Helpful Features to Look for When Shopping for a Pre-Owned Truck

Living in Westminster, VT, puts drivers in an interesting position when it’s time to pick out a daily driver’s vehicle. The reality is that roads can get wet and muddy here, and many drivers like to take advantage of the myriad of nearby parks to explore. So, you might want a vehicle that can handle unpaved terrain and carry things like dirt bikes or kayaks—like a pickup truck. Still, if you’re leading a relatively “normal” life in town, you still need a good daily driver. So, your hunt for great used trucks for sale in Westminster might have you looking for a pickup truck that can also make a good daily driver.

At Faith’s Automotive, we’ve got plenty of models at our multiple dealerships that fit the bill and would love to help you find one that complements your budget and needs, as well as the features and tools that are sure to make every drive a memorable one. Before you begin shopping, let’s review some features that make a pickup truck a great daily driver.

Highly Adjustable Seats

If you’re going to be spending lots of time behind the wheel, it’s important that you’re comfortable in your seat. This isn’t just because comfort feels nice but also because it’s important for driver alertness and overall body health. Being in the wrong position can cause you to become tired when you’re driving, and it can even make it difficult to see over the steering wheel.

Alternatively, when you’re able to achieve the perfect seating position—so the perfect height, angle, and distance from the pedals/steering wheel—you can put yourself in a posture that keeps you energized and enhances visibility on the road. That’s why we always recommend shoppers look for a truck with great seat adjustability. The 2022 GMC Sierra 1500, for example, has available 16-way power front seats.

Plenty of Beverage Holders

Whether you’ll be busy running errands all day or stuck waiting at the school carpool pickup for what feels like hours, you’ll need your favorite beverages on hand to make the drive more tolerable. That’s why we recommend looking for a truck with an abundance of beverage holders. Ideally, there are enough for you and each of your passengers to have a beverage with you. Some trucks even have enough for everyone to have two beverages on hand. So, that’s one beverage holder for your water bottle, and another for your treat (like a smoothie or iced coffee from Dunkin’). A 2018 Toyota Tacoma, for example, has up to 13 available beverage holders.

Good Fuel Economy

Naturally, a good daily driver truck will have solid fuel economy. If you will be making trips around town or out of it regularly, you don’t want a truck that drains your gas tank quickly. Look for figures in the mid-to-high 20s. It’s difficult to find a pickup with better efficiency than that unless you consider an electric one like Ford F-150 Lightning. If you’d like to stick to a traditional gas engine model, you’ll be looking at light-duty trucks like the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500, or Ram 1500. You can also consider a midsize truck, like the 2022 Chevy Colorado, which gets MPGs in the mid-20s. Once you move into the heavy-duty variants, fuel economy takes quite a dip.

Extended Rear Passenger Space

If you have a family you’ll be transporting around town, you’ll want maximum passenger capacity. For many trucks, you’ll be looking for a cab called an extended cab or double cab. These can typically seat between five and six passengers. While other cab types can seat five passengers, like the Silverado’s Crew Cab, the second row has less space than the larger cab option. So, while the Crew Cab (and comparable cabs in other trucks) might be okay for short drives with rear-seat passengers, you’ll need a larger one if you transport rear-seat passengers often.

Hands-Free Automatic Tailgate

Loading up all the goodies you found at the farmer’s market? You might have some pretty full arms when approaching your pickup truck. Unless a friendly neighbor helps you out, it might be a struggle to load up your truck bed. That’s when you’ll like having a hands-free automatic tailgate. Many let you simply push a button on your keyfob, and they’ll automatically lower the tailgate. This is also handy when you’re on job sites and need to load boxes of equipment or tools into the truck bed.

Multi-Zone Climate Control and Remote Start

It’s no secret that Vermont can see some seriously cold winters. And cold passengers are unhappy ones. So, we recommend finding a pickup bed with multi-zone climate control that allows your passengers to choose their preferred temperatures. That way, you don’t need to bicker over setting the heat to 73 versus 75 degrees.

We’d also recommend finding a truck with a remote start function. This allows you to turn on your vehicle ignition from your keyfob or smartphone, wherever you are. We like this for Vermont because it allows you to turn on the climate control before entering your vehicle, giving you the chance to pre-warm the cabin before you get in.

Noise-Canceling Tech

Having a little peace and quiet after a long day can be nice. But, if you’re hearing lots of road or engine noises inside your truck, you won’t get the tranquility you’re after. So, if a quiet cabin is important to you, we recommend you find a truck with noise-canceling technology, great sound insulation, or a combination of the two. More recent models of the Ram 1500 will have available active noise cancellation, which monitors for road sounds and uses internal speakers to emit opposite sounds to create a quiet cabin.

Intuitive Driver Assistance Features

While trucks destined to spend most of their time on job sites might not spend much time in traffic or city streets, your everyday truck will. So that means you need great driver-assistance features to keep you alert and notify you of potential accidents. We recommend finding a used truck with features such as blind spot monitoring, lane keep assist, rear and front pedestrian warning and automatic braking. All of these systems rely on cameras and sensors to help you be aware of and avoid collisions with vehicles and pedestrians.

Find a Truck That’s Tailored to Your Unique Needs and Lifestyle

With so many trucks on the market, searching for the ideal pre-owned model can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Consider what you’ll be using your truck for and how many people will be traveling in it regularly. Do you need a workhorse for work, or are you looking for a family hauler? No matter what you need from your next pickup, you’ll be sure to find the perfect model if you know exactly what you’re looking for, and with the enormous array of features and enhancements available, you’re sure to find an affordable used truck that’s designed with your comfort and convenience in mind. Still not sure where to start? Visit our Faith’s Ford or Faith’s Toyota locations today, and we’ll be more than happy to help you narrow down some great options!