Turbocharged, Four-Cylinder New Truck Sales Are On Fire! Is the Internet Wrong On These Trucks?

testerdahl

testerdahl

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For decades, pickup truck buyers were told there was no replacement for displacement. Bigger engines meant more powerful trucks, period. Yet 2025 sales data tells a very different story. Turbocharged four-cylinder new truck sales are on fire much to the dismay of online commenters who say they will NEVER such a truck. From midsize pickups to full-size bestsellers, consumers are voting with their wallets, opting for the small displacement engines with more torque, better performance off-the-line and, at times, better fuel economy than the non-turbocharged engines. A closer look at the Toyota Tacoma, Chevrolet Colorado, Ford Ranger and Chevrolet Silverado […] (read full article...)
 
testerdahl said:
For decades, pickup truck buyers were told there was no replacement for displacement. Bigger engines meant more powerful trucks, period. Yet 2025 sales data tells a very different story. Turbocharged four-cylinder new truck sales are on fire much to the dismay of online commenters who say they will NEVER such a truck. From midsize pickups to full-size bestsellers, consumers are voting with their wallets, opting for the small displacement engines with more torque, better performance off-the-line and, at times, better fuel economy than the non-turbocharged engines. A closer look at the Toyota Tacoma, Chevrolet Colorado, Ford Ranger and Chevrolet Silverado […] (read full article...)
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For those wanting other engine options, availability is the biggest problem. At the end of the day, if you NEED a truck, you have to buy what is available. For those new to trucks that don't care, the smaller engines, good/bad/indifferent probably don't matter as much. Those that keep their trucks for a long time, use them, tow, etc., are the ones probably still buying what they want, when available. In 2024 I searched for a mid-tier (LT) Silverado, extended cab with V8, and simply couldn't find one or find one at a reasonable price. Essentially to replace what I had. Almost got one out of state, then another, but when both fell through, I gave up and bought a car, from Toyota. Wanted another truck, but didn't need a truck. Never were there more than 2 in state with the configuration I wanted. 2 in the entire state. Out of state wasn't much better. I won't buy a full-sized truck with a 4 cylinder turbocharged gas engine. If these are still going strong after 10 or more years of use, maybe I'll be convinced otherwise.
 
Here are the angles I'm looking at:

The average buyer doesn't care about the details. We're enthusiasts here but most buyers treat trucks like buying a cat. (Does it look good? Does it have the features I want?)

Most don't know or want to wait for a custom order. They don't even ask the salesman to check for a truck with the specs they want that could be shipped over. (Dealers will trade with other dealers for inventory.)

Brand loyalty beats the engine availability. What time as the percentage of brand loyalty that Tim talked about? That definitely affects sales numbers.

The fleet influence. Most fleet buyers don't care about engine choices (I'm talking about plumbers and pest control). They just want the cheapest one possible.

There's probably more that goes into the sales numbers. I just need to think about it some more.
 
Ryno said:
I won't buy a full-sized truck with a 4 cylinder turbocharged gas engine. If these are still going strong after 10 or more years of use, maybe I'll be convinced otherwise.
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Would a turbocharged 6 cylinder be better in your opinion than a 4 cylinder?
 
Saddle Tramp said:
Here are the angles I'm looking at:

The average buyer doesn't care about the details. We're enthusiasts here but most buyers treat trucks like buying a cat. (Does it look good? Does it have the features I want?)

Most don't know or want to wait for a custom order. They don't even ask the salesman to check for a truck with the specs they want that could be shipped over. (Dealers will trade with other dealers for inventory.)

Brand loyalty beats the engine availability. What time as the percentage of brand loyalty that Tim talked about? That definitely affects sales numbers.

The fleet influence. Most fleet buyers don't care about engine choices (I'm talking about plumbers and pest control). They just want the cheapest one possible.

There's probably more that goes into the sales numbers. I just need to think about it some more.
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Fleet makes up around half of all truck sales. However, that shouldn't be so easily tossed out. I think we should really look at fleets in terms of reliability.

I mean, I'm eagerly waiting for my local dealer to get another Ford fleet truck (for example) in on trade. I want to see a 300k or 400k F-150 EcoBoost after a fleet has beat it to pieces. Yup, I want to see all the "you should nevers." You should never do 10k mile oil changes. You should never use light-weight oils. You should never just turn it off without letting the turbos cool down. You will never see a turbocharged engine last that long. That's what I'm looking for. Will it change anybody's minds? Nope. I'm just really curious. I know they are out there. I've spoken to so many mechanics, friends and dealers who tell me about how they have driven them all the time. But, you NEVER see them on YouTube.
 
testerdahl said:
Fleet makes up around half of all truck sales. However, that shouldn't be so easily tossed out. I think we should really look at fleets in terms of reliability.

I mean, I'm eagerly waiting for my local dealer to get another Ford fleet truck (for example) in on trade. I want to see a 300k or 400k F-150 EcoBoost after a fleet has beat it to pieces. Yup, I want to see all the "you should nevers." You should never do 10k mile oil changes. You should never use light-weight oils. You should never just turn it off without letting the turbos cool down. You will never see a turbocharged engine last that long. That's what I'm looking for. Will it change anybody's minds? Nope. I'm just really curious. I know they are out there. I've spoken to so many mechanics, friends and dealers who tell me about how they have driven them all the time. But, you NEVER see them on YouTube.
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They also can’t be that bad or else fleet would switch to something else. Downtime for us is an inconvenience, downtime for fleets is a lot of money left on the table.
 
testerdahl said:
Would a turbocharged 6 cylinder be better in your opinion than a 4 cylinder?
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I feel like a 6 would probably not have to work as hard as a 4, to produce its power. Particularly when travelling over mountain passes, towing, etc. Cruising around town on relatively normal roads, etc., probably doesn't matter quite as much, but full-sized trucks aren't small, so it seems like the smaller the engine, the harder it has to work, potentially reducing its longevity.
 
testerdahl said:
Fleet makes up around half of all truck sales. However, that shouldn't be so easily tossed out. I think we should really look at fleets in terms of reliability.

I mean, I'm eagerly waiting for my local dealer to get another Ford fleet truck (for example) in on trade. I want to see a 300k or 400k F-150 EcoBoost after a fleet has beat it to pieces. Yup, I want to see all the "you should nevers." You should never do 10k mile oil changes. You should never use light-weight oils. You should never just turn it off without letting the turbos cool down. You will never see a turbocharged engine last that long. That's what I'm looking for. Will it change anybody's minds? Nope. I'm just really curious. I know they are out there. I've spoken to so many mechanics, friends and dealers who tell me about how they have driven them all the time. But, you NEVER see them on YouTube.
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Most of these fleet history trucks I've seen for sale are often only a year or two old, but I'm sure there are those that keep them longer and really run them hard, but most I see are relatively new, higher mileage (for their age) trucks. Maybe a year old with 30K on them, or 2 years with 40 - 50K miles. Everyone loves their EcoBoost trucks, but if you plan to keep a truck 10+ years, how does the maintenance/longevity compare to a bigger engine, over that longer period of time, is the question.
 
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