West Bloomfield Township — My 2024 Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 is ready for anything that Michigan winter throws at it. Knobby 33-inch all-terrain tires to drift through three-foot Gaylord snowdrifts. Lifted 11.5-inch chassis lift to scale Holly Oaks’ off-road course. Beastly 420-horsepower oomph to merge with authority onto the (finally completed) I-696 racetrack.

But on a December Saturday, I just needed it to haul a Christmas tree.

For all the extraordinary physical attributes modern pickups have been endowed with, their signature feature continues to be that big box out back. It’s what defines pickups. They can pick up what other vehicles can’t. Mulch, trailers, motorbikes, go-karts … trees.

Like many of its performance pickup peers, the ZR2 only comes with one bed option: a standard 5’8” box. That’s enough. Mrs. Payne and I fished our tree base out of the closet and headed for English Gardens. We should have brought a ladder, too.

For off-road convenience, ZR2 has no running boards and that 11.5-inch ground clearance. Which is an inconvenience to my 65-inch-tall wife, who contemplated the climb into the truck’s passenger seat like it was the oak in our backyard. Woof, that’s high.

Thank goodness for A-pillar grab handles. The effort is worth it as the interior of the Chevy is posh and palatial. Like the Goodyear Wrangler Territorial MT tires and two-story grille, everything is supersized, including a digital 12.3-inch instrument panel and 13.4-inch touchscreen.

Beginning with the $49K LT truck, this state-of-that-art combo brings premium looks to the Silverado range of trucks above the Work Truck/Custom starter trims. Sometimes you just need a bed — but the digital wizardry makes the pickup a pleasant, everyday tool. The screens are powered by Google Built-in, and I instantly synced truck to my Google account in the cloud so that I could navigate on Google Maps like my phone — but without using up its battery.

“Navigate to English Gardens,” I barked, and we were off.

I should have taken the long way. Chevy’s base truck chassis is the best engineered in the business, and ZR2 feels sporty despite its Brobdingnagian dimensions and 5,500-pound girth (actually 300 pounds lighter than the, ahem, midsize Cadillac Lyriq EV). Firm steering. Multimatic shocks. I dialed the Drive Mode selector to SPORT and cracked the whip on the brawny eight cylinders like Santa lashing his reindeer into the night.

BWWAAAARRGHHH! My sleigh leapt across Oakland County.

“I thought we were going to English Gardens, not the race track!” said my wife, once again grabbing for the A-pillar handle. Take it easy, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen, we don’t want to make Mrs. Claus uncomfortable. Or anyone else who might want to come along for the ride.

It was just my wife and I this day, but we could have packed all the North Pole’s elves in the backseat. Good gravy, these Silverado Crew Cabs are yuuuge. I’m impressed the Dodge Charger Daytona EV has gained four inches of legroom to 37 inches, but the Silverado has a yawning 43! You could pack in the elves plus Victor Wembanyama and you’d still have room for more.

There are even cubbies in the seatbacks to hide presents.

At English Gardens we selected our tree — a healthy seven-footer — and screwed on the base. Were we driving anything other than a pickup, we would have spent time securing the Fraser Fur to the roof, worrying about scratches or about it falling off on the way home.

Not with a full-size pickup. Silverado makes loading even easier with the Multi-Flex tailgate, an affordable $445 option on any Silverado starting with the $37K Work Truck. The tailgate features six configurations, with my favorite being the stairway. To deploy:

1) Drop the gate

2) Drop the middle gate

3) Drop the middle step

Voila! Two steps up and I was into the bed carrying our tree. Placed diagonally in the sprayed bed, the fur fit fine, base and all. No concern about scratches. I walked back down the stairwell, collapsed the gates and was ready to go.

To preserve the tree (and my marriage), I wasn’t tempted into any V8-powered antics on the way home. You can look up my review of the Silverado ZR2 in the Joshua Tree desert to see its enormous bandwidth, from trail-running in OFF-ROAD mode to rock-climbing using the two-speed transfer case and locking differentials.

In addition to the Google Built in system where I managed my most-used icons (just like my Android phone home screen), Chevy’s brute boasts superb steering-wheel ergonomics. Forget the touchscreen, my hands never left the wheel on the drive home — and subsequent trips around Metro Detroit.

With my left thumb, I set Cruise Control with a downward pull of the dimpled steering wheel roller. Rolling up/or down adjusted speed. Punch it upward and return to the set speed. All the while, I followed directions to my destination in the instrument display.

I scrolled through favorite radio stations with the buttons on the left, back-side of the steering wheel. Settling on Sirius XM’s Comedy Greats, I adjusted the volume using the buttons on right, backside of the wheel.

Back home, I easily walked tree-from-bed using the Multi-Flex stairway. The most difficult task was getting my wife down from her seat.

Hey, Chevy, Mrs. Payne wants to know if you’ve thought of a Multi-Flex stair-step solution for the cab? Would make a great Christmas present for 2025.

Next week: 2025 Kia K4

2024 Chevrolet Silverado

Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear- and four-wheel-drive five-passenger pickup

Price: $37,445, including $1,695 destination charge ($72,560 ZR2 as tested)

Powerplant: 2.7-liter, turbocharge inline-4 cylinder, 5.3-liter V-8, 6.2-liter V-8, 3.0-liter Duramax diesel inline-6 cylinder

Power: 420 horsepower, 460 pound-feet of torque (6.2L V-8 as tested)

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Performance: As tested — towing, 8,900 pounds; payload, 1,440 pounds

Weight: 5,500 pounds (est., as tested)

Fuel economy: EPA: 14 mpg city/17 highway/15 combined (6.2L V-8)

Report card

Highs: High-tech, big-screen interior; Multi-Flex tailgate

Lows: 35-inch tire option, please; gets pricey

Overall: 4 stars

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.

Reducing the field of new vehicles to three finalists this year wasn’t easy. We value value and my favorite trends in the market are the proliferation of electronics and standout design that has narrowed the distinction between luxury and mainstream cars.

The 2024 auto shopping aisle is full of new toys from pickups to electrics to compacts to SUVs and sports cars. Well, not too many sports cars.

As automakers stretched to meet government mandates and develop electric vehicles, small-volume performance cars like the Chevy Camaro, Dodge Challenger, Audi TT, Audi R8 and Kia Stinger were left by the side of the road. We miss you. Of the 50 new-for-2024 vehicles that I tested and reviewed, just four were sports coupes — the Subaru BRZ tS, Mercedes-AMG GT-63, Mercedes SL63 and Dodge Charger Daytona EV.

The Charger was one of the headliners in the industry’s push towards EVs. The big car’s 100 kWh battery replaced the Challenger’s iconic V-8 engine at the summit of Dodge performance. But as consumer adoption of EVs has cooled, so has the introduction of new EVs, and 25% of the new cars I tested were electric. Standouts included the Chevy Equinox EV, Volkswagen ID.Buzz and Rivian R1S. If it’s performance you’re looking for, off-road was the place to find it. New dirt-kickers included the Ford Ranger Raptor, Toyota Tacoma TRD and Ram 1500 RHO.

Our top three 2024 Detroit News Vehicles of the Year are all-around performers that bring tremendous value to their respective segments.

Second runner-up: Kia K4

After years of escalating vehicle costs (the average transaction price for new vehicles is north of $48K), the market has received an infusion of affordable, entry-level vehicles. The sub-$30K Chevy Trax and Buick Envista were finalists for our 2023 Vehicle of the Year, featuring roomy interiors, state-of-the-art electronics and standard goodies like lane-keep assist, rear-park assist and auto headlights. More subcompact SUVs followed this year like the new Nissan Kicks and VW Taos.

The $23K Kia K4 continues the trend in the compact sedan segment.

Honey, I shrunk the Cadillac CT5. The Kia K4 is a looker inside and out with teardrop head-and tail lights like the Caddy, and a wide, 29-inch hoodless screen inside. The screen can be personalized with the logo of your favorite NBA team — say, the Detroit Pistons. The base car is loaded with standard safety tech, including adaptive cruise control, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and automatic braking.

What hasn’t been shrunk is interior room. The K4’s rear seat is, remarkably, the same size as the midsize CT5 (and bigger than a BMW 5-series). Combined with sharp handling and 34 mpg fuel economy, the K4 also undercuts Toyota’s stylish Prius hybrid compact by seven grand.

Runner-up: Tesla Model 3 Highland

The Model 3 was an immediate sensation when Tesla’s flamboyant CEO Elon Musk introduced it in 2016, and the game-changing EV has inspired a flood of competitors in the years since. The Model 3’s first update for 2024 is a reminder of why Tesla still dominates the EV space.

