Compact pickups are primarily toys or cheap basic transportation. Full-size trucks are for serious work and even more serious play. Stuck in the middle are mid-size trucks, which are kind of the Swiss Army Knife of pickups, with multiple applications. They can haul, tow, go off-road, and pick up the kids from soccer practices. Most of all, they offer a decent-sized cool, fast ride without the soul-sucking conformity of a minivan or crossover SUV.

Automakers have long recognized the market for performance mid-sized trucks because it's actually a no-brainer that whatever vehicle is available, a lot of people are going to want a really fast version of it. It's as simple as dropping the massive power plants from the heavy-duty pickups into a smaller model trucks. The reduced weight and size suddenly produce a mid-size muscle truck.

There is no official designation in terms of size and weight for a mid-size truck. Basically they are bigger than a compact, but smaller than a full-sized, which is kind of a "well, duh" definition. There is also no consensus on what the term "fastest" means either because top speed, 0-60, and quarter-mile time could all apply. Pickups aren't terribly aerodynamic and create a lot more drag than sports cars, so they don't quite have the same mind-blowing high end. That being said, top speed is king and here are the fastest mid-size pickup trucks ever made.

We've collected data from reputed sources like Car and Driver, MotorTrend, Edmunds, and Road and Track to compile this list of the fastest high-performance mid-size pickups.

RELATED: The Fastest Full-Size Pickup Trucks, Ranked

10 1970 Chevrolet El Camino 454 SS

Top Speed: 105 mph

A Chevrolet El Camino isn't a sedan, nor is it a coupe, but it does have a truck bed, so by the process of elimination, it's a pickup. Because of it's big car size, it then qualifies as a mid-size truck. Car/pickups are an acquired taste but having an ungodly amount of power under the good, like the 1970 454 SS, makes them a lot more palatable.

Power and Performance

In the early 70s, GM was going crazy, cramming 454ci V-8s into everything in their line-up. They even put one in a Caprice, for crying out loud. The '70 El Camino 454 SS was a slightly less weird choice, though it was still an odd set of wheels. This unassuming-looking speedster gave plenty of Mustang, 'Cuda, and Firebird owners PTSD after smoking them off the line.

9 2020 Rivian R1T

Top Speed: 112 mph

Some may complain that putting the Rivian R1T on a list of the fastest mid-sized pickups is cheating because it looks too big. The R1T, despite looking bigger, is actually smaller than a Tacoma at 217 inches long. It’s a bit wider, at 79 inches wide, whereas the Tacoma is 75 inches wide. The R1T is solidly in the midsize truck range but on the smaller end.

Power and Performance

With a massive curb weight of 7,148 pounds and its hefty GVWR, the EPA classifies the Rivian R1T as a heavy-duty vehicle, but that's something entirely different. While it may not seem to be within the spirit of the rules that this all-electric is on a list of ICE trucks, times change and the EV revolution is a reality. Part of that reality is that the Rivian R1T is the quickest mid-size pickup ever made, but its top speed is limited, so it doesn't get to dominate this group.

8 2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5

Top Speed: 113 mph

In the 1970s and 80s, the compact Toyota pickup was a favorite toy for budget gearheads, because it was relatively cheap, surprisingly quick, and infinitely customizable. In 1995, the truck known as the Hilux in the rest of the world was discontinued and replaced by the Tacoma. It was however still a compact model until 2004 when it grew up and became a mid-size truck.

Power and Performance

While there were always great performance packages available for the Tacoma, the 2016 SR5 may be the quickest of the group. The supercharged 2008 "Ironman" special edition and the 2024 326 horsepower beast hybrid may be faster, but currently, no reliable data exists on those models. For now, the '16 SR5 is the king of Tacomas.

RELATED: 10 Classic Pickup Trucks To Choose Over The 2024 Toyota Tacoma

7 1991 GMC Syclone

Top Speed: 124 mph

Back in 1991, some mad genius at GMC took some leftover parts from the discontinued Pontiac Sunbird Turbo and Frankensteined them into a Sonoma pickup to make the fastest production truck in the world. The legendary 1991 GMC Syclone was the ultimate sleeper truck, that blew doors off of every contender for over a decade as the most dominant street machine.

Power and Performance

As beloved as the Syclone is today, it was years ahead of its time and wasn't terribly successful. The market for a super-fast pickup in the early 90s simply didn't exist. Maybe if MC Hammer or Vanilla Ice had put one in a music video, it would have taken off, but instead, it was scrapped after two production years, selling just 2998 units.

