Euro Pickups vs American Pickups styling differences

I've been noticing that euro mid-size pickups sport a smaller, SUV like grill/front end. Examples like the VW Amarok and Mercedes X class look more like an SUV with a bed glued on the back.
Whats most interesting is the new ford ranger in america has the more tacoma like grill/front end, but look at the euro version and see a smaller 'pointier' front.

And the real big one here, tacoma and hilux. Similar, but look at how different the body styling is.

Chevy colorado/GMC Canyon and nissan frontier follow the bigger front end pattern. Only real outlier is the honda ridgeline.

No one talks about the styling differences, just thought it was interesting to see, just like the cabover vs long nose in semi trucks. Except that has basis in needs.

Cultural differences? Maybe the fact that europeans don't really have huge full size pickups with large grills?

 

I’ll be that guy... have seen the VW, Mercedes, Ford, Toyota, Mitsubishi, and others outside the USA in Euroland, South America, and Asia. They are way too curvy/soft looking for my taste. I like the toughness of the US spec Taco... no desire for a hilux here.

 

On the Grand tour on Amazon last week they tested the Ranger vs VW vs Mercedes. The Ranger looked good compared to the other two.

 

I think its because Americans have been around trucks long enough to have a "what a truck should look like" image in their head.

Eurozone people with rare exception are in cars or biggest case a small van. So for them, a full size Silverado or Denali is super intimidating, so they style them a little softer.

 

It's all about image. Big ugly domestic trucks look American and that's exactly what they don't want to look like. They want high end looks without the ugly. Considering the narrow streets and tight turns a smaller SUV style truck is more useful. It's why they go ape shit for Land Rovers.

 

true, and the fuel prices in Europe and elsewhere have put a major emphasis on low weight, aerodynamics and general efficiency. those are typically a turn off for the truck crowd in our culture.

 

I don't like the tall skinny look of European trucks, guess they are that way to get down a lot of narrow roads.

 

If they start selling the 3.0 diesel Hilux here, I'm game. It's a bad ass little truck.

 

I wish I could get a cheap Mahindra truck as a beater. I've driven some pretty cool ones outside the US.

Something like this:

 

The EU has different collision and pedestrian safety standards.

 

I agree a diesel HiLux would be the shizz. Wish they sold those here.

I like the looks of a lot of the Euro trucks--saw them in Jamaica recently. I liked the look of the Ranger, though to be honest I couldn't tell if it was the same as the Ranger that's now being marketed in America. I am still in the Tacoma camp, and the Ranger doesn't seem to offer anything special for the price.

The only other comment is how goofy the Ridgeline looks in that picture. They don't look quite as bad in real life, IMO, but I think they would win over a lot more truck folks if the styling were more trucky and less like a cut-off minivan. It certainly has benefits in terms of ride quality, gas mileage and amenities.

 

Interesting. Subbed.