The Lease You Can Do: These are the best leasing deals on small trucks

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We’ve previously waxed eloquent on the benefits and pitfalls of leasing vehicles, digging into details of when it is advantageous to do so and when its best to run away screaming.

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Depending on one’s particular situation, it may be possible to prorate the monthly payments for business use and claim them at tax time.

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The Lease You Can Do: These are the best leasing deals on small trucks Back to video

With the end of a calendar year quickly approaching, a time which generally lines up with year-end for many businesses, we thought it prescient to take a look at current lease deals on small trucks. These pickups are a great option for businesses who need to haul materials or merchandise but don’t need to go all-in on a full-size pickup.

This is also a good time of year to decide if leasing or buying is right for your particular business scenario. A general rule is that it is advantageous to buy late in the year, since CRA bases their depreciation calculation on a mid-year purchase no matter when the vehicle is actually bought, meaning a savvy business owner can legally claim first-year depreciation value even if they signed the note on December 31.

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Still, leasing has several cubic acres of tax advantages depending on the situation. We’ve gathered a rogue’s gallery of midsize trucks for this article, with trim and body style configurations selected based on current offers. It may surprise some readers to learn that a truck bearing a sticker of nearly $50,000 can be leased for roughly the same bi-weekly amount as one priced many thousands of dollars less.

Note these payments are current as of this writing, inclusive of all existing incentives but exclusive of sales tax thanks to the latter’s variance across our nation. As always, your dealer may sell (or lease) for less than the numbers shown here so do your homework and bargain hard.

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2021 Chevrolet Colorado WT Extended Cab: $27,598 — $262/mo for 60 mos

The intrepid crew at Chevy are currently hucking some attractive deals on their smallest pickup truck, the Colorado. Funeral services were held for this truck’s manual transmission a couple of years ago, marking the end of a base model GM mid-sizer with a stick. In the sub-$30k market, one is looking at a two-wheel-drive Work Truck equipped with the brand’s 2.5L four-cylinder 200-hp engine, shod with Extended Cab long-box clothing.

As of this writing, leasing rates on 2020 models are very high, making the 2021s a better deal. This particular truck isn’t a total stripper, equipped with a large infotainment screen that plays nicely with Apple CarPlay, air conditioning, and power locks/windows. Cruise control is optional.

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Based on a sticker price of $27,598 and including a $650 incentive, this truck shows a lease price of $135 bi-weekly for 36 months or $131 bi-weekly for 60 months. Thanks to a quirk in rates and residuals, a 48-month lease is more than either of those totals.

2021 GMC Canyon Elevation Standard Extended Cab: $34,198 — $318/mo for 60 mos

Walking over to the GMC side of the same showroom, a Canyon pickup mechanically identical to the Colorado mentioned above is priced at $28,298. Called the “Elevation Standard,” it shows up for work with all the same equipment but has slightly snazzier seat upholstery. Some will argue the GMC is the more handsome of these two brothers, and they may have a point.

Despite its higher MSRP, the GMC actually builds out for $1 less per month on the same 36-month leasing term. This is likely due to GMC trucks hanging on to a smidgen more resale value than the bowtie brand. A five-year lease is $1 extra per month compared to the Chevy.

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If four-wheel-drive is a must-have, know that the brand’s 308-hp 3.6L V6 will be along for the ride, jacking the sticker to $34,198. This pushes the lease payments on an Extended Cab Elevation Standard to $162 and $159 bi-weekly on 36- and 60-month terms, respectively.

2020 Ford Ranger XL SuperCab: $38,329 — $400/mo for 48 mos

After a multi-year absence, the Blue Oval team reintroduced the mid-size Ranger pickup to more than a bit of fanfare. However, it isn’t the cheap phonebox you may remember from the ’90s and early 2000s. In Canada, the truck is only offered in four-wheel-drive — good news for traction but bad news for lease payments.

An entry-level XL SuperCab 4×4 with the 270-hp 2.3L EcoBoost has a base price of $32,159 and no incentives as of this writing. This results in a 36-month lease agreement of $219 bi-weekly or $194 bi-weekly if one can stomach a 48-month lease. However, Ford quickly teaches us just how important residuals are to calculating these payments.

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The XLT SuperCrew, a truck with many more creature comforts and more space for humans, currently works out to a $219 bi-weekly payment on a 36-month lease (or an even $200 bi-weekly for a one-year-longer note).

This is thanks to the better-equipped XLT hanging on to more of its value once the lease is up, plus an attractive $1,000 incentive currently on offer. The XL/XLT interest rates are identical. If you’re wondering, this XLT has a sticker price of $38,329, underscoring the importance of doing one’s homework and not simply shopping the cheapest truck when leasing.

2020 Toyota Tacoma Base Double Cab: $38,450 — $372/mo for 40 mos

Like some other models on this list, the tweener Tacoma proves that lease payments are not always directly tied to listing prices on the truck’s window sticker. Here, we find the entry-level Double Cab, a pickup that offers four forward-swinging doors and much more interior room compared to the smaller Access Cab, shaking out lease payments just pennies apart from each other. This, again, is aided by the better value retention of the bigger cabin.

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Absent of any SR5 or TRD packages, the base Tacoma still comes equipped with tasty features like heated seats and a useful sliding rear window. It is powered by a 3.5L V6 278-hp engine backed by a six-speed automatic and has four-wheel-drive. The $38,450 price is one of the highest window stickers in this comparison.

Still, a typical 36-month lease is currently advertised for $202 bi-weekly , several simoleons less than the nearly identically priced Ford. Stretching the lease terms just 120 days to a weirdo 40 months drops the payment to an agreeable $186 bi-weekly. Rates and residuals rear their heads again, with negligibly lower payments on longer term leases; in fact, some payments are quite a bit higher.

2020 Jeep Gladiator Sport S: $49,840 — $402/mo for 54 mos

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We’ll argue if the Jeep, with its short bed and detachable doors, is a true competitor to the mid-size trucks listed above at a later time. Certainly, the suggested MSRP of this Sport S model is light-years above what we’ve seen so far, checking in at an eye-watering $49,840. For this, one gets a 300-hp V6, manual transmission, 4×4, and the admiration of every Chad or Kyle on your block.

However, Jeep clearly expects this thing to hang onto much of its value. This is useful for the leasing shopper, with a 54-month term providing a payment of just $201 bi-weekly . Other options are far less attractive, such as the 36-month term listing for $246 every two weeks. It would seem that if one is content to hang onto their Gladiator for nearly five long years, they can slide into a payment comparable to that of a bog-standard Ranger XL.