Our Picks For The Best Looking Trucks Of The 21st Century
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Pick-up trucks have become the cornerstone of American culture over the last century. Their usefulness, complimented by their rugged design and growing features list, has made them a wildly popular choice for everyone from the entry-level apprentice to the stalwart CEO. Once thought only as a vehicle for tradesmen, farmers, or off-road enthusiasts, since 2000, their roles and features have expanded wildly, leading to brands experimenting with design styles and unique models that offer more luxury and performance than ever before. To put it plainly, trucks these days look good, but what are the best-looking models?
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If you ask someone to name the best-looking trucks of all time, they’ll say an old square body nine times out of ten, and they’d be right, but the 21st century has blessed us with some great-looking examples as well. Designs are bolder now, as companies decided to move away from the clean lines of the early 2000s to the more angular look of the late 2010s and early 2020s. Some people like it, some don’t, and that’s why beauty is in the eye of the beholder. After serious deliberation, CarBuzz came up with a list of 10 trucks we believe are the best looking of the 21st century.
These are specific models, mind you, not entire generations, because often a single model rises above the rest. Is it going to be controversial? Absolutely, but this is OUR list, and OUR list has OUR favorites. YOU may feel differently, so please do tell us how wrong we are in the comments section below.
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10 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor (2010–2014)
|
Model Year |
2010 |
2010–2014 |
|---|---|---|
|
Specs |
5.4-liter V8 |
6.2-liter V8 |
|
Horsepower |
310 hp |
411 hp |
|
Torque |
365 lb-ft |
434 lb-ft |
|
0-60 MPH |
~8.4 seconds |
~6.0 seconds |
The Ford F-150 SVT Raptor broke new ground in both performance and appearance when it was introduced. We had never seen something this serious from the factory before, fit with an aggressive body kit, beefy 35-inch tires, and a host of suspension upgrades that gave it an aggressive stance and plenty of clearance. It was about as close to a factory trophy truck we had ever seen, and even today it still looks the part.
Available in SuperCrew or SuperCab body styles, we still miss the SuperCab/V8, and we still miss this combo on the new Raptor. The SVT was a trailblazer and had a special combination (not a screen in sight) we still wish we could get today, and that’s why it found a place on this list.
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9 Second-Generation Toyota Tundra TRD Pro (2015–2021)
|
Model Year |
2015–2021 |
|---|---|
|
Engine |
5.7-liter V8 |
|
Horsepower |
381 hp |
|
Torque |
401 lb-ft |
|
0-60 MPH |
~6.4 seconds |
To some, the second-generation Toyota Tundra TRD Pro may have overstayed its welcome, but we say the model aged like fine wine. When Toyota first introduced the model back in 2007, it looked fine, if not a little too rounded and stubby up front. Fortunately, it was a great truck beyond its looks and garnered a serious following.
When the model was facelifted in 2014 and the TRD Pro version was introduced in 2015, things really took a jump in the looks department, and it quickly became one of the best-looking trucks on the road. It was properly rugged, and the introduction of some great colors over the years helped to send it into the top 10 in our eyes.
8 Ram TRX (2024–Present)
|
Model Year |
2021–Present |
|---|---|
|
Engine |
6.2-liter Supercharged HEMI V8 |
|
Horsepower |
702 hp |
|
Torque |
650 lb-ft |
|
0-60 MPH |
4.5 seconds |
Ah, the Ram TRX. When Ram (or Dodge, or Jeep) does something, they really go all in, and the TRX is the perfect example. This supertruck not only features 700 horsepower at your disposal, but is one of the meanest-looking setups of all time. The front is dominated by the functional hood scoop and revised front fascia with integrated clearance lights, and it sits higher thanks to Bilstein shocks. 35-inch tires fill out the wheel wells, but you can go bigger.
It’s a menacing vehicle that only feels more daunting in person as it’s a truly massive truck. It just dominates (nearly) every other vehicle with its looks and supercharger whine and is easily in the running for the greatest truck of all time as a result.
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7 Tenth-Generation Ford SVT F-150 Lightning (1999–2004)
|
Model Year |
1999–2004 |
|---|---|
|
Engine |
5.4-liter Supercharged V8 |
|
Horsepower |
380 hp |
|
Torque |
450 lb-ft |
|
0-60 MPH |
~5.2 seconds |
The SVT F-150 Lightning is one of the most iconic trucks of the early 2000s and often gets forgotten about given all the new performance trucks on sale these days. Back then, Ford’s Special Vehicle Team (SVT) was doing some very cool things, and after working out the kinks on the ninth-generation F-150, the company went all in with the tenth-generation model.
This generation F-150 was never the most attractive, but the body kit, lowered suspension, and step-side bed all made the most of its potential. It wasn’t exactly mean, just very sporty, and with a supercharged Triton V8 under the hood, it could really move. Ford had the right idea, and it even offers something close to it today if you’re not looking for luxury.
