Need a new truck? There has never been a better time to buy thanks to a wave of new truck options available for under $30K. The best new trucks on the market offer some outstanding towing capabilities, smoother off-road performance, and new technology, making them perfect for everyday driving and practical enough to be used as a decent work truck. New trucks like the Chevy Colorado, the Toyota Tacoma or the Ford F-150 offer superior powertrains and a ton of excellent features for your money. If you are searching for the best affordable trucks available now, check out these most frequently asked questions about the top 2018 trucks under $30K.
Voted the truck of the year by Motor Trend, the 2018 Ford F-150 is one incredible truck. Available starting at $27,705, you can get the new F-150 with a 3.3-liter V6 engine that generates 290 horsepower and is paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. It offers a ton of comfort features and a sophisticated SYNC 3 infotainment system. New for the 2018 year is a ton of new safety technology and a greater towing capacity than ever before.
The 2018 Toyota Tacoma is an excellent deal starting at $25,400. Offering more driver assistance features and safety tech than the 2017 Tacoma, it’s a big enough improvement to warrant buying the newer model, even if you have to pay a little more. The Tacoma comes standard with a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine that generates 159 horsepower. It’s also one of the best compact trucks for off-road performance as every trim is available with four-wheel drive. It also offers a number of excellent features for your money including the Toyota Safety Sense system.
The 2018 Chevy Colorado features a base 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that generates 200 horsepower and comes paired with a six-speed manual transmission. You’ll get a decent amount of features too, including a teen driver monitoring system. An active tow system is new for the year. Get the 2018 Colorado starting at $20,200, or check out other trims available for under $30K like the LT and Z71.
When it comes to features, the truck that offers the most is the 2018 Toyota Tacoma. With the new Tacoma, you’ll get all the essential new tech offered these days including a USB port for connecting and charging devices, Bluetooth for wireless connection, an Entune infotainment system with a 6.1-inch display and even Siri Eyes Free support. One of the most unique standard features for a truck is the Tacoma’s Safety Sense suite - an array of driver features like lane departure warning, forward collision warning, and adaptive cruise control. If you really want safety features and have a little more money spend, the 2018 Honda Ridgeline offers more driver assistance features than any truck on the market. You'll get the most useful features such as parking sensors and rear crosstraffic alert. Also available is the Honda LaneWatch system that includes a blind spot camera and the Honda Sensing system with forward collision warning, lane departure warning, and adaptive cruise control among many other features.
This question really depends on what you are looking for in a truck. If you want a truck with great acceleration on the road, the 2018 Ford F-150 will do a terrific job all-around. However, the 2018 Toyota Tacoma provides excellent off-road performance, especially when equipped with four-wheel drive. In terms of fuel economy, the new Ford F-150 and the 2018 Chevy Colorado are practically a match, but the F-150 is a little more impressive when you consider its class as a full-size truck rather than a compact. Of course, there is an even better option when it comes to fuel economy: the new RAM 1500. The 2018 RAM 1500 offers a 3.0-liter turbodiesel engine that generates 240 horsepower and gets 21 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway.
As for towing and hauling, nothing comes close to the full-size F-150’s 13,200-pound towing capacity. It can also haul up to 3,270 pounds. Close to matching the F-150's towing and hauling power is the new GMC Sierra 1500. The 2018 GMC Sierra 1500 features a 420-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 engine that can tow up to 12,500 pounds and haul a maximum of 2,250 pounds. But if you are looking for a smaller truck with a great towing capacity, the best choice is the 2018 Chevy Colorado which can tow up to 7,700 pounds and haul up to 1,574 pounds. Rival compact trucks like the 2018 Honda Ridgeline may be only capable of towing up to 5,000 pounds but it's important to note that is more than enough to tow a small trailer, or even a boat, which may be all you are looking for.
You can find a number of deals from your local Chevy, Toyota or Ford dealer. Get up to $1,000 cash back on the Tacoma or up to $750 in rebates for all college graduates. Military members get an additional $500 in rebates. On top of this, you can finance the Tacoma at a 1.9% APR. Chevy offers a similar $1,000 cash back reward, while Ford offers similar rebates for college graduates, military members, and even first responders. You can find especially great savings on the 2018 GMC Sierra 1500 such 0% APR financing for 72 months on double-cab models. Also with this finance offer, you can get up to $2,500 back in cash allowance. Check out these deals or others at your local dealerships.
The best truck for families would have to be the 2018 Chevy Colorado. The new Colorado comes with basic features that every family needs, including a heating/cooling system, and an entertainment system. Seats are spacious and comfortable for up to five passengers with crew cab models, and there are even two sets of LATCH connectors for child car seats. If you need a little more space for older kids, there's also the 2018 Chevy Silverado that offers more powerful engine options and a far superior towing capacity, so you can lug around the family trailer for camping trips. It also offers some of the best reliability ratings of any truck on the market. Best of all, both Chevy models include a teen driver monitoring system that will help teen drivers borrowing the truck develop safer driving habits as you’ll set speed limits and get report cards on your teen’s driving. Comparable to the Silverado is the full-size 2018 GMC Sierra which offers a higher-end interior and a few more features like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay for integrating your smartphone to the vehicle's infotainment system.