The second best-selling sedan in the U.S. market after only the Toyota Camry, Model 3 received a pleasant (if modest) so-called Highland update to its exterior and added interior goodies like a rear-seat infotainment screen. The $40,000 car refines the core elements that made it a sales sensation: simplicity, charging, over-the-air updates.

Already iPhone simple in its interior hardware, the Highland model ditched its steering wheel stalks so that shifting is now accomplished in the screen (think a digital version of Lincoln shift buttons) and turn signals are accessed by buttons on the steering wheel. The cabin is quieter, but the added materials have not compromised neck-snapping acceleration. Tesla’s navigation system and charging network are integrated for range anxiety-free road trips — an advantage so coveted by other automakers that they have paid for access to Tesla’s Superchargers.

M3’s biggest advantage is it has never really stopped improving thanks to constant over-the-air updates. Having fallen behind GM’s Super Cruise driver-assist system, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system caught up this year by going completely hands free — using internal cameras to monitor the driver’s attention.

First place: Chevy Traverse

Call it the Multiverse. Chevy’s vanilla family bus was transformed into a bold, dirt-kicking, roomy, three-row SUV that can drive itself.

Drawing on Chevy engineering that has produced industry-leading sports cars and trucks, Traverse is powered by a brawny, 328-horse turbo-4 engine wrapped in a muscular truck design with a get-outta-my-way grille and stylish teardrop taillights.

“We love our new Traverse Z71,” beamed a Michigan couple I flagged down at a Meijer gas station in Gaylord. “We just drove hands-free up I-75.”

Hands-free driving in a Chevy? Yup, the third-generation Traverse now options Super Cruise (which Cadillac debuted in 2018) for use on long highway trips. You can even go hands-free on some secondary roads if you really want to freak the kids out. Option the Z71 model, and the family ute is also at home off-road with 32-inch all-terrain tires, underbody skid plates, and twin-clutch rear differential. The latter is made for Michigan snowdrifts — throwing 100% torque to the rear wheel with traction to keep you moving.

Once shy on standard features, the $39K base Traverse is now loaded with blind-spot assist, adaptive cruise control, 360-degree camera, rear cross-traffic braking, auto high beams, side bicyclist alert, 29 inches of digital screens, wireless charge pad, and a partridge in a pear tree. Approach with an arm-full of groceries and the rear hatch will automatically open.

In a three-row class loaded with talent, including superb new models from Hyundai Santa Fe, Mazda CX-90 and Lexus TX, the palatial Traverse is the value standout, including a 17.7-inch dash screen powered by a Google Built-in operating system as intuitive as your phone.

Vanilla no more, the Multiverse — er, Traverse — is a rolling exhibition of the industry’s cutting edge in turbo engines, tech and ergonomics. All in a family SUV.

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.

Phoenix — Jaguar introduced its first electric vehicle with an ad featuring an elevator-full of gender-bending models. Dodge’s first EV ad boasted loud engine noises, tire smoke and a taunt.

“We’re building electric vehicles to save our planet … FROM ALL THOSE LAME, SLEEK-LOOKING, SELF-DRIVING SLEEP-PODS EVERYONE ELSE KEEPS POLLUTING OUR STREETS WITH! GAWWWWWWD!!!!” exclaimed the ad narrator while a 2024 Charger Daytona ripped across the screen like a bat out of Hell.

Nice to see Detroit’s muscle car brand hasn’t lost its personality.

At a time when governments, in a repeat of the 1970s, are determined to cage beloved V-8s like the storied Challenger/Charger SRT Hellcat, Dodge has leaned into the performance benefits of electric motors.

The Challenger coupe and Charger sedan lineup is gone, a casualty of the Nanny State’s War on Internal Combustion Engines. But rather than abandon muscle cars as in the ‘70s, the Brotherhood of Muscle has regrouped under a single Charger badge that will make EV ‘n’ ICE coupes ‘n’ sedans on the STLA Large platform for flexible production in the face of changing government ‘n’ consumer trends. EVs are called Charger Daytonas, ICE models are simply Chargers.

Government mandates demand conformity, but the non-conformists at Dodge remain defiant even as they adopt regulators’ preferred electric motors. My Charger Daytona Scat Pack and R/T testers embrace the Hellcat’s gunslinging lifestyle. I spent a day behind the wheel of the EVs in the Valley of the Sun doing doughnuts, drifting, turning heads, drag-racing Porsches and … making loud V8-like sounds.

