWD around 21 city / 26 highway; Santa Cruz turbo around 22 combined; Tacoma V6 4WD around 19 city / 24 highway; Ridgeline around 18 city / 24 highway; Frontier RWD around 18 city / 24 highway. The Maverick's advantage is not incremental — it is roughly double the V6 body-on-frame trucks in city driving.

Pricing, starting MSRP: Maverick $19,995; Santa Cruz $23,990; Ranger $25,500; Colorado $25,900; Tacoma $26,700; Canyon $27,200; Frontier $28,140; Gladiator $36,790; Ridgeline $38,240; Colorado ZR2 $42,600. That $22,605 spread from cheapest to most expensive is the widest in any pickup segment, and it is the reason "mid-size truck" is a nearly useless shopping category on its own.

One more number that rarely appears on a window sticker but dominates total cost: resale. The Tacoma's reputation for holding value is the largest single reason it wins Best Overall despite an aging cabin, a low seating position, and mediocre economy. Depreciation is typically the biggest line item in five-year ownership — bigger than fuel, bigger than insurance — so a truck that gives back less of its purchase price is quietly generating revenue against your next purchase.

Trade-offs: what each pick costs you

Every truck here is a set of deliberate compromises, and naming them precisely is more useful than a ranking.

Tacoma. You buy reliability, resale, and the widest configurability — three cab styles, two bed lengths, RWD or 4WD, TRD Sport through TRD Off-Road to TRD Pro with a locking rear differential, Multi-Terrain Select, and Crawl Control. Toyota Safety Sense P is standard. What you give up: a dated interior, a famously low seating position with limited legroom, and V6 economy that trails newer designs. The Tacoma is the answer when you cannot predict your next five years of use.

Maverick. You buy the lowest entry price of any 2022 pickup and hybrid economy nothing else approaches, plus a genuinely clever Flexbed and roughly 1,500 lb of payload. You give up towing headroom, base-trim interior materials, and — critically — the efficiency itself if you option the EcoBoost for the 4,000-lb rating. The hybrid and the tow rating are largely mutually exclusive.

Ridgeline. You buy the best ride and handling in the class, standard AWD, standard Honda Sensing, a lockable in-bed trunk, dual-action tailgate, and an SUV-grade crew cab. You give up low-range 4WD entirely, engine choice entirely, and about $11,500 relative to a base Tacoma.

Gladiator. You buy the only convertible pickup — removable doors, removable roof, folding windshield — plus Rubicon lockers, a disconnecting sway bar, 33-inch tires, 7,650-lb tow, and a 442-lb-ft EcoDiesel option. You give up highway refinement, steering precision, and a lot of money once the Rubicon hardware is on the sticker.

Colorado / Canyon. You buy three engines, multiple bed lengths, the segment's best diesel tow rating, and a strong 308-hp V6 at a fair price. The Canyon adds nicer materials and the 4WD-only AT4 with a locking rear differential, hill descent control, and an Autotrac transfer case, at a premium over the Chevy. You give up interior modernity, standard safety content, and a meaningful sum to the diesel upcharge — which typically needs years of towing to repay.

Frontier. You buy a fully redesigned truck with the strongest standard engine here, bold styling, a PRO-4X with Bilstein shocks, skid plates, and a locking rear differential, and a 9-inch touchscreen. You give up powertrain choice and fuel economy — one engine, one cab style at launch.

Ranger. You buy 7,500-lb towing from an efficient turbo-four, a smooth 10-speed, standard Co-Pilot360, and an available FX4 package with skid plates and Trail Control. You give up ride comfort, cabin quality, powertrain variety, and bed-length choice.

Santa Cruz. You buy the sportiest driving experience, a 311-lb-ft turbo, standard SmartSense, and the lowest non-Maverick entry price. You give up bed size — 4.3 feet is the smallest here — and watch the price climb fast once you add turbo and AWD.

Colorado ZR2. You buy Multimatic DSSV spool-valve dampers, front and rear electronic lockers, a 2-inch lift, a 3.5-inch wider track, skid plates, and rock sliders. You give up $16,700 over a base Colorado, 2,700 lb of tow rating, and on-road quietness.

Pitfalls that cost buyers real money

Assuming the advertised max tow applies to your truck. Published maximums — 7,700 lb for the Colorado diesel, 7,650 lb for the Gladiator, 7,500 lb for the Ranger — apply to one specific combination of cab, bed, drivetrain, axle ratio, and tow package. A 4WD crew cab with the short bed and the wrong axle can sit well below the headline number. Always confirm against the door-jamb sticker and the towing guide for your exact configuration before signing.

Ignoring payload while obsessing over towing. Tongue weight typically runs 10 to 15 percent of trailer weight, and it lands on the payload budget along with passengers, gear, and the hitch itself. A 6,000-lb trailer puts roughly 600 to 900 lb on the hitch. Against the Tacoma's roughly 1,685-lb payload or the Frontier's 1,610 lb, four adults and camping gear can consume the remainder fast. Payload, not tow rating, is the constraint that actually binds on family trips.

Buying the diesel for economy rather than torque. The 2.8-liter Duramax makes 369 lb-ft and unlocks 7,700 lb, which is genuinely valuable if you tow heavy and often. It also carries a steep upcharge, and diesel fuel and maintenance both cost more. If you tow a few times a year, the 308-hp gas V6 at 7,000 lb is the better financial answer.

