Only 1 Full-Size Pickup Truck Still Hasn’t Gone Hybrid
Most every full-size pickup truck offers a hybrid engine option. You can order a 2022 Ford F-150 or a Toyota Tundra with a fully hybrid engine. General Motors has experimented with mild hybrid and fully hybrid systems for its Silverado/Sierra and Ram currently offers the eTorque mild hybrid drivetrain in its 1500. The Nissan Titan is the last holdout not offering a hybrid engine option.
What are the 2022 Nissan Titan engine options?
Since Nissan’s 2020 refresh of its full-size Titan pickup truck, the automaker has only offered one powerplant. Every new Titan’s engine is a gasoline-powered, 5.6-liter “Endurance” V8.
Nissan’s 5.6-liter V8 is similar in displacement to the Tundra’s old 5.7-liter V8 and Ram’s current 5.7-liter HEMI V8. It also has a similar output: 400 horsepower and 413 lb-ft of torque.
For the 2020 refresh, Nissan upgraded the Titan’s seven-speed automatic transmission to a nine-speed unit manufactured by Jatco. The resulting truck earns an 18 mpg combined efficiency rating from the EPA, in either 2WD or 4WD configuration. Both configurations also achieve 21 mpg on the highway, but while the 2WD Titan is rated at 16 mpg in the city, the 4WD version only gets 15 mpg in the city.
Which automakers offer a hybrid pickup truck?
For the 2022 model year, you can order a mild-hybrid Ram 1500 and you can also order a fully hybrid Toyota Tundra and Ford F-150. If you’re in the market for a used pickup truck, General Motors has been experimenting with various hybrid pickup truck drivetrains since 2004.
One of the earliest pickup trucks available with a hybrid system was the 2004 Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra. This general motors drivetrain was a “micro hybrid” because it has an electric motor in the transmission flywheel capable of charging the battery and starting the engine.
For the 2019 model year, Ram developed a similar system. The eTorque “mild hybrid” combines the gasoline engines starter and alternator into a single unit capable of both charging a 48-volt battery with regenerative braking and launching the truck from a standstill while the automatic engine start/stop feature is activated.
General Motors introduced its first fully hybrid pickup truck drivetrain in 2009: a 6.0-liter V8 with a CVT transmission and 60-kilowatt electric motor capable of accelerating the truck up to 30 mph. It discontinued this Cheverolet Silverado/GMC Sierra option in 2013.
For the 2021 model year, Ford introduced its PowerBoost hybrid F-150. Thsi powertrain included a powerful electric motor sandwiched between a 3.5-liter, twin turbocharged V6 and a ten speed automatic transmission. Toyota has rolled out an iFORCE MAX drivetrain, with very similar specs to the PowerBoost, slated to be available in the Tundra in mid-2022.
Are any pickup trucks hybrid only?
No. You can buy any 2022 pickup truck with some non-hybrid engine. That said, you can’t buy a 2022 Toyota Tundra with a V8 or naturally-aspirated engine of any kind: its base engine is a twin turbocharged V6. And if you want the Ram 1500 without a mild hybrid system, you’ll have to pay extra for its naturally-aspirated HEMI V8.
Most automakers that offer a hybrid pickup truck powertrain, reserve the option as an upsell or for top-trim trucks. The Ford PowerBoost is an expensive option on the F-150.
Top-trim Toyota Tundras, such as the TRD Pro and all-new Capstone will come with the i-FORCE MAX hybrid standard. But buyers of other Tundra trims will need to opt for the hybrid.
You can buy any full-size 2022 pickup truck–with the exception of the Tundra–with a traditional, naturally-aspirated V8 engine. Find out more about why Toyota killed its V8 engine or see a longterm test of the Ford F-150 PowerBoost in the video below:
