Expensive Trucks: Big Rigs For Deep Pockets

It’s no secret that pickup trucks can be seriously expensive—but these models take that to a whole new level.

As pickups have piled on the leather, heated everything, and enough technology to launch a space shuttle, price tags have ballooned. This is in part because folks are using them more as family vehicles and less like, well, trucks. If you want a simple, straightforward—and smaller—work truck, they certainly still exist. But what we’re looking at here are the priciest of pickups.

Below you’ll find eight trucks that carry the sort of price tag you’d expect in a premium German showroom. From electric behemoths to the most powerful production pickup in the world, here are the most expensive trucks on the market.

(Editor’s Note: All the prices you’ll see below are US MSRP plus destination charges, but prior to any additional options.)

Kicking this list off is the often-overlooked Nissan Titan. The Japanese automaker took an unusual approach to its full-sizer this generation, with the XD blurring the line between a traditional light-duty pickup and the HD models found at the American Big Three. It’s the XD that’s in the spotlight here, in top $64,735 Platinum Reserve trim. As part of the 2020 refresh, the Titan engine lineup is simple: every single one gets a 5.6-liter V8 producing an even 400 horsepower, backed up by 413 pound-feet. The Platinum Reserve gets a liberal slathering of chrome trim outside and in, unique dark-finish 20-inch alloy wheels, power tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, and enough leather impress Ron Burgundy.

You didn’t think the most powerful production pickup the world would ever see would end up as the second-most-affordable rig on this list, did you? Hey, neither did we. But that’s what the 702-horsepower Ram 1500 TRX does: surprise people.

The TRX is Ram’s Raptor-eater, with all the subtlety you’d expect of a Hellcat-engined half-ton. It’ll launch off ramps until the driver’s tired, and click off a sub-4-second run to 60 mph in between. Buyers can bring that bottom line close to $100,000 with all the available options, giving the TRX a surprisingly plush interior. There won’t be another quite like it.

Toyota hasn’t given up the fight for full-size pickup truck buyers’ hard-earned. The third-generation Tundra arrived for 2022 with a whole host of features, including an available hybrid powertrain. The usual trim lineup was available at launch, and a few months later, Toyota threw down this, the Tundra Capstone.

Capstone will be the new ultra-lux trim for Toyota trucks—it will be a part of the 2023 Sequoia lineup from launch, for example. Inside, you’ll find heated and ventilated front seats, done up in a black-and-white leather look that works far better than it has any right to. Call it the Tuxedo Tundra. Outside, the Capstone gets a generous helping of chrome, 22-inch wheels, and a body-color grille surround to class up the nose. The 3.4-liter, turbocharged V6 hybrid powertrain is the only choice for the Capstone.

Appropriate for North America’s best-selling vehicle, the top trim of the Ford F-150 lands right in the middle of this list. Not that there’s anything particularly “average” about the $77,530 F-150 Limited. It’s chock-full of leather, of course, with a dreamy nautical blue-and-cream look inside. There’s an 18-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, and Ford’s Sync 4 infotainment is one of the better interfaces out there.

What really sets the F-150 apart is that it doesn’t sacrifice the practicality the badge has come to stand for over the decades. It’ll tow up to 14,000 pounds with the standard EcoBoost V6. Plump for the PowerBoost hybrid model, and it’ll power your whole house if you need, care of the 7.2-kW Pro Power Onboard system. The onboard scale system gives you a quick and easy way to gauge your payload, too. The F-150 is both big and clever.

Denali has been a huge hit for the GMC brand. So for 2022, it’s no surprise the brand is upsizing Denali for its Sierra pickup, bringing in the new Denali Ultimate trim. Alongside the overall facelift for all 2022 Sierras, the Ultimate picks up unique 22-inch rolling stock, a “Vader” chrome grille, and the requisite smattering of exterior badges. GMC also throws in the MultiPro tailgate and Adaptive Ride Control suspension as standard, as well as Super Cruise—the latter fully compatible with towing, no less.

Like the other top trim gas trucks on this list, the Sierra comes with plenty of smooth leather inside, as well as open-pore Paldao wood. One fun feature we dig: topographical maps of Mount Denali spread across the leather and wood. So cool.

We’re into the battery-powered portion of this list. The next three entries all say goodbye to the tailpipes, and the $84,145 Rivian is the most affordable of the lot. Well, it is when you’re comparing top trims, which in this case means the Adventure Package with the Max pack battery. The American start-up’s pickup isn’t quite mid-sized, and isn’t quite full-sized, but what it is, is distinctive. That extends to the interior, which manages to be both minimal and premium. Like most EVs, the R1T groups nearly all controls into a large, central touchscreen, with an additional high-res screen ahead of the driver.

If that list price is too rich for your blood, note that an Explore Package R1T with the smaller battery (still good for an estimated 314 miles of range, mind you) slashes $13,500 off the sticker.

The F-150 gets a second spot on this list, because we consider the highly-anticipated F-150 Lightning a separate entity. Riding on a unique platform, the F-150 represents a major milestone in the industry, as the first mainstream pickup to go the EV route.

While the fleet-only F-150 Lightning Pro will be the value play at around $40,000, the top-shelf Platinum will be over double that. The Platinum basically takes all the goodies from the gas Limited—heated and ventilated front seats, a wicked B&O sound system, big twin-panel moonroof, the smart Tow Technology Package—and piles on more. Unique Nirvana leather seating, funky aero-friendly 22-inch wheels, Ford’s Level 2 BlueCruise driver assist, and the extended-range battery all add up to make the Lightning one impressive—and expensive—package. But it’s not the top dog in this list…

If you want the biggest, most expensive, most powerful, heaviest pickup on the road, only the reborn Hummer will do. That name takes on a whole new meaning now too, since this behemoth runs around on nothing but battery power. At 2,923 pounds, that battery alone weighs more than a Honda Civic.

Propelling all that poundage, at least at launch, is a tri-motor setup, with equally big figures: 1,000 hp and 1,200 lb-ft of torque. The Hummer EV is thus incredibly quick in a straight line. And if you don’t want to go straight, its novel crabwalk mode gives the Hummer some semblance of agility. The $111,990 cost of entry was for the sold-out Edition 1 model; a slightly cheaper EV3X trim will arrive later in 2022, for the low-low price of $101,690.