Cross-shopping the ZR2 against ordinary Colorados on price alone. At $42,600 the ZR2 is nearly $17,000 above a base Colorado and tows 2,700 lb less. It is the right truck for desert running and rock crawling and the wrong truck for a gravel driveway. Match the hardware to terrain you will actually drive.

Assuming safety tech is standard. It varies sharply. Toyota Safety Sense P is standard across the Tacoma line; Honda Sensing is standard on Ridgeline; Hyundai SmartSense is standard on Santa Cruz; Ford Co-Pilot360 brings automatic emergency braking as standard on Ranger. On the Colorado and Canyon, forward collision alert and lane departure warning are available rather than universally standard, and Nissan's Safety Shield 360 is available on Frontier. Verify on the specific trim rather than the brand.

Choosing crew cab reflexively. A crew cab trades bed length for rear-seat room. If you regularly haul eight-foot material, an extended cab with the six-foot bed on a Colorado, Canyon, or Tacoma is the configuration that works. Trucks are bought for cargo and specified for passengers, and the mismatch shows up every time you need to close the tailgate.

Overvaluing peak horsepower. The 310-hp Frontier and the 181-hp diesel Colorado make the point: usable low-end torque, gearing, ride quality, and proven reliability shape daily satisfaction far more than a headline power figure. The Ranger's 270-hp turbo-four outpulls most V6s here because 310 lb-ft arrives low.

Related questions

Does the Maverick's 42 mpg rating survive real-world driving?

EPA rates the hybrid FWD Maverick at 42 city / 33 highway / 37 combined. Real returns depend heavily on driving mix — hybrids favor city and stop-and-go, so highway-heavy commutes land closer to the 33 figure than the 42.

Which 2022 mid-size pickup has the best resale?

The Toyota Tacoma has the strongest resale reputation in the segment, and that is the core of its Best Overall case. Lower depreciation offsets its mediocre fuel economy and aging cabin across a typical five-year ownership window.

Is the Colorado ZR2 worth $42,600 over a base Colorado?

Only if you use it. It adds Multimatic DSSV dampers, front and rear lockers, a 2-inch lift, and a wider track — genuine desert and rock hardware — while dropping tow rating to 5,000 lb and adding road noise.

Can a unibody truck replace a body-on-frame one?

For most owners, yes. Ridgeline and Santa Cruz tow up to 5,000 lb and carry real payload. The gap appears at heavier loads, low-range terrain, and long-term abuse — not in everyday hauling.

Which truck should a first-time buyer on a tight budget pick?

The Maverick at $19,995 or the Santa Cruz at $23,990. Both drive like cars, both include useful standard content, and both avoid the fuel and insurance costs of a large body-on-frame truck.

FAQ

What is the best mid-size truck for 2022 overall?

The Toyota Tacoma. It combines a reliability track record, the strongest resale value in the class, the broadest off-road trim ladder from TRD Sport to TRD Pro, and three cab styles with two bed lengths. Its cabin is dated and its 19/24 mpg economy is unremarkable, but no rival clears as many buyer constraints at once.

Which 2022 mid-size pickup is the best value?

The Ford Maverick. It starts at $19,995 — the lowest of any 2022 truck — with a standard 191-hp hybrid rated at 42 city / 37 combined mpg, roughly 1,500 lb of payload, a clever 4.5-foot Flexbed, and up to 4,000 lb of towing with the optional 2.0-liter EcoBoost and tow package.

Which 2022 mid-size truck tows the most?

The Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon with the 2.8-liter Duramax diesel lead at 7,700 lb, on the strength of 369 lb-ft of torque. The Jeep Gladiator follows at 7,650 lb with the gas V6 and Max Tow, then the Ford Ranger at 7,500 lb from its 310-lb-ft EcoBoost turbo-four.

Are unibody trucks like the Maverick and Santa Cruz real trucks?

Yes, within their limits. They tow 4,000 to 5,000 lb in their strongest configurations and carry genuine payload in lockable beds. They prioritize ride comfort, parking ease, and fuel economy over the heavy towing, low-range crawling, and long-term load durability of body-on-frame rivals.

Which 2022 mid-size pickup is best for off-roading?

The Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and Jeep Gladiator Rubicon lead, with front and rear locking differentials, serious suspension hardware, and low-range 4WD. The Tacoma TRD Pro and Frontier PRO-4X sit a tier below with a rear locker, off-road-tuned dampers, and skid plates while remaining more livable daily.

Which 2022 mid-size truck gets the best fuel economy?

The Maverick hybrid, decisively, at 42 city / 33 highway / 37 combined. The next closest are the Ranger at roughly 21/26 and the Santa Cruz turbo near 22 combined. Every V6 body-on-frame truck in this group sits around 18 to 19 mpg city.

Sources

• https://www.caranddriver.com/
• https://www.motortrend.com/
• https://www.edmunds.com/
• https://www.kbb.com/
• https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks
• https://www.fueleconomy.gov/
• https://www.iihs.org/
• https://www.cars.com/
• https://www.nhtsa.gov/ratings
• https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/

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