10 Must-Have Features To Look For In A New Truck

Over the past half a century, pickup trucks have transformed from plain-Jane utility vehicles that provided more versatility — and maybe a bit of off-road capability — into something totally different. Today, pickup trucks are not just properly refined and comfortable, they offer a whole host of increasingly desirable features.

Thanks to the advancement in technology and changing consumer tastes, the pickup trucks of the present day offer some truly groundbreaking features most drivers could have only dreamed of back in the day. We're not just talking about luxury accommodations. Instead, we're looking at features that you didn't even know you were missing. Though there are some old-school pickups definitely worth picking up, there's no denying the leaps and bounds that modern pickups have made over their old-school counterparts.

Beyond that, we're currently experiencing the birth of a new category: electric pickup trucks. Along with their supercar-like performance and much-improved towing and hauling abilities, electric pickup trucks have opened the floodgates for a whole host of new must-have features that weren't even thought possible previously. Here are the features you should look for in a new truck.

It should come as a surprise to no one that one of the most popular uses for pickup trucks is towing. While SUVs can get you pretty far, pickup trucks broaden every horizon when it comes to towing large trailers. However, those who regularly tow are all well aware of how much of a nuisance it can be to reverse your truck into a trailer. Thankfully, that's no longer the case with Ford's Pro Trailer Hitch Assist.

This feature has been around for a while, but there have been steady improvements to the technology underneath it. Until recently, it was a little knob on the dashboard that steered the truck to make it easier to hitch up a trailer. However, the most recent version of Pro Trailer Hitch Assist takes this seemingly simple idea to the next level.

It combines the existing technology of the Pro Trailer Backup system with one of the biggest new obsessions of the decade: artificial intelligence. Thanks to advanced AI, Ford's Pro Trailer Hitch Assist completely automates the process of backing up and attaching a trailer, the driver doesn't have to do anything apart from push a couple buttons. For people who tow regularly, this is a total gamechanger.

Tailgates on pickup trucks used to be as simple as it gets. You open it, you load stuff up, you close it. Once automakers figured out how to add more versatility to tailgates, however, everything changed for the better. Nowhere is this more apparent than with GM's MultiPro tailgate and Ford's Pro Access Tailgate.

Ford's Pro Access Tailgate is the simpler of the two, and it includes a step and a handrail to make it easier to enter and exit. On the more recent Ford pickups, the tailgate can also swing out like a door for better access to whatever's in the bed. However, GM's MultiPro tailgate improves on that further. It's a conventional tailgate when it needs to be, opening and closing through one of a handful of methods. However, it has two levels of load stoppers to prevent whatever you're hauling from falling out. Dodge has also added a multifunctional tailgate to the recently facelifted 2025 RAM 1500.

It also includes a built-in step and handrail, just like the Ford version. You could also use it as an area to do some work at the job site, and you can even choose to have an audio system built directly into the MultiPro tailgate. This Swiss Army knife approach to the pickup tailgate is exactly the direction that pickups should head in.

If you have a pickup truck for work, you likely use power tools. Pickup makers recognize this, which is why they now offer a one-stop solution for heavy tool users. Ford's Pro Power Onboard system is currently the most well-known and one of the better-executed examples of this. Offered on most versions of the F-150, Pro Power Onboard gives your truck an onboard power supply with various outputs.

They range from 2 kW on most of the lineup, which can power various small electronics, all the way to 9.6 kW on the F-150 Lightning, which is enough juice to power a water heater, portable AC unit, or even a circular saw. 

This is easily one of the most useful features of modern pickup trucks. It appeals to the work truck buyer because of its ability to provide juice to various power tools, but it also appeals to the lifestyle crowd, as it can also provide juice to both small electronics and useful household items that you might need while camping or on vacation. It's a win-win situation and a great feature to look for in a new truck.

GM was among the first automakers to experiment with four-wheel steering with the Quadrasteer system in the older pickups and SUVs. Thanks to electric powertrains, GMC can now take the concept of four-wheel steering to the next level with the impressive CrabWalk feature. CrabWalk debuted on the GMC Hummer EV electric pickup, and it's been confirmed that the GMC Sierra EV will also get it.

CrabWalk is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of the rear wheels turning opposite of the fronts — as they did with Quadrasteer — they turn in the same direction as the fronts at up to a 10 degree angle. This is a genius use of electric motors, and it allows the driver to get out of some sticky situations while off-roading. Of course, regular four-wheel steering is also available when needed.

While it's a great idea on paper and it has the potential to improve movement while off-roading, it's limited to incredibly low speeds. Bearing in mind that this is the system's intended use, and provided you don't go crazy with the throttle, it has the potential to be a total game-changer.

While the bed is where most items get stored in pickup trucks, recently, it has taken a back seat — pardon the pun — to some new, ingenious solutions. One of the best implementations of extra storage in modern pickup trucks has to be Rivian's Gear Tunnel. Available on the R1T, the Gear Tunnel is a storage area just in front of the bed that spans the entire width of the truck and allows for hidden storage. The Gear Tunnel can also power various household or other electrical items, such as a microwave. This is a fantastic feature, as a lot of smaller necessities can be stored in the Gear Tunnel, freeing up more room in the bed to set up a tent or sleeping area. 