OK, that last part was awkward.

Charger Daytona is a gorgeous, tech-tastic hatchback tasked with replacing an icon. As Dodge admits, muscle cars are vehicles “Americans don’t need, but want.” The result is a mixed bag marking two steps forward and two steps back for Woodward Dream Cruise royalty.

This is a ferocious, modern Dodge beast — tethered to a plug.

Design. It’s tough to see Challenger’s menacing face and muscled fenders retired, but Dodge couldn’t keep paying hundreds-of-millions in fines to Uncle Sam for making V-8s. So the brand dusted off its design archive and penned a 1968 Charger for the 21^st century.

The result is a delicious coke bottle shape draped over a 121-inch wheelbase. It’s longer and wider than the Challenger with four more inches of rear legroom. My red R/T and white Scat Pack models got looks wherever I went.

I sidled up to Phoenix resident Daniel Jaramillo’s white, 485-horse 2018 Challenger Scat Pack in a Starbucks parking lot. My Scat Pack EV was more streamlined to extend its battery range as well as keep its insane 670 horses sucked to the ground. It’s the halo to a fleet of forthcoming, inline-6-powered cars that share its body, chassis, and interior.

You’ll know the Charger Daytona by its distinctive R-wing — an aerodynamic flourish snatched from the 1969 Daytona stock car, the first NASCAR to eclipse 200 mph. Oooooh, it’s sweet — and gives the Charger a long, low snout sniffing the dust for prey. Out back, Charger sprouts a hatchback like the Audi RS7. At half the price of the $131K, 610-horsepower German, the Scat Pack hot hatch offers 50% more cargo utility and 60 more ponies.

If the exterior is retro-‘60s muscle, then the interior is state-of-the-art smartphone. Twin, horizontal hoodless screens are stuffed with features from 360-degree cameras to navigation to performance modes (Scat Pack). I pressed the start button behind the wicked, pistol-grip shifter.

BRAAAAP! The V-8 — er, electric motors? — roared to life.

Sound. The V-8 soundtrack is more gunslinger defiance from Dodge. I like the attitude but found the ICE-like feature gimmicky. Let electric motors be electric motors. Auto analyst Karl Brauer asks: when the first flying car comes to market, will it make the sound of squealing tires in corners?

Challenger Scat Pack owner Jaramillo, 34, disagreed with me.

He liked the rumble and thought it a brand signature. Still, when we pulled out of Starbucks and nailed the throttle onto I-10, the Challenger’s glorious V-8 bellowed like a T-Rex on the prowl while my Daytona Scat in DRAG mode sounded like … an imitation. That imitation costs $70K versus the $50K for the outgoing Challenger Scat Pack.

Noise can be tiring, however, and I welcomed the EV’s quiet AUTO mode. Or I could turn off the sound altogether in the center screen.

Performance. For all the attention to sound ‘n’ style, it’s easy to forget the new Charger brings a much-needed, all-new chassis. Challenger/Charger were based on 20-year-old bones, and could feel like a wet noodle when pushed.

The STLA Large platform is a significant, 25% stiffer for coming ICE models — and 50% stiffer in the EV due to the battery’s structural integration. That stiffness made for a more nimble beast in the twisties of South Mountain Park and Radford Racing School.

The sporty cockpit of the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona includes a square wheel so you can better read the digital display.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Also apparent was the EV’s 5,767-pound girth — a whopping 1,500 pounds over its predecessor. The good news is that battery gut is slung low, which benefits center of gravity — and part of the weight gain comes from the addition of all-wheel drive. AWD helps manage 670 ponies — not to mention Michigan snow, where the Challenger V-8’s RWD can be a handful. Want to drift on Radford’s skid pad? Selecting drag mode turns off the front motor, though I struggled to rotate the added weight.

Charging. Speaking of Radford, its fleet of 85 Dodge muscle cars is a reminder of the ICE’s inherent refueling advantage. Suck down 20 gallons of fuel (426-mile range) around the 450-acre playground, and you can top up at the pump in two minutes.

Drain the Daytona Scat Pack’s 240 miles of range and, well, you’ll have to leave the playground and find a fast charger to fill 180 miles in 24 minutes. Oh.

