You’ve changed in 10 years. How about your truck?

The internet is rife with photos of people taking the so-called 10 Year Challenge. You know the one: it’s where people post a picture of themselves taken in high school next to one taken yesterday with a whole bunch of filters. I’m not convinced by some of them, to say the least.

What your Off-Road crew lacks in selfie sticks we more than make up for in transfer cases and mud tires. How have the half-ton trucks from the six major brands who offer them aged over the last ten years? Better than your author has, that’s for sure.

We’ll focus on powertrain improvements since ’09 since it is clear that trucks have become infinitely more luxurious in the last decade.

Ford F-150

Let’s start with the king of truck sales. In 2009, Ford was just rolling out an all-new F-150, making it the pickups’ 12th-generation model. Only three engines were available … and two of them shared the same displacement. The 4.6L V8 could be had with either 2-valve or 3-valve technology in which the former put out just 248 horsepower and 294lb.-ft of torque while the latter had enough gumption to make 292hp/320lb.-ft. The big-daddy 5.4L V8 engine produced 320 and 390, respectively.

Compare this to the current yaffle of engines and its clear this is a great time to be a Blue Oval fan. The least powerful mill is a 3.3L V6 making 290hp and 260tq, meaning the cheapest F-150 now makes almost as many horses as the most expensive one did 10 years ago. Running through the list, we also find a 2.7 V6 making 325/400, the burly 5.0 V8 and its 395/400, and Ford’s almighty 3.5 V6 putting out either 375/470 or 450/510. Late last year saw the introduction of a 250/440 3.0 V6 diesel.

Chevrolet Silverado / GMC Sierra

In 2009, the GM twins were in the throes of (technically) their 2nd-generation iteration. A bizarre mix of powertrains were available, starting with an emphysemic 4.3L V6 making just 195 horsepower. A 4.8L with 295hp and 305lb.-ft tempted buyers who wanted a V8 but sensible people simply stepped on up to the 5.3L with 315hp and 338 units of twist. This was also the weird year in which both the 6.0L and 6.2L mills were on tap, making 367/375 and 403/417 respectively.

Ten years later, GM continues to offer a wide variety of engines starting with a 4.3L V6 making 285 horses and 305 torque. This is roughly what the 4.8L made back in the day. Taking a plunge into the four-cylinder pool is the 2.7L putting out 310/348, numbers comparable to the 5.3L of yesteryear (take that into consideration before dismissing the four-banger). Speaking of a 5.3L displacement, GM plugs two different engines of this volume into its half-tons, both making 355 ponies and 383lb.-ft of torque. The hand-of-god 6.2L V8 reigns supreme with 420hp and 460tq.

Ram 1500

This truck was trying to find its personality ten years ago, not sure if it should call itself a Dodge or Ram. No fewer than three engines were available, all jumping a single liter in displacement. A 3.7L V6 made 215 horsepower, the weirdo 4.7L V8 was rated at 310hp, while the heavily-advertised 5.7L Hemi cranked out 390 ponies and 407lb.-ft of torque.

Today, Ram shoppers have a choice of two engines. The 3.6L Pentastar V6 puts out 305hp and just 269 pound-feet, while the brawny Hemi (still displacing 5.7L) is good for 395 horsepower and 420 units of twist. Cog count in the transmission now numbers eight, a jump of two or three from 2009 depending on if one counts the strange ‘2-Prime’ of the old ‘box.

Nissan Titan

Believe it or not, the Titan has been on sale for about five years by the time the calendar flipped into 2009. A single engine was on the table: a 5.6L V8 making 317 horsepower and 385lb.-ft of torque. It was lashed to a five-speed transmission, one cog fewer than most of its V8 competition at the time.

Fast forward ten years and we find a completely different truck with the same engine displacement of 5.6L. This time around, it cranks out 390hp and 394tq while adding a pair of gears in the automatic transmission.

Toyota Tundra

The 2009 Tundra could be equipped with one of three mills. A 4.0L V6 made 236 horsepower, the 4.7L V8 produced 40 more, and the 5.7L V8 was listed at 381hp. It’ll not escape your attention that this was a big stable of ponies ten years ago.

Powertrain changes since ’09 include the binning of that V6 and slightly downsizing the smaller V8 to 4.6L, a mill which now makes 310 horsepower. The top-spec 5.7L V8 still produces 381hp just like it did ten years ago. We’ll let you draw your own conclusion on the truck’s decade of styling evolvement.

All Together

Which one do you think moved its needle the most over the last 10 years?