6 Of The Coolest Trucks From The '90s (And What They're Worth Today)

It's no secret that Americans love pickup trucks, and the 1990s saw the introduction of some of the most popular models in modern history. The first Ford Super Duty trucks hit dealer lots for the 1999 model year and became part of Ford's best selling F-Series lineup. That same year, Toyota began production of its full-size Tundra pickup, an evolution of the T100, Toyota's first full-size pickup truck. However, it was the 1994 introduction of the first-generation Toyota Tacoma that forged the history of Toyota's iconic pickup trucks in the United States.

While that walk down memory lane highlights a number of important trucks from the '90s, none of them were what we'd call particularly cool. Building on the success of some of the coolest trucks from the '80s such as the 1989 Ford F-250 Bigfoot and the 1989 Dodge Shelby Dakota, the coolest trucks of the '90s include midsize and full-size from some of the most popular pickup truck brands.

We'll kick off our rundown of the coolest trucks from the '90s with the Chevrolet 454 SS truck. Chevrolet produced the 454 SS truck from 1990 to 1993 based on its full-size C1500 pickup truck. The 454 SS featured C1500 platform wasn't much different than any other two-wheel drive, short-box, single-cab Chevy C1500. Although there were a few modifications designed to handle the heavier engine and increased power, including a stronger front sway bar, upgraded Bilstein shock absorbers, a slightly quicker steering-gear ratio, and a set of 275/65 R15 tires.

The 454 cubic inch big block V8, the namesake of the truck, came directly from Chevrolet's heavy-duty truck assembly line. While the engine powering the 454 SS truck was derived from the Chevrolet big block engine family, its 230 horsepower and 385 lb-ft of torque pale in comparison the numbers the 454 posted in its prime. However, the mere presence of a performance-oriented pickup truck was a sign of change as the auto industry emerged from the Malaise Era.

Classic.com has four Chevrolet 454 SS for sale listings with prices ranging from $31,000 to $53,995. In addition, the site lists four sales that took place in January of 2025, with the highest bringing a cool $77,000.

The midsize 1990-1992 Dodge Dakota Li'l Red Express was a reimagined version of the full-size Li'l Red Express Truck produced by Dodge for the 1978-1979 model year. While both pickup truck versions are worth purchasing today, it's notable that the newer version was actually a conversion package applied to the single-cab Dodge Dakota pickup by LER Industries of Edwardsburg, Michigan.

The Li'l Red Express Dakota, as the graphic applied to both doors reads, featured a drivetrain that included a fuel injected 3.9-liter V6 backed by a four-speed automatic transmission that routed power to the rear wheels. In 1990, the 3.9-liter V6 available in the Dakota only produced 125 horsepower and 185 lb-ft of torque. However, by 1992 the 3.9L V6 power ratings improved to 180 horsepower and 225 lb-ft of torque.

In addition to the bold door decals, the dual chrome exhaust stacks and step-side bed are calling cards of the Li'l Red Express Dakota. These features are displayed on the 1991 Dodge Li'l Red Express Dakota listed for sale on January 25, 2025, at Classic.com. This particular truck is priced at $18,500 and has 37,868 miles on the odometer.

You may start to notice a trend as most of the coolest 1990s trucks belong to the midsize truck segment, including the 1991 GMC Syclone. While the GMC Syclone packed a performance punch rarely found in a midsize pickup before its 1991 debut, the story behind the high performance pickup truck adds to its cool factor.

The first Syclone concept featured the turbocharged 3.8-liter Buick V6 from the recently-discontinued Buick GNX, one of the fastest Buicks ever made, placed into a Chevrolet S-10 pickup in 1989. The problem was that Chevy officials wanted nothing to do with it, so the idea was pitched to GMC. GMC outsourced the Syclone's production to Production Automotive Services where the concept truck's 3.8L Buick V6 was replaced by a turbocharged 4.3-liter V6, a powerplant more common to GMC pickups. It also received an all-wheel-drive drivetrain sourced from a Chevy van to better handle the 280 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque supplied to it.

Classic.com has three GMC Syclones listed for sale with prices ranging from $30,047 to $35,000. The Syclone sale bringing the highest price listed on the site came in February of 2022 with a price of $108,000.

The Ranger Splash Limited Edition returned to Ford's lineup for 2022 with a few new nature-themed color options. However, Ford produced a previous version of the Ranger Splash, also with unique color schemes, from 1993 to 1997.

