2004 Truck of the Year Engine, Acceleration, & Towing Review

The other performance toy among our group of new trucks is Chevy's SSR, but with "just" 300 horsepower from its 5.3-liter V-8 to move 4760 pounds, the retro rod is more of a cruiser than a bruiser. If Chevy would slip the 345-horse, 6.0-liter mill from the Silverado SS under the SSR's curvaceous hood, the pace might quicken substantially. Editors bemoaned its absence of a manual transmission. Says Todd Lassa, "The automatic trans doesn't even have a manual mode. With only four speeds, it's more of an on/off switch." Why? Simple, the SSR is pulled off the GMT370 sport/utility platform, and this is the best-performing powertrain offered in it. To do something more would mean an expensive recertification job, so at least for now, it's a cruiser, not a racer.

In fact, the considerably heavier (5341 pounds) Nissan Titan Crew Cab outran the SSR during acceleration testing. Part of that was attributable to the Titan's Infiniti Q45-inspired (and we think underrated) 305-horse, 5.6-liter DOHC V-8 and part to the truck's slick-shifting five-speed automatic and lower rearend gearing. Editor notebooks filled up with raves about the full-size Nissan's throttle response, right-now torque (379 pound-feet at 3660 rpm), and rorty exhaust note, though, as Art St. Antoine points out, "The exhaust rumble sounds sporty at first, but quickly becomes intrusive."

By contrast, Jack Keebler describes the F-150's new move-up engine, the three-valve-per-cylinder 5.4-liter Triton V-8, as "smooth, quiet, and powerful." That said, and despite variable valve timing, induction airflow control, and electronic throttle management, the 5.4-liter's 300 horses seemed a lot smaller than the Titan's 305. The F-150's acceleration times (1.2 seconds slower than the Nissan to 60 mph) reinforced the impression. The F-150's standard four-speed automatic handled shifting chores with finesse, but, as Chirico says, "It clearly could use another cog." This powertrain is up to par in every way, but the Nissan made everything but the Ram SRT-10 look tepid.

It's easy to get carried away with performance euphoria, but when it comes time to feed the kitty at the gas pump every few days, some buyers are willing to dial it back a bit. General Motors has invested in a new line of midsize pickups with inline-four and inline-five engines. The Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon come standard with a 175-horse, 2.8-liter four-cylinder EPA rated at 20 mpg city/26 highway in two-wheel-drive/manual transmission form, with the move-up engine a 220-horsepower, 3.5-liter five listed at 18/23. Both are derived from the highly regarded TrailBlazer/Envoy all-aluminum DOHC inline-six, but with balance shafts to help tame vibration. The engines develop good power for their displacement, though low-end torque isn't as rich as it was in the previous S-10's 4.3-liter Vortec V-6. As a result, these engines need to be revved to get into the fat part of the torque band for decent squirt during freeway merging and highway passing. The five-cylinder has a distinctive Audi/Volvo howl when the coals are put to it. Although General Motors didn't provide us with a version of the Colorado or Canyon equipped with the new Aisin five-speed manual transmission, previous experience with this drivetrain combination tells us this pairing yields the best performance.

In case you're wondering, here's the towing tally for our more serious truck contestants. Nissan swings for the fences with its new, true full-size Titan rated to pull up to 9800 pounds, but the F-150 deftly defends its territory with a 9900-pound max rating, when properly optioned. Elsewhere in towland, the Tundra Double Cab can yank up to 6800 and the Colorado/Canyon five-cylinder 4000 pounds. GM wisely figured that small and midsize truck owners do little if any big towing.