Special-purpose vehicles compared: all 5 current models

The EPA's special-purpose class is a regulatory category, defined with the other classes of comparable vehicles in federal rules, rather than a shopping segment. That is why a pickup, a crossover and a small electric SUV appear in one table. Treat the class as a list of five separate purchase decisions, not one comparison, and follow the model links for each one's own page.

The electric VinFast VF 6 rates 85 MPGe at about $900 a year in electricity on the EPA's assumptions, the Silverado 70 MPGe at about $1,100 and the Sierra 68, while the Mercedes-Benz GLA and GLB use gas at 29 and 28 mpg. Base prices are $39,695 for the Silverado and $40,895 for the Sierra on Kelley Blue Book's figures.

Because the models are different vehicles, compare each with its real rivals: the electric pickups against other electric pickups and the GLA and GLB against other compact luxury SUVs. Read each model's page for its recall and complaint record and check a used vehicle's VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.