Not only did the 1990s Ford Ranger Splash feature some eye-catching paint jobs, they also stood out because of their flareside truck bed design. This unique feature was common on classic older-body style trucks, but the majority of 1990s pickup trucks featured the styleside box design most popular today. Ford even went so far as to build two highly customized concept Rangers dubbed the Sea Splash, equipped to carry a canoe, and Sky Splash, outfitted to carry a hang glider, to help boost sales, according to MotorTrend.

The 1997 Ranger Splash offered a choice of engines between a 135-horsepower 2.3L four-cylinder with 135 lb-ft of torque, a 147-horsepower 3.0L V6 with 162 lb-ft of torque, or a 160-horsepower 4.0L V6 with 220 lb-ft of torque, each backed by a five-speed manual transmission. There was also a choice between rear-wheel and four-wheel drive, and regular or extended cab configurations with some options excluding others.

Other than a couple of highly customized versions of the Ford Ranger Splash, the highest sale price listed on Classic.com was for a 1994 Ranger Splash that sold in December of 2024 for $15,015. That truck featured the 4.0l V6, extended cab, and rear-wheel drive with 63,000 miles on the odometer.

Chevrolet introduced the Chevy S-10 pickup truck in 1982 and rolled out the model's second generation in 1994. Specialized versions of the second-gen S-10 included an SS model for the street and a ZR2 model with improved off-road characteristics. However, the 1999 Xtreme version is arguably the coolest S-10 pickup truck variant ever produced.

Technically, the S-10 Xtreme isn't a stand-alone model, rather a standard S-10 with the Xtreme package option. While the thought of the Xtreme being a specialized one-off type of truck is appealing, its package designation allows for a greater variety of configurations. For instance, the Xtreme package was available on nearly any two-wheel drive 1999 Chevy S-10 trim or configuration with a choice of engine and transmission options. Those options included regular or extended cab trucks with fleetside or sportside truck beds, 120 or 180 horsepower depending on the choice of a 2.2-liter four-cylinder or a 4.3-liter V6, and either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.

The Xtreme's 16-inch wheels, low-profile tires, body-colored grille and bumpers, and custom-looking ground effects are notable, but the truck's coolest feature is its ZQ8 performance suspension package. The ZQ8 suspension lowers the S-10's ride height two inches from the stock setting.

The only 1999 Chevrolet S-10 Xtreme listed for sale at Classic.com is priced at $17,900. Previous sales listed on the site range in price from $15,500 to $20,500, with the most recent, in April of 2024, going for $19,500.

The 1999 Ford SVT Lightning is special because it's another performance-oriented full-size pickup truck. However, it wasn't the first full-size Ford truck to wear the Lightning nameplate in the 1990s. That honor goes to the 1993 through 1995 Ford Lightning. While the earlier Lightning iteration belonged to the ninth-generation F-Series, one of the best F-Series generations there ever was, the tenth-gen F-series (one of the worst) two-door regular-cab Lightning received Ford's SVT (Special Vehicle Team) treatment that definitely upped its cool-factor.

The 1999 SVT Lighting was powered by a supercharged 5.4-liter Triton V8 that produced 360 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque. That's 120 more horsepower and 100 more lb-ft of torque than the previous non-SVT Lighting could muster from its naturally-aspirated 5.8-liter V8. At the heart of the performance gap was the SVT-installed Eaton Roots-type blower supercharging the Triton with boost pressures up to 8-psi. A pair of aluminum cylinder heads fitted with two valves per cylinder sat atop the 5.4-liter's cast iron engine block and a four-speed automatic transmission handled the shifting duties, transmitting power to the truck's rear wheels.

According to Classic.com, there have been 31 1999 Ford SVT Lightning trucks sold over the past five years. The highest sale brought $110,000 at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction on January 24, 2025. However, the average value listed for the 31 recorded sales hovers around $32,256.

The Malaise era that followed the golden age of muscle cars not only saw the decline of horsepower and overall sportiness of the vehicles produced by automakers, it ushered in a time when cars and trucks lost visual distinction and began to look very similar to one another.

To be considered as one of the coolest trucks of the 1990s, the model needed to stand out from the crowd in some way. While above average performance, a unique color scheme, or factory-custom body work caught our attention, those that offered combinations of those traits were the coolest.