Like Challenger Hellcat, my $82K Scat Pak tester will be an accessory for most owners with an SUV in the garage for family trips. If you do hit the road, Charger Daytona is prepared. I asked the Uconnect navi-system to take the EV to Los Angeles and it mapped the 390-mile route including three charging stops. Total time? An hour longer than an ICE model. GAWWWWD! I can hear the ad narrator say.

Batteries require patience.

The Charger Daytona Scat Pack is more urgent when it comes to raw speed. I initiated Launch Control at a Phoenix stoplight and blew the doors off an $80K Porsche Boxster. Sixty mph went by in just 3.3 seconds — 0.4 seconds quicker than Hellcat. On Radford’s drag strip, I crossed the quarter mile in under 12 seconds.

Aw, Dodge, you still got it.

Next week: Detroit News Vehicle of the Year

2024 Dodge Charger Daytona

Vehicle type: Battery-powered, all-wheel-drive five-passenger coupe

Price: $61,590, including $1,995 destination fee ($70,970 R/T and $82,175 Scat Pack as tested)

Powerplant: 100.5 kWh battery and dual electric-motor drive

Power: 456-496 horsepower, 404 pound-feet torque (R/T); 630-670 horsepower, 627 pound-feet torque (Scat Pack)

Transmission: Single-speed direct drive

Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.3 seconds (Scat Pack, mfr.); top speed, 135 mph

Weight: 5,767 pounds

Fuel economy: EPA mpge NA; range, 241 (Scat Pack) — 308 miles (R/T)

Report card

Highs: Stylish, tech-tastic hatchback; upgraded chassis

Lows: Porky; $20K more than outgoing Challenger Scat Pack

Overall: 3 stars

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.

Ypsilanti — The Rivian R1S at first appears another trendy, boxy luxury SUV in the mold of the Land Rover Range Rover with smoked windows and black wheels.

Then you bury the throttle pedal. Good lord.

My Adventure Dual Max Performance model exploded onto I-275, its dual electric motors screaming like lit firecrackers. SCREEEEEEEEE! The monstrous 829 pound-feet of torque — more than a Ferrari F80 hypercar, for goodness’ sake — buried my spine in the seatback. I was strapped to a 3½-ton rocket ship headed to the moon.

Ain’t startup automakers great?

The electric era has opened the door for the first generation of auto rookies in, well, awhile. Tesla’s prolific success inspired others, and RJ Scaringe’s Rivian has followed the Tesla model. Hire lots of Silicon Valley software engineers, design it like a smartphone on wheels, then give it cartoonish acceleration right out of a Warner Brothers Wile E. Coyote vs. Road Runner episode.

ZOT! I was at 80 mph before I could exhale.

It’s addictive and will drink battery just as you would if you put your foot to the floor (guilty) of the 702-horsepower, V8-powered Dodge Durango Hellcat. Thankfully, both have over 400 miles of range, so you have a lot of energy to play with — and which will help with the inevitable range anxiety that creeps in with electric vehicles.

With 410 miles of range, my R1S tester had some 20% longer legs than competitor Tesla Model X (or my Tesla Model 3 Performance), and I easily covered Metro Motown in a late October week of driving, including a round tripper to Ypsi. And, like the X and 3, R1S has access to Tesla’s Supercharger network (Rivian and Ford were the first to gain access this year) so I could hit the road confident that I had a reliable charger network close at hand.

Unlike, say, Electrify America, the largest non-Tesla fast charger network in the country.

To test the Rivian’s fast charge capabilities, I navigated to EA’s Novi Town Center shopping mall — the closest charger to my Oakland County house — where I could pick up delicious Crumbl cookies while waiting for a fast charge.

Upon arrival, I plugged into one of the station’s seven chargers and … nothing. No charge. No screen alert to add my credit card.

I called the 800 number on the charger and the nice EA operator told me the station was under maintenance … until mid-November. Oh. Plan a trip in the Rivian and it will navigate you to your destination just like Tesla and add stops on the way.

Let me suggest you select the RIVIAN and TESLA options on the screen, and you will have a reliable, trouble-free charging experience. Rivian helpfully adds a reliability score for any charging company (EA, EVGo, ChargePoint, etc.), but the reputation of proprietary Rivian/Tesla chargers is golden. And they are plentiful — especially Tesla infrastructure that I have used around the country. Just make sure you keep a Tesla adapter in your trunk to plug in.

