Pickups often carry loads that change their performance characteristics. Several of the new trucks, including the Titan, F-Series, and Ram, feature a tow/haul mode on the automatic transmission for later upshifts and earlier downshifts to help the truck maintain momentum on grades and cope with hilly terrain.
On the safety front, manufacturers are now designing truck front ends with a lower front crossmember that engages the bumper system of a passenger car in the event of a collision. Side-impact protection is taking greater precedence in trucks these days with head-curtain airbags (now offered in the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Dodge Ram, and Nissan Titan, among others). Also, rear-park assist, long overdue on pickup trucks, is optional on the new Ford F-Series and Nissan Titan.
Performance
You can't keep a truck down on the farm anymore. At 4.8 seconds from rest to 60 mph, the Dodge SRT-10 isn't really a truck or a car--it's a performance animal. Tromp the right pedal, and the big Dodge runs with the likes of the BMW M5, SVT Cobra, Maserati Coupe, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Considering the SRT-10's 5000-pound heft and decided front-weight bias, the fact that drivers can easily keep all 500 horses hooked up makes that accomplishment all the more remarkable. Neil Chirico comments, "The world of high-performance trucks has a new champ"--at least until Ford SVT answers with the next supercharged Lightning, due for 2005.
What's even more remarkable is how tame the SRT-10's 525 pound-feet of torque is. Around town, there's enough torque to pull ahead in the higher gears from as little as 600 rpm. Cog selection is bolt-action smooth with the SRT-10's honest-to-goodness Hurst shifter. Driven aggressively, the Dodge tugs at the leash like a pit bull chasing a sausage, running 13.19 seconds at 107.07 mph in the quarter mile. Editors liked the Viper V-10's choppy idle emanating from under the SRT-10's hood, but some lamented the lack of a proper V-8 rumble. John Matthius writes, "The exhaust note is still a high-pitched trombone, but it softly pops and burbles in a muscular way when backing off." Back off? No way!