Top-Rated Large Light-Duty Pickup Truck Autobytel & AutoPacific Consumer Award

by Jeffrey N. Ross

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February 1, 2012

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2 min. Reading Time

Reputation, reliability and resale value all play huge factors in the satisfaction of vehicles, but truck owners demand even more from their vehicles which makes this small segment so much more competitive. After tallying the votes of more than 75,000 customer surveys, the 2012 Ford F-150 was named the top-rated large light-duty pickup in AutoPacific's 2012 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSA). The F-150 has dominated its competition for the last three decades by being the best-selling truck on the market, and while this is impressive, the VSA looks at overall ownership experience of the vehicles rather than sales figures to decide the best-rated large light-duty pickup. Ford F-150 owners were obviously the most satisfied buyers in this segment to name their trucks the highest-rated large light-duty pickup.

Top-Rated Large Light-Duty Pickup Truck: 2012 Ford F-150

There are many possible reasons why owners picked the 2012 Ford F-150 as the top-rated large light-duty pickup, but it probably had a lot to do with the truck's unique and innovative engine line-up. The addition of two powerful and fuel-efficient V-6 engines in this truck proved to be very successful for Ford as more than half of all-new F-150s are sold with one of these engines, but the EcoBoost V-6 gives the truck best-in-class fuel economy AND towing capacity. Not only is the F-150 the best-rated large light-duty pickup, it has also been the best-selling pickup truck in the U.S. for more than three decades. The 2012 Ford F-150 offers an almost limitless number of build combinations giving customers the exact truck they want and need, but owners could have also named the F-150 the highest-rated large light-duty pickup thanks to the class-leading performance of the F-150 SVT Raptor.

Top-Rated Large Light-Duty Pickup Truck: 2012 Ford F-150 Competiors

The full-size truck market is ultra competitive, but the 2012 Ford F-150 beat the Toyota Tundra, Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra to be named the top-rated large light-duty pickup. While the full-size pickup truck segment isn't that large to begin with, Ford gave the 2012 F-150 all the tools necessary to be the best-rated large light-duty pickup by making the truck appeal fleet companies and families alike. Over the years, pickup trucks have evolved to play as much of a role on the job site as it does at the grocery store or school pick up lane, and the Ford F-150 has managed to remain the highest-rated large light-duty pickup by adapting to customer needs with more power, comfort, technology and fuel economy.