Of course, anyone with 100 grand in their pocket for an SUV may not road-trip much — choosing commercial air travel or owning a general aviation aircraft. Still, part of Rivian’s brand is geared toward an adventure lifestyle — a departure from Tesla’s more performance-focused brand — and Rivian outfits national parks with Level 2, 240-volt chargers so you can add charge when you are at, say, Stinson Beach, California, where I found myself recently.

Its Rivian charger worked like a charm. It’s similar to the 240-volt charger that most owners will put in their home to keep the R1S charged for daily commutes.

If Tesla pioneered the performance EV, then Rivian pioneered the electric pickup. Both brands wowed with their flagships: Model S and R1T, respectably.

As a logical evolution from those cutting-edge products, Tesla and Rivian also pioneered the three-row SUV space with the Model X and R1S. In place of the bed out back, the R1S gains an impressive 105 cubic feet of cargo space (Model X has 85) with the second/third row seats stored. Access comes with a standard power liftgate, as well as air suspension that can lower the vehicle to make it easier to load big items.

Only this year are they finally being challenged by legacy luxe-makers with models like the Volvo EX90 and Cadillac Vistiq — and R1S has responded with a new 850-horsepower Tri-Motor/variant and significant updates to its electronic systems, infotainment, suspension, driving range, color offerings, wheels, smartphone connectivity, even interior cubby storage.

The EV startup pioneers are instantly recognizable — if quite different. The Tesla’s curvy egg shape and front trunk echo the Model S — then throws in gullwing doors for good measure. The boxy R1S, too, echoes the brand halo R1T pickup, with its upright grille, distinct vertical headlights and generous, 11-cubic-foot frunk space (something the Volvo and Caddy curiously exclude).

The Rivian doesn’t swing for the fences with gullwings — or even a Gear Tunnel storage bay like the R1T. Its cool Easter egg? A flashlight tucked into the driver’s side door — echoes of Rolls Royce umbrellas.

Open the door and the experience becomes more Tesla-like. Indeed, Rivian follows Tesla with a radical, smartphone-inspired, Apple-simple reinvention of the interior. Think huge console touchscreen and simple steering wheel with twin rollers for adjusting radio volume and cruise control speed. Want to adjust the mirrors and steering-wheel height? Touch a button in the screen and the rollers will do it for you.

The result is a clean, spare interior modeled after a sleek smartphone. And Tesla. I love this reimagining of the automobile — though with the Rivian and Tesla side-by-side in the garage, I occasionally got confused between their subtly different control operation. I used the R1S’s right controller, for example, to adjust the gap to the vehicle in front of me when self-driving down I-75 while the Tesla roller adjusts speed.

That’s right, Rivian wants to self-drive like a Tesla.

But it shies from Tesla’s boldness for a more measured approach. My Model 3 wants to drive everywhere on Full Self Driving regardless of road — and will navigate right to your destination’s door.

The Rivian will only self-drive on divided highways like Cadillac’s Super Cruise and Lincoln’s Blue Cruise. Note to Rivian: Tesla and the Detroit brands have moved forward and enable full hands-free driving, while the Rivian requires that you keep a hand on the wheel.

On a recent trip to Ypsilanti in a Chevy Silverado EV, I comfortably ate my lunch while the truck drove.

For its new generation, I appreciated the Rivian’s conservative approach relative to Tesla in the gear-shifting department as well. While Tesla’s second-gen Model 3 relentlessly pushes to strip the cabin of all mechanical controls — even putting the shifter in the screen — the Rivian maintains its tried-and-true stalk.

It made for easy, intuitive shifts without looking away at the screen — and a simple double-pull toward me engages drive-assist on freeways, just like first-gen Model 3/Y.

Tesla hasn’t lost its send of humor, though — it still offers whoopee cushion sounds and lots of games to play while you charge. Rivian also has a light touch.

A Sasquatch-like cartoon character called Gear Guard will help you with security measures like Pet Mode. And when I stepped out of my R1S, it played spooky Halloween sounds.

It brought a grin to my mug — which actually hadn’t left since my last, insane 0-60 sprint.