6 2021 Honda Ridgeline Sport HPD

Top Speed: 130 mph

With Honda's reputation for building reliable vehicles, their foray into the pickup market with the Ridgeline in 2006 was much welcomed. While living up to Honda's standards, the first-gen Ridgelines were a little odd looking and slightly off from what people associate with a pickup.

Power and Performance

Thankfully they fixed that with a more proper truck profile in the second generation and added a bit more power to finally have a true pickup. The 2021 Ridgeline Sport with the HPD (Honda Performance Development) package is the best truck Honda ever built and lived up to the company's other reputation for making great off-vehicles like motocross bikes and ATVs.

5 2019 Chevrolet Colorado Z71

Top Speed: 135 mph

The Chevrolet Colorado is another truck that started life as a compact but grew into a mid-size model. The replacement for the S-10 was as solid as any other Chevy truck, but in 2019 everything came together to make one of the best and most versatile pickups to ever wear the Bowtie.

Power and Performance

Available with either a four-cylinder, a turbo diesel, or a V-6, Car and Driver recommended getting, "the quickest of the bunch" 308 horsepower six that came equipped in the Z71 performance trim. Saying it was just as comfortable on a rugged trail, towing a load, or dropping kids off at school, the auto magazine proclaimed that the 2019 Colorado, "can do everything."

RELATED: 2019 Chevy Unveils Pair of Special Edition Colorados for the Dirt and the Street

4 2024 Ranger Raptor

Top Speed: 143 mph

For everyone who has been begging for a Raptor-ized Ranger, Ford has finally answered their prayers. After making pretty much the same uninspired, modestly powered truck since 1983, the Blue Oval will finally deliver a mid-size performance truck with the 2024 Ranger Raptor. They almost hit it with the SVT Ranger concept vehicle in the mid-90s, but now they are making good.

Power and Performance

The Bronco is also getting the Raptor treatment for 2024 with an engine that makes slightly more horsepower than the Ranger, but since trucks are lighter than SUVs, the power-to-weight ratio will be superior in the pickup. Not only does the Ranger Raptor have a new powerful engine, it rides on a beefed-up suspension and chassis, making it a worthy heir of the F-150 Raptor.

3 2012 Nissan Frontier PRO-4X

Top Speed: 146 mph

After parent company Nissan phased out the classic Datsun compact pickups, they hit the North American market with the Frontier in 1997, which was a reliable but small truck. In 2005, the Japanese automaker upped the Frontier to a mid-size class and established one of its most popular models.

Power and Performance

Frontiers have always been sporty trucks, but with the 2012 PRO-4X, it became a performance pickup with a peppier engine and an ungraded suspension. During their extended test drive of the Nissan 4x4, MotorTrend said it was, "fun to drive" and raved about the engine, noting, "it provides more than enough power."

2 1998 Dodge Dakota R/T

Top Speed: 147 mph

It's a wonder why Dodge never dropped a 5.7-liter Hemi in a Dakota, but even more puzzling why they discontinued the popular mid-size truck back in 2011. Durangos got Hemis that made 375 horsepower while the Dakota was still around but the most powerful engine the truck ever got produced more than 100 ponies less.

Power and Performance

That being said, the 1998 Dakota R/T wasn't exactly slow or weak. At the time it was the only mid-size pickup with a V-8, and it was an affordable ride that could school 5.0 Mustangs and ZL1 Camaros. According to Car and Driver, Ram is reportedly getting back in the mid-size muscle truck game with a smaller version of the EV 1500 Revolution.

RELATED: 10 Things About The 1999 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning That Makes You Wonder If It Was A Truck At All

1 2004 Ford Lightning SVT

Top Speed: 148 mph

The Lightning is based on the F-150, which is Ford's full-size truck, but those 10th generation pickups were on the small side. With nearly the same wheelbase, length, and width of a latest-gen Ranger, the 2004 Lightning SVT is way more of a mid-size than a full-size, and it's also one of the fastest trucks ever made.

Power and Performance

Ford first made a Lightning SVT in 1993 to compete with the GMC Syclone, just as the speedy truck was discontinued. The Ford was actually much slower, and again there was no market at the time for this vehicle, so it too was mothballed. Ford brought the Lightning SVT back in 1999, with a lot more power, and it had a five-year reign as the fastest production truck on the road.