6 Third-Generation GMC Canyon AT4X AEV / Chevy Colorado ZR2 Bison (2024–Present)
|
Model Year |
2024–Present |
|---|---|
|
Engine |
2.7L Turbo I4 |
|
Horsepower |
310 hp |
|
Torque |
430 lb-ft |
|
0-60 MPH |
~6.5 seconds |
It’s best to think of the GMC Canyon AT4X AEV and the Chevy Colorado ZR2 Bison as step-siblings: they may look a bit different, but they’ve been brought up the same. We can’t think of another company that manages to sell so many of the same vehicles under different brands than GM, but what it has with its Chevy and GMC trucks is something special. Look, the third generation of this brand’s mid-sized trucks look incredible.
They look so good, especially in these top off-road trims, that we think they may be the best-looking trucks on sale today. The proportions are great, the aggressiveness has been dialed up perfectly, and the stance give them real presence. The GMC may be a slightly better-looking truck out of the two, but the money you’ll save with the Chevy gives it a leg up in our book.
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5 Rivian R1T Tri-Max (2021–Present)
|
Model Year |
2021–Present |
|---|---|
|
Engine |
Tri-Motor AWD |
|
Horsepower |
850 hp |
|
Torque |
1,103 lb-ft |
|
0-60 MPH |
~2.9 seconds |
The Rivian R1T was the electric champion no one was expecting. In the EV frenzy of the late 2010s, companies were popping up all over promising to change the landscape of the automotive industry, but very few are left today. Rivian is one of the winners of that time, and that’s thanks to the R1T, which combines incredible performance with an attractive pickup truck body that is easy on the eyes.
Its proportions are very similar to a combustion pickup truck, but looking at the lighting elements, you can tell something special is going on here. It’s a subtle update of modern-day pickup truck design, one that we feel helps push the industry forward without entering into the absurd like the Tesla Cybertruck does.
4 Fourth-Generation Ram 1500 R/T (2009–2018)
|
Model Year |
2009–2018 |
|---|---|
|
Engine |
5.7-liter HEMI V8 |
|
Horsepower |
395 hp |
|
Torque |
410 lb-ft |
|
0-60 MPH |
~5.5 seconds |
The fourth-generation Ram 1500 R/T is a perfect blend of modern and retro pickup truck design and maybe our pick for the most attractive pickup of the last 24 years. Everything about this standard cab, short bed truck has been done right. Under the hood sits the respectable 5.7-liter Hemi V8, and it sends nearly 400 horsepower to the rear wheels only. It’s a simple, no frills truck, but its aggressive stance combined with 20-inch chrome wheels and choice of exciting colors meant it was a sports truck through and through. We think this truck looks so good because Ram’s design language at the time hit a sweet spot between old-school and modern that just looks right.
3 Third-Generation Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro (2016–Present)
|
Model Year |
2016–Present |
|---|---|
|
Engine |
3.5-liter V6 |
|
Horsepower |
278 hp |
|
Torque |
265 lb-ft |
|
0-60 MPH |
~7.0 seconds |
The third-generation Toyota Tacoma was beloved for many reasons, and its looks, especially in the TRD Pro guise, were a big part of its appeal. The model just looked good. The style was relatively simple, but the Tacoma had a slim look to itself that was particularly good when fender flares were added along with a lift and bigger wheels. It represented what a pickup truck should, without all the extras of Toyota’s newer models.
Will the new Tacoma outperform this one? Most definitely, but the simplicity of the third-gen will have us coming back every single time.
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2 Ram 1500 SRT10 (2004–2006)
|
Model Year |
2004–2006 |
|---|---|
|
Engine |
8.3-liter V10 (Viper Engine) |
|
Horsepower |
500 hp |
|
Torque |
525 lb-ft |
|
0-60 MPH |
~4.9 seconds |
There are few trucks more impressive and eye-catching than the Ram 1500 SRT10. This genuinely bonkers truck featured the V10 out of the Dodge Viper at the time, mated to either a six-speed manual or four-speed automatic. 60 mph arrived in under 5 seconds, meaning this thing could embarrass sports cars at the time.
To match this performance, it featured an exaggerated body kit with a rear wing that would look tacky on anything else but a pickup truck with a V10. Combined with the wheels and the hood scoop, you had a seriously mean sports truck that we haven’t seen the likes of before or since.
1 Ford Maverick Lobo (2025)
|
Model Year |
2025 |
|---|---|
|
Engine |
2.0-liter EcoBoost I4 |
|
Horsepower |
238 hp |
|
Torque |
277 lb-ft |
|
0-60 MPH |
~6.5 seconds |
The final choice on our list is the upcoming 2025 Ford Maverick Lobo, probably the coolest small truck we’ve received since the GMC Syclone. We don’t think anyone was expecting Ford to release a sports truck when it debuted the Maverick facelift for 2025, but it’s a welcome addition to the already impressive Maverick family.
The Lobo comes with an attractive body kit, the newly revised Maverick fascia, and, most importantly, some of the coolest wheels we’ve seen on a production vehicle in years. Power isn’t down, it’s just been re-measured, and the model features new tuning, a new transmission, and more to make the most of its agility. We can’t wait to get behind the wheel of this one, and we hope and pray it’s successful enough to inspire competitors to release something similar.