Next week: 2025 Dodge Charger Daytona EV

2025 Rivian R1S

Vehicle type: Battery-powered, all-wheel-drive, seven-passenger SUV

Price: $77,700, including $1,800 destination fee ($101,950 Adventure Dual Max as tested)

Powerplant: 92.5/109.4/141.5 kWh battery; dual/triple/quad electric-motor drive

Power: 533 horsepower, 610 pound-feet torque/665 horsepower (dual motor), 829 pound-feet torque (performance dual motor); 850 horsepower, 1,103 pound-feet torque (tri-motor); 1,050 horsepower, 1,198 pound-feet torque (quad motor)

Transmission: Single-speed direct drive

Performance: 0-60 mph, 2.5-4.3 seconds (Car and Driver est., 4.3 seconds est. as tested); top speed, 111-130 mph; towing, 7,700 pounds

Weight: 5,789 pounds (AWD as tested)

Fuel economy: EPA mpge 65–87; range, 270-410 miles (410 as tested)

Report card

Highs: Laugh-out-loud acceleration; impressive range, cargo space

Lows: Hands-free autonomous feature lags peers; no Android Auto/Apple CarPlay

Overall: 4 stars

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.

Holly — The North American Truck of the Year contest this year featured an impressive variety of pickups that included the GMC Sierra EV, Rivian R1T and Ram 1500.

But the marquee match-up is a fight between two midsize truck icons: the Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma.

The titans have both completely redesigned their vehicles for this historic showdown with multiple trim and engine options. But the headliners for both trucks are their off-road beasts, the Ranger Raptor and Tacoma TRD Pro, which show off the truck warriors’ full arsenal from performance tires to tech to interior comfort.

I’m a juror for the North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year awards, and I spent a day with these two dirt-kickers in their natural habitat: Holly Oaks Off-Road Vehicle Park. Get ready for Detroit vs. Tokyo. Kong vs. Godzilla. Raptor vs. Taco.

Ford, of course, is the undisputed king of trucks, selling over 700,000 pickups a year in the full-size segment. But like its GM brethren, it’s fallen behind Toyota in the midsize game, which the Japanese automaker has dominated for the last two decades. The 2024 Ranger is a serious effort to counter that.

Tacoma is Toyota’s franchise truck, and its hugely anticipated 2024 model is the pickup’s first makeover since 2015 as the brand tries to keep a herd of competitors — Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Nissan Frontier, Jeep Gladiator — at bay. The brand hit it out of the park with an aggressive design, superb interior and first-in-segment hybrid powertrain for an off-road trio of models: Frontier, TRD and TRD Pro.

After taking a hiatus from the mid-market from 2011-18 to concentrate on its franchise truck — the full-size, aluminum-bodied F-150 — Ford is back and on the attack to try to dethrone Toyota. Along with the GM twins — Colorado ZR2 and Canyon AT4 off-road bruisers — Ford has brought the first Ranger Raptor performance model to take on the mighty TRD Pro in the U.S. market.

It is a treat.

You know this is a special athlete long before you wade into Holly Oaks’ formidable trails. The Raptor felt like a sportscar on 33-inch all-terrain tires on my road trip up Telegraph Road. Taut steering, solid chassis, tuned Fox exterior reservoir performance shocks.

Holly Oaks’ 200-acre sandbox was alive on a November Saturday with ATVs, motorbikes, side-by-sides, Jeeps and Broncos. I attached my orange off-road flag, spun the rotary electronic controller to BAJA mode and charged over narrow Darlene’s Ridge, its high dirt walls just inches from the truck’s flanks. No worries.

The Raptor was as precise off-road as it was on-road. Gaining confidence, I roared into Lollipop on Holly’s Back 60, the Raptor cutting through the muck like Lions’ running back David Montgomery through defenders — the front end hitting its marks, the rear end sliding into place like it was on rails. BWAAAAGGGGHH! roared the twin-turbo V-6 (shared with the Bronco Raptor), a nice soundtrack for this four-wheeled off-road rock star.

Ford has clearly leveraged its racing experience with F-150 and Bronco — witness Baja 1000 and King of Hammers wins — to produce another Raptor warrior.

Over the same terrain, the TRD Pro was a blast, if not the Raptor’s performance equal. Also sporting tuned Fox shocks, TRD was less precise, though its softer setup beautifully absorbed the dips and moguls of Holly Oaks.

