One of the most popular pickup trucks on the market today is the Ford F-150. It seems to be a great seller, but surprisingly, it didn’t impress MotorTrend enough to make it on one of their ‘Best of…’ lists. 

While Ford didn’t make it far, Ram pickups did, and more than one in fact. MotorTrend offers its best picks for pickup trucks in 2021. 

What Ram pickups made the list?

On MotorTrend’s list, Ram had three of its pickups listed. The first one that received the Best Full-Size Pickup award is the Ram 1500, which also won MotorTrend’s Truck of the Year award in 2019 over the Ford F-150. Its many pros included plush ride quality, comfortable seating, and a high-quality interior.

The next Ram on the list is the Ram 2500HD, which got the Best Heavy-Duty Pickup for 2021 award. This pickup also received the MotorTrend’s Truck of the Year award in 2020. This truck made the list for its rugged good looks, refined cabin, and towing capabilities. 

The last one on the list is the Ram 3500 HD, which received the Best Heavy-Duty Dually Pickup Truck for 2021 award. This pickup offers superb towing capacity, excellent ride quality, and great engine options to choose from. Price ranges go from $38,000 to $65,875 MSRP. 

How do the Ford F-150 and siblings stack up to the Ram pickups?

The Ford F-150 is one of Ram 1500’s biggest competitors. For the 2021 model, Ford will have six engine options to choose from, which is two more than the Ram 1500 has. It can also tow up to 13,200 lbs when it’s equipped with the 3.5-liter V6 motor. The Ram with one of its heavy-hitting engines, the 5.7-liter V8, can only handle 12,750 lbs. 

Going up the ladder, the Ford F-250, which is one of the Ram 2500 HD’s competitors, doesn’t measure up to others in its class. One of its biggest drawbacks is the way it drives. 

While you don’t expect a heavy-duty truck like this to ride smoothly, you expect some form of comfortable handling, but you don’t get it with this truck. Some reviewers tested it and found it to be too clumsy to drive. The truck’s blind spots, and its braking capability also fall short on this pickup.

Ford’s heavy-duty trucks are tough and great for towing, especially its dual-rear-wheel option. However, the dually is offered as a package on the bigger Ford pickups at an expensive price. 

While the Ram offers its 2500 HD dually for almost $66,000 on the highest trim, Ford’s Super Duty with dual rear-wheels can go as high as $90,000 and up. 

What does the 2021 Ford F-150 offer?

According to Car and Driver, the six engine options for the Ford F-150 include four V6 motors, one V8 engine, and one hybrid powertrain. You can choose between a 3.3-liter V6, a 3.0-liter diesel V6, a 2.7-liter twin-turbocharged V6, and a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged six-cylinder motor. The hybrid combination includes a 3.5-liter V6 engine and a 35 kW electric motor. 

For fuel economy, the 2.7-liter V6 motor gets you the best ratings. You can get approximately 20 mpg when traveling in the city, and 26 when you get out onto the highway. Ford’s hybrid version does offer better ratings, but not by much. It does better in the city with 25 mpg, but the highway remains the same at 26 mpg.

The 2021 Ford F-150 received interior upgrades that helped Ford increase its competitive level. It now has more storage, a spacious cabin, and an easy-to-use workspace. It also offers more premium materials throughout the interior. 

The 2021 model year is treating Ram trucks better than Ford trucks. Ford didn’t win in any of the categories, while Ram took three MotorTrend awards home this year. Maybe Ford should take a look at its lineup and see what its designers can do to bring back winning trucks again.