Toyota, Honda, or GMC: Which Trucks Are the Best Values?

There's no getting around the fact that pickup trucks can have very high sticker prices. But how do they fare against one other when it comes to overall value? We teamed up with IntelliChoice to find out.

IntelliChoice analyzes the total ownership costs of vehicles over a five-year period. To determine the best truck values, it looks at a vehicle's actual ownership cost and compares that to the expected ownership cost based on its invoice price in its particular class. Vehicles perform better when they have a lower actual cost of ownership compared to expected cost of ownership. Ownership costs take into account depreciation, maintenance, repairs, fees, financing, fuel, and insurance.

Read on to learn which midsize pickups and full-size pickups have the Best Overall Values as defined by IntelliChoice.

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The best-selling midsize pickup in the U.S. is also the one with the best value. The Toyota Tacoma's five-year ownership cost is $36,149, significantly below its expected cost of $40,486 (calculated by averages for the midsize truck segment). And it retains an impressive 65.85 percent of its value after five years, compared to 59.90 percent for the second-place finisher, the Honda Ridgeline. This truck costs $40,095 to own and operate over five years. The Ford Ranger SuperCrew came in third place, followed by the GMC Canyon Crew Cab and Chevrolet Colorado Crew Cab.

Although the Tacoma may have the best value, it didn't perform very well in our recent midsize truck comparison. Its narrow bed, sensitive brakes, and disappointing engine and transmission integration relegated it to last place behind the Ford Ranger, Honda Ridgeline, and the unanimous winner, the Chevrolet Colorado.

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The Toyota Tundra hasn't received a full redesign since the 2007 model year. Despite its age, it boasts excellent reliability like its smaller Tacoma sibling. The Tundra CrewMax also offers the best value of all full-size trucks on the market.

The truck has a total ownership cost of $43,908, considerably lower than its expected cost of $49,422. It retains a whopping 69.05 percent of its value after five years.

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In second place is the GMC Sierra 1500 Crew Cab with an ownership cost of $47,365 and a retained value of 59.74 percent. Rounding out the top five are the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Crew Cab, Toyota Tundra Double Cab, and GMC Sierra 1500 Double Cab.

Good things are on the way for the Tundra. The next generation is rumored to sit on a platform shared with the Tacoma, and we anticipate it will receive an updated cabin design and better fuel economy.