When you need the power and capabilities of a pickup truck, there is no alternative. Whether you’re in agriculture, construction, the moving business, or any other industry that requires you to haul and tow on a regular basis, you know that you need a pickup. However, if you live in the city, you’re faced with a dilemma: trucks are not traditionally great for urban and metropolitan areas. Many pickups are just too large for the crowded streets and compact parking spots of the city. Additionally, their fuel economy doesn’t usually do well in the stop-and-go nature of traffic you’ll find in congested urban streets. So, finding the right truck that is good for city life while also delivering the power and performance you need is tricky.
If you find yourself shopping for used trucks for sale and need a truck ready for city life, there are a few that stand ready for the challenge. These tend to have superior fuel economy to other trucks, smaller dimensions that make them better for crowded city conditions, and more refined interiors than you’d find on other trucks. Here are some of the best trucks to buy used for city life that will still do what you need to do when it’s time to work.
2022 Ford Maverick
The Ford Maverick is admittedly still quite new. Ford released it only in 2021. However, with many Maverick fans already keeping their eye out for the 2024 Maverick, you might be able to snag a used 2022 model soon enough. What’s nice about that is that you’ll enjoy really modern driver assistance and infotainment features that are up to today’s standards—all at a used car price.
The Maverick is a compact truck that drives more like a car than a pickup. Its small dimensions make it super easy to get into most garages and tight parking spots in the city, in addition to being easy to navigate busy, congested streets. Nosing your way into an opening in bumper-to-bumper traffic doesn’t feel too difficult in this pickup.
The most exciting thing about this truck has to be the hybrid engine option. There are a lot of fumes in the city, and if you choose a hybrid truck, you can do your part to contribute to lower emissions. Its incredible fuel economy will be a blessing to your wallet, too, with an estimated 40 MPG in the city. You won’t find yourself pulling over to fill up in this truck too often; in fact, it gets an estimated 500 miles on a single tank of gas.
The Maverick is also as modern as they come, with a Wi-Fi hotspot that can connect to up to ten devices simultaneously. So whether you have a work crew that all need to respond to emails on the go or a family with tech-savvy teens always wanting to be online, everybody can use Wi-Fi while in the Maverick. It enjoys seating for five and a bed perfectly sized for big hardware hauls or those gluttonous Sundays spent shopping at the wholesale club. It’s also got tons of convenient storage cubbies inside the cabin for smaller belongings.
2019 Nissan Frontier
The 2019 Nissan Frontier is a midsize truck, meaning it’s far easier to navigate busy city streets compared to a full-size vehicle while still boasting enough power for some heavy-duty jobs. It comes in a king cab or crew cab body style, so if you want that car-like feel you get from a four-door vehicle, you can get it with the king cab. With this style, it can seat up to five passengers, making it a good choice for truck drivers with small families to chauffer around the city.
While not as advanced as the newer Frontiers, the 2019 model does offer adequate infotainment for city life. You’ll get a 7.0-inch multimedia touchscreen along with smartphone compatibility, so you can do things like check the weather, traffic, or directions to your next meeting using your favorite phone apps and see the info show up on your media screen.
The 2019 Nissan Frontier has solid fuel economy for its size. Reports have it getting somewhere around 18 MPG in the city, which is impressive for a gas-engine pickup. It also has some available luxury features that give it a more elevated feel, like an available moonroof and leather-trimmed seats, should you find yourself with a higher-trim level version of the Frontier available for purchase.
2020 Chevrolet Colorado
The Chevrolet Colorado has long been the beloved smaller sibling to the beastly Silverado. The Colorado is a midsize truck with a reputation for being very easy to maneuver, so it will let you zip around busy city streets rather effortlessly. It also has three engine options, giving you the versatility to prioritize power or fuel economy (or even both). Reports show this truck getting a combined rating of 22 MPG.
The crew cab option here has a spacious backseat that your passengers should be comfortable in—even if they’re adults. As for the truck bed, you’ll find either 62-inch or 74-inch options. Opting for the shorter bed can give you a little more wiggle room when it comes to parking spots in the city and makes changing lanes in congested streets a bit easier.
This truck also has available a Wi-Fi hotspot to help you keep your GPS timely, receive calendar updates and web calls, and more. Plus, it has a keyfob-operated tailgate, a feature that can be especially useful for those times you’re approaching your truck bed with arms full of groceries or kids’ sports gear and can’t manually open the tailgate. The Colorado also has solid safety features like forward collision warning and lane departure alert to help keep you aware of those unpredictable city drivers.
2019 Honda Ridgeline
The Honda Ridgeline offers affordability and comfort and is great for the city. This midsize truck has seating for five making it ready for a small family or work crew. Like the Colorado, the Ridgeline sees a combined fuel economy of 22 MPG by some accounts, so it’ll have you pulling over to fuel up a little less than a full-size truck.
It’s known for comfortable front and rear seats with tons of head and shoulder room for rear passengers. Honda also put several convenient storage compartments through it, like a covered bin between the front seats, perfect for concealing valuables when parking in a city. It has even more covered storage beneath the rear seats. If you are worried about people breaking into your vehicle in the city to steal your valuables, you’ll appreciate being able to hide your stuff deep inside this truck.
The 2019 Honda Ridgeline also won awards for its child safety seat feature, making this a particularly good truck for parents with little ones. Plus, it has smartphone compatibility and can keep you informed and entertained when running errands in the city.
Drivers have praised the Ridgeline for its smooth handling, with a more car-like feel than that of a truck. Riding in pickups traditionally means “feeling the road,” but the Ridgeline glides over rough roadways without subjecting you to the rattling that most pickups will. It’s also worth noting that the 2019 model is available in a Black Edition, which has the perfect combination of sophisticated, metropolitan-looking style details for city life.