Other incoming electric pickup trucks take a different, more familiar approach to extra storage: the frunk. The Ford F-150 Lightning features an expansive 14.1 cu ft frunk that can also act as an electrical supply and accommodate up to 400 lbs in weight. The Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV also promise copious amounts of additional storage under what would be the hood, and those two also provide cabin pass throughs from the bed for even more storage. The latter is also true of the upcoming electric RAM 1500.

Anyone who has ever towed a trailer knows that towing takes whatever was left of your rear visibility and chucks it out the window. It's very difficult to see who's behind you or who is about to overtake and possibly catch you off-guard. GMC's solution to the anxiety of a lack of rear visibility is the Transparent Trailer View system. 

On paper, it's exactly what it sounds like. Available since 2019 on the Sierra 1500 and the Heavy Duty versions, Transparent Trailer View stitches together various views from the truck's array of cameras to essentially create a window that looks behind your trailer, through your trailer. Once the software stitches together those camera views, you can clearly see not only who's about to overtake from behind your trailer but also who's behind you and thinking about overtaking.

This is a truly genius idea, and the fact that it's made possible by technology that's been available for ages makes it even better. It might be an expensive option, but the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks here, and it has serious potential to make towing life a whole lot easier — and safer — for those who do it often.

To get the best towing and hauling performance out of pickup trucks, automakers had to resort to massive, powerful engines. While these did get the job done from a capability standpoint, they came with a pretty significant caveat — terrible fuel economy. Turns out, not even pickup trucks are immune to downsizing, but that doesn't mean their capability is sacrificed. You can still have a larger engine, yes, but that's no longer the only way.

The biggest headliner in terms of engine downsizing recently has been the facelifted RAM 1500. The HEMI V8 that has found a home under the hood of RAM trucks for decades is out, and in its place is the new Hurricane 3.0-liter twin-turbo six-cylinder. Despite having two fewer cylinders, the horsepower goes up to 420 or 510, depending on which version you go for. As we found out in our first drive of the 2025 RAM 1500, the new Hurricane six-cylinder is a mighty machine. 

Admittedly, the towing capacity is a little down from the HEMI V8, but it's still a great number for the class. Over at GMC, the Sierra 1500 is available with a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine. It might seem like blasphemy to install a turbo four-cylinder engine in a half-ton pickup truck, but with 310 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque, the TurboMax four-banger is plenty capable. If you hook up these smaller engines to a hybrid system — as seen in Ford's F-150 Hybrid, the new RAM 1500 Ramcharger, or Toyota's i-FORCE MAX powertrain on the new Tundra pickup– the benefits can be even greater.

Pickup trucks have gained a lot of popularity with the lifestyle and adventure crowds recently. The go-anywhere capability that most have combined with the space that the bed provides and a truck's capability to handle pretty heavy loads means that it's the perfect vehicle to set up a tent in as opposed to shelling out excessive, often six-figure prices for a motorhome.

Automakers recognize, as many offer in-house or approved third-party bed accessories for the lifestyle crowd. We talked about the built-in sound system for GMC's MultiPro tailgate, but you can also have a proper camping tent through the official accessories program. Similar tents are also available for Ford's pickup trucks, along with a separate shower/changing room, a privacy curtain, and an awning.

No other manufacturer leans quite as heavily on the lifestyle pickup as Rivian, however. A tent is available along with a variety of electrical appliances that can turn your R1T's Gear Tunnel into a mobile cooking area.

Ever since the runaway success of the Ford F-150 Raptor, truck makers have jumped on the off-road trim level bandwagon. While some of them may not offer the same sort of raw horsepower — we're looking at you, Silverado ZR2 — they all deliver a plethora of off-road features that make them practically unstoppable no matter how tough the going gets.

Of course, there are big off-road tires and increased ground clearance, but it goes further than that. The refreshed 2024 Ford Raptor offers a new generation of Live Valve shocks from Fox, which improve suspension travel regardless of road surface, and many other off-road pickups also offer Fox shocks. Improved approach and departure angles are also standard fare on all off-road pickup trucks, along with skid plates to avoid damage to the undercarriage, as well as one or more locking differentials.

Some off-roaders take it a step further with items like beadlock wheels, while others have the option to equip a winch for easier recovery if the going gets too tough. All this means that these souped-up off-road versions of modern pickup trucks are not just good at off-road — they also allow the driver to off-road fast. 

In the same way that off-road features have attracted a growing number of people to pickup trucks, automakers have gotten more serious about exploring a frontier that, until recently, only a couple of pickup trucks had explored. That frontier is the luxury pickup truck, combining all the capabilities you'd expect with all the luxury features that you might not.

Ford's F-150 King Ranch and Platinum have been chugging along in this segment for decades, as has GMC's Denali trim level, which itself was spun off from the experimental Sierra C3 of the early 2000s. Now, more players have joined in on the fun. Chevrolet's High Country trim level offers up a good handful of luxury features on the Silverado, Tahoe, and Suburban lineups, but it's clear that most of GM's ultra-luxury pickup work centers around Denali.

The biggest surprises recently have come from the other competitors. Just a couple of years ago, Toyota released its first-ever ultra-luxury truck, the Tundra Capstone, which represented the absolute peak of the Tundra family in just about every way. RAM is also joining in for 2025 with the new Tungsten trim level. These trims give you niceties like heated and ventilated leather seats, improved and luxurious interior materials, wood trim, massive wheels, chrome trim all over the exterior, and all the additional mod cons you could possibly ask for.