Modern pickup trucks are getting the job done with smaller engines

The most popular vehicle in the U.S. so far this year is a pickup truck. In fact, four of the top six best-selling vehicles are pickups, and they are packing a lot of power these days.

Today's pickups have smaller, more efficient engines, but they still pack plenty of punch.

For a truck brand like Ram, having a 44 hero serves as a flagship for the rest of the line.

Previously, that hero was the wild TRX, with a supercharged Hemi V8, maximum RAM for tackling terrain and bragging rights, and a six-figure price tag.

For 2025, there's a new 44 hero with a gentler price tag and a smaller engine.

The burly Ram 1500 RHO is powered by a new generation of engine, a turbocharged inline six called Hurricane, making 540 horsepower. It's not as much of a brute as the TRX, but nearly as off-road capable, using less fuel and putting out fewer carbon emissions. Parent company Stellantis spent millions developing the Hurricane engine to power trucks and other vehicles well into the future.

The powerful new Ram RHO 4x4 carries a starting price of just over $70,000, but that's nearly $30,000 less than the previous TRX would set someone back.

So why the move to smaller engines? Every manufacturer that sells vehicles in the U.S. has to abide by something called Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). Sure, electrics and hybrids bring those numbers up, but the pure internal combustion vehicles still have to do their part, as well.

The V8 is now back on the menu for 2026 in the Ram 1500 after a brief hiatus, but V6 is still a magic number in full-size trucks these days. On the Ford F-150, for example, the EcoBoost twin-turbo V6 has been far and away the top-selling engine in that pickup for quite a number of years now.

As another example, General Motors has a V6 that delivers torque by the bucket-load. The Duramax six-cylinder diesel is optional on the GMC Sierra and its sibling, the Chevy Silverado. It might only be 3.0 liters in displacement, but it produces more torque than even the largest gasoline V8 available in the trucks -- nearly 500 pounds-feet worth. Towing capacity? Up to 13,000 pounds.

When it comes to mid-size pickups, four cylinders are now the norm, but Ford did a bit of a U-turn on that with the Ranger. When it arrived a few years ago, the previous generation Ranger didn't offer a V6 engine, but the new Ranger does. It's a 2.7-liter from the turbocharged EcoBoost engine family, making 315 horsepower, and is a $2.200 upgrade. Most buyers probably don't care, but some want that smooth power and audible growl that only six cylinders can deliver, even if they'll spend more on the engine and more on fuel. The specialty off-road Ranger Raptor comes standard with an even more powerful twin-turbo V6.

So in the modern era, when it comes to light-duty trucks, V6 is a bit of a magic number, working away under the hoods of trucks that often do a lot of work.