Ford is one of the original American automakers. Nowadays, Ford is mainly known for the popular pickup trucks it sells. The main reason Ford trucks are so popular is because of their quality. So it’s no surprise that Ford trucks nearly swept the Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards. Here’s a look at the Ford trucks that won a Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Award and the Toyota truck that stopped Ford from completely sweeping the category.

An overview of Kelley Blue Book’s Best Buy Awards for 2023

As Kelley Blue Book wrote, every year, the car critic gives out a Best Buy Award to the best vehicles in each segment. These cars are the cars that the site recommends and endorses. The categories include most segments car shoppers are aware of, but the car critic also has a Best Buy Award for the best new model. For 2023, the car critic said the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is the best new model on the market.

The other Best Buy Award winners aren’t surprising, as the car critic generally agrees with most other critics and consumers. For example, the Honda CR-V won in the compact SUV segment, and the Kia Telluride won in the three-row midsize SUV segment. Similarly, the results for the various truck segments shouldn’t be a surprise for truck fans.

Three Ford trucks won a Best Buy Award, and so did the Toyota Tacoma

The compact pickup truck segment is a small but growing segment, and one of the newest entries in the segment is the Ford Maverick. Despite being such a new truck, the Maverick is already the best in its class, winning the Best Buy Award. The midsize truck segment is competitive, but the Ford Ranger didn’t win the award. Instead, the Toyota Tacoma is the best midsize truck.

The full-size truck segment is a popular segment, and the Ford F-150 has some tough competition thanks to the Chevy Silverado and the Ram 1500. The car critic ultimately gave the Best Buy Award to the F-150. This shouldn’t be a huge surprise since the F-150 is also the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. 

The last truck segment that the car critic has is the electric truck segment. This is a small and growing segment, and there aren’t that many competitors. It’s no surprise that the Ford F-150 Lightning is such a good truck that it took home the award. Overall, Ford won three out of four of the truck categories, with the well-known Tacoma spoiling the sweep. 

Here’s a look at the 2023 Toyota Tacoma

The Ranger isn’t a bad midsize truck by any means, but the Tacoma definitely deserved the win. The Tacoma starts at about $27,000 and has been the leader in the segment for a long time. The Taco doesn’t excel in its capabilities, as its standard four-cylinder engine only makes 159 hp, and that only allows it to tow 3,500 pounds. Toyota offers a V6 option, which boosts the Tacomoa’s output to 278 hp, allowing it to tow about 6,800 pounds.

Those specs are capable enough for most owners, but the main selling point about the Tacoma is its legendary reliability. It’s a durable truck that can last for decades under the right hands. Not only that, but its resale value also does well over the years. Overall, the Tacoma is a solid midsize pickup truck that does its job well, and it can do its job for a long time.