Truck Drag Race Supreme: Which Half-Ton Truck Comes out on Top?
Does speed matter to you when searching for the right half-ton truck? While most of us look at trucks for their towing power, payload, cabin configuration, and relative efficiency, speed could matter. The only speed that will truly matter in these trucks is how fast you can accelerate from a stop sign.
Maybe a drag race is a good idea to demonstrate half-ton truck acceleration?
Whether it’s an actual test of what you want in a truck or not, it’s sure fun to watch. The Fast Lane Truck team put four half-ton pickups against each other to give us a drag race to enjoy. You might not consider their results important to what you need in your truck, but that doesn’t deviate from the fun of the experience.
Which trucks were used, and how were they configured?
In many contests between vehicles, the testers attempt to put models against each other that are extremely similar. That’s not the case in this example. The half-ton trucks used are:
- Chevrolet Silverado 1500 – 3.0-liter Duramax diesel engine
- GMC Sierra 1500 – 6.2-liter V8 engine
- Ford F-150 Hybrid – 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged EcoBoost hybrid V6
- Toyota Tundra TRD Pro – 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged hybrid V6
The goal is to find it whether the new Toyota Tundra powertrain offers better acceleration than the other three trucks.
Three half-ton truck drag races ensued; which one was the winner?
To truly test the Tundra against the other three trucks, the TFL Truck team put the Tundra in three separate drag races. This created interesting power matches giving us:
- Diesel Power vs. Hybrid Power
- Gasoline Power vs. Hybrid Power
- Hybrid Power vs. Hybrid Power
Let’s review the results.
Diesel vs. Hybrid – Chevy vs. Toyota
The Toyota Tundra TRD Pro delivers 437 horsepower and 583 lb-ft of torque from the hybrid powertrain. This truck weighs 6,100 pounds and is made for off-road performance.
The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 brings 277 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque in a lighter truck build.
Although the Chevy is lighter, the Tundra easily wins the first round.
Gas vs. Hybrid – GMC vs. Toyota
The GMC truck used for this contest is the Sierra AT4X. This gives us two trucks that bring an off-road focus to the contest. The gasoline engine delivers 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque.
Although the Sierra is a more powerful half-ton truck than the Silverado, the Tundra TRD Pro wins again. That’s two victories for the hybrid Toyota pickup.
Hybrid vs. Hybrid – Ford vs. Toyota
The Ford F-150 powertrain brings 430 horsepower and 570 lb-ft of torque, which makes the Ford more evenly matched against the power of the Tundra.
In this hybrid vs. hybrid contest, the Ford F-150 won twice. The difference in this race is the hybrid Ford is not an off-road-focused model, but the TRD Pro Tundra is. The Ford has a lower ride height and sportier settings, which led to victory over the Toyota half-ton truck.
Next, learn more about the potential of BYD electric vehicles in the US, or watch the half-ton trucks drag race in the video below:
