At Last, A Small Pickup?

[buck12]

All I know is I drive a F250 to work five days a week with a suit on and on the weekend I am towing upwards of 8K pounds with it...will a Ranchero do that?

Same here only it's an f150. Weeks days it takes me to an office job. On the week ends it pulls the tractor and hauls whatever else is needed.

 

[Sasquatch4100]

My parents had a Nissan Frontier pick up and it was nice and spacious, but never got near 18-21 mpg and it had V6 with auto trans and 4x4. Wasn't very powerful and flew into pieces when they hit a dear going 25mph. The whole front end is plastic an cost 3500 to fix.

I love trucks of all sizes and wish they still actually made a "mini" truck. The Nissan and ones now are "mid size" trucks and the gas mileage isn't much better than that of the smaller full size with a V6. I sure wish I could get away with having another Mitsubishi Mighty max or Ram 50, but it isn't enough truck to do the work on the property I have to do. Saw a Ram 50 in the paper recently and sure was nostalgic to be able to have and use one again. But those days are over. Today out shopping I ran across a super deal on an F250 Super Duty 4x4 off road with a V10. Worse mileage in history, but I'll only drive it once a week, if that, so it's not an issue. My wife has a Toyota echo and I have a few motorcycles and my company supplies a work van for me to use so we're pretty set. Although not in the market any longer for a "mini" truck it'd sure be nice if they were still made.

 

[treman]

I am in a similar boat with some of the fellas here. I have a gmc 2500 Dmax that i bought from my BIL for half of what he paid new just 1.5 years earlier b/c he needed a bigger truck for hauling his gooseneck. If it wasn't for that sweet deal you can bet that I would have bought a smaller truck. Would absolutly love to have a small truck that could tow in the ballpark of 5-7K and haul 1500lb or so. ideally it would have a small 4/5/6 cyl diesel like my jetta (4 cyl) that gets anywhere from 42 to 50mpg depending on habits of driving. I have, however, defenalty(sp) used my gmc to its max cap. on multiple occasions but for a while it was my commuter as well. now my wife got a new job and we can ride to work together listening to the sweet turbo spool of the jetta at ~45 mpg. and use the truck for pallets of feed and bales of hay when we need to have a truck and not drive it at 15-17mpg every day. I guess im lucky in that aspect.

It does seem though that having a larger truck I find things to use it for that I could never have used a compact truck for.

 

[bp fick]

Always difficult to a conversation about mini, or compact trucks.

The popular, 1.8L, 4 cyl, 28 mpg, mini trucks of the early 80's weren't popular because they competed against the full sized trucks for capability. Of course, a mini-truck isn't as capable!!! It's a mini truck. :laughing:

We've got a big, capable, v-8, 4x4 Ford. It's great. But, it's not designed for 99% of the dinky trips to town to pick up milk, go to the bank, the wife to play euchre or go to choir practice, or all the other meaningless little runs. Geeesh. The "I don't want a mini-truck because I have 7000 lbs to pull" crowd do NOT have to buy a mini-truck. Nobody's gonna make you. No worries, and if you don't get/want/like the mini-truck, that's fine too.

But, try to understand why some folks DO want a 40 mpg, diesel, mini-truck instead of having to make those little errand runs in a sit-on-the-ground, carry nothing, compact car.

 

[RoyJackson]

Over the last 20 years, I had 3 Rangers. I like 'em, but never a 4 cylinder again!!

Sasquatch4100's post:

My parents had a Nissan Frontier pick up and it was nice and spacious, but never got near 18-21 mpg and it had V6 with auto trans and 4x4. Wasn't very powerful and flew into pieces when they hit a dear going 25mph. The whole front end is plastic an cost 3500 to fix.

A 2005 Frontier was my next truck. This is the first year Nissan put the Z-Car engine and a 6 speed manual in it...definitely no slouch!! Fuel economy, on the highway in 6th gear, was quite good...easily the 18-20 MPG you never saw.
However, the pre-2005 trucks and Xterras were, as you wrote, pretty weak.

So now, it's a 2006 F-150 Crew Cab (5.4L Triton engine) for the bigger stuff and a Subaru Outback (outstanding vehicle) for those trips to the grocery store and such. Suby Outbacks are definitely not a "sit-on-the-ground, carry nothing, compact car"

 

[bp fick]

So now, it's a 2006 F-150 Crew Cab (5.4L Triton engine) for the bigger stuff and a Subaru Outback (outstanding vehicle) for those trips to the grocery store and such. Suby Outbacks are definitely not a "sit-on-the-ground, carry nothing, compact car"

Agree. Subaru's mini ute/wagons are exceptional vehicles. We have had similar-ish Honda CR-V for the past 12 years. It too sits up and the utility is outstanding, as a Subaru wagon is as well for you. I'd reckon you get a similar 22-24, Roy?

Now, if either your Sub or our Honda got 40 mpg, that would be great.

Still, neither are mini-trucks though. They're too pretty.

 

[RoyJackson]

I'd reckon you get a similar 22-24, Roy?

When I was driving the Outback, it as all highway. I was getting right around 25-26 MPG.
Around town...dunno...never checked it.

 

[s219]

I am looking at a bigger vehicle since my towing needs will be expanding as we start building on some new property next year. It's an odd market to be sure.

The F-150 (and similar) is hard to beat if you can stick with a low-end model (XLT or less) and the base V6. At year end, I can get a F-150 XLT 4x4 for $22-25K with some hard bargaining. And it will return a real world 21-23 MPG on the highway if driven sensibly. I just don't see how the smaller pickups can really compete with that.

BTW, Ford's eco-boost engine is a bit of a fool's paradise -- you can get good gas mileage with it if you drive sensibly. If you dip into the throttle and enjoy all the power, the MPG is horrendous. Not surprising given my experience with turbo motors over the years.

I sure would love a more compact truck, but the MPG numbers are not there. Even Honda's Ridgeline (which is somewhat of a pickup/SUV bastard, in that it doesn't perform either role strongly) is rated 15/21. Somewhere along the line, these companies lost the notion of what a small pickup/utility should be.

I have fond memories of a Mazda pickup my dad had in the mid 80s (this was when they were made in Japan, before they became a re-styled Ranger). It had plenty of pep, decent payload and towing capacity, and was real good on gas. I'd jump on something like that in a heartbeat, but they do not exist here in 2011/2012.

I do understand the sentiment about city slickers with trucks -- that is a popular theme in my area. Judging by the condition most of these trucks are in, they clearly never see truck use. I am certain my Subarus and their roof racks and utility trailers have ferried more canoes, lumber, dirt/mulch/rock, and building materials than many of the "dude" trucks in my neighborhood. There is somewhat of a truck fad in my area. No disrespect to those of you who do have honest uses for your trucks -- I am soon to join the club, and will be proud to own a truck I can put to work.

 

[TripleR]

Regardless of "need" some people simply prefer trucks. My dad drove big trucks for a living. He owned cars over the years, but the last few years of his life, after he retired, his "truck" was an F150 and his "car" was a Mazda B2000.

I drove cars to work for much of my career because of the 4 cylinder gas mileage. I now get in a car only under the most extreme situations.

My mom had to sell her little Toyota 5-speed pick up after she broke her arm and it never healed well enough to shift, so now she drives an automatic Ford Ranger. She is 89 and simply prefers trucks.

I know a lot of people who drive high performance sports cars and see that as no different than someone driving a big pickup even though they don't haul or pull anything.

 

[KentT]

I know a lot of people who drive high performance sports cars and see that as no different than someone driving a big pickup even though they don't haul or pull anything.

Freedom of choice is a wonderful thing, is it not?

Couple more thoughts:

1. Individual driving style can easily affect gas mileage by 2-3 MPG. Gradual acceleration/deceleration and using your momentum are keys -- even on freeway driving -- especially in hilly areas. Example: I can usually get better mileage where I drive with my right foot than on cruise control because I can anticipate the need to accelerate while cruise control cannot...

2. Any vehicle is a compromise in daily use -- no one vehicle does all things well. You simply choose the compromise that best meets your specific needs -- if you research it well, that is...

3. As I said earlier, I've driven pickups for many years because I need the utility of hauling and towing moderate loads. If I used it daily to make a living hauling/towing heavy loads, like on a construction site, farm or a landscape business, I would prioritize and choose differently.

4. Just as many small pickups (Nissan and Toyota -- not Ford Ranger) have "grown" over the years into mid-sizes, the F-150/1500 size pickups have grown to be oversized for many of us. My Frontier has essentially the same size and performance specs (though 6500lb towing instead of 7000lb) of the F-150s that I drove years ago. I do need 4WD because of snow and I do need good MPG...

As far as price points -- I paid $23,500 for my Frontier SE Value Package, without special yearend closeout deals or anything. It came with automatic, 4-wheel ABS and 4-wheel traction control (uses brakes to provide automatic limited slip on all four wheels), power everything except seats, tow package, aluminum wheels, bedliner, air, cruise, sliding rear window, etc. It is not the "stripped model" that's often advertised with low prices by some brands/dealers, though it doesn't have leather, heated seats, etc. It's just an affordable light truck, that has proven reliable and comfortable -- and meets my needs -- similar to the F-150s that I grew up driving...

I moved down from full-size trucks a few years ago, moving first from a Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4WD to a V-8 Dakota 4WD Quad Cab (which wasn't much of an improvement in mileage, only maneuverability), and then later moved to the Frontiers. This is my second one -- my son totalled my first one, and I was so pleased with it, that I simply replaced it with a new one...

I typically put about 100,000 miles on my 4WD trucks then trade them in, while they still have some trade-in value, are still reliable, and before I have to deal with the expense of rebuilding transfer cases, transmissions, etc. I need a vehicle that I can hook up my trailer and head off on a 2,000 mile venture without worrying about breaking down, overheating, etc. If I were trying to get 250,000 miles out of one I'd likely make my decisions differently... just like I'd do differently if I needed to tow 10,000 lb....

IMO, make your choices based on your needs -- while respecting the point that different people have different needs and different priorities...