Ranger’s supreme confidence was on display on the technical Mt. Magna section of the park. Approaching The Steps (literally, a staircase that vehicles can climb, then descend), Ranger not only conquered the staircase in four-wheel drive — but also rear-wheel drive. The Toyota, meanwhile, refused to climb the steps due to overly cautious safety systems.

Please Nanny, let me play!

Climbing the formidable Mashed Potato section of Mt. Magna, the Ford charged right up whether I used the locking rear differential for better traction or not. The Toyota? I had to engage the rear locker.

Though the Raptor also adds a front locker, the Toyota offers a deeper toolbox. The TRD Pro doesn’t cost $65,395 — versus the $57,315 Ranger — for brand cred alone. The Toyota has better pickup specs like towing and payload capacities. And it’s armed with better front approach angle/ground clearance and a disconnecting front sway bar so it can go places the Raptor can’t. Like rock trails.

The 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor has a high-tech interior with big screen and lots of digital toys for your off-road pleasure.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

I disconnected the TRD Pro’s front bar — freeing each front wheel to find its own level for better traction — and improbably navigated a rocky gulch that was a challenge for me to walk up, for goodness sake.

The Raptor’s talent — like big brother F-150 and Bronco — is speed and handling. Given its gym-toned athleticism, you would expect the Ford to look the part. See an F-150 or Bronco Raptor approaching in your mirrors and you’ll jump. But Ranger Raptor is the stealthiest performance truck in the segment.

The Taco, on the other hand, wears a muscle shirt of fender flares, hood scoop and lantern jaw. This thing looks like it eats Priuses for lunch.

The 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro options a cool red leather interior. Wireless Android Auto and other tech toys are standard.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

The testosterone continues inside. The dash and console are squared off like they were chiseled from stone. Big, meaty knobs anchor the console and look like they should be turned with a wrench. The Ford sports the brand’s signature design — big vertical screen, central volume knob, lovely digital instrument display. It’s handsome but lacks Taco’s toughness.

Presence matters when you’re buying a performance truck, and the TRD Pro has it in spades. Note to Raptor: dude, your wardrobe could use a hood scoop ‘n’ fender flares. Consistent with the Toyota’s bigger toolkit, TRD Pro also reflects the Tacoma lineup’s variety with eight total trims, multiple off-road models (TRD Pro, Trailhunter, TRD PreRunner, TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road), and a choice of bed and cabin lengths. Heck, the Toyota even offers a manual shifter option. The Ranger is less generous with four trims, no manual and a five-foot bed.

The 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor climbed The Steps at Holly Oaks without hesitation.

Henry Payne, The Detroit News

Still, when it comes to the halo trucks, it’s the Ranger that packs the most value with its $57K sticker compared to TRD Pro’s $65K. That’s perilously close to the $70K Ram RHO (nickname, Rhino) supertruck, which takes performance to a whoooole ‘nother level.

It took awhile, but the Raptor vs. TRD Pro truck war is finally here. Who you root for will probably depend on how you spend your weekends. If you like to eat dirt (me), the Raptor is superior. If your weekend diet is more civilized, the Taco is plenty meaty.

Next week: 2025 Rivian R1S

2024 Ford Ranger Raptor

Vehicle type: Front-engine, four-wheel-drive five-passenger performance truck

Price: $57,315, including $1,595 destination fee ($59,795 as tested)

Powerplant: 3.0-liter, twin-turbo V-6

Power: 405 horsepower, 430 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.3 seconds (Car and Driver); towing, 5,510 pounds; payload, 1,411

Weight: 5,372 pounds

Fuel economy: EPA, 16 mpg city/18 highway/17 combined; range, 365 miles

Report card

Highs: Off-road beast, on-road sweetheart

Lows: Styling doesn’t match its personality

Overall: 4 stars

2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro

Vehicle type: Front-engine, four-wheel-drive five-passenger performance truck

Price: $65,395, including $1,595 destination fee ($65,869 as tested)

Powerplant: Hybrid 2.4-liter inline-4 mated to electric motor

Power: 326 horsepower, 465 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.0 seconds (Motor Trend est.); towing, 6,000 pounds; payload, 1,710 pounds

Weight: 5,000 pounds (est.)

Fuel economy: EPA, 22 mpg city/24 highway/23 combined; range, 437 miles

Report card

Highs: Swiss Army knife of pickup tools; sweet interior

Lows: Not as confident off-roading as Raptor

Overall: 4 stars

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.