Inspired by the new car thread. My old Subaru Forester is on it’s last legs and I am thinking I’d like a small truck. Very light hauling on occasion, things like mulch, lumber or maybe a little furniture. Manual transmission, AC and CD player a must, good milage would be great. Otherwise I really don’t care. I had a Mazda B2200 10 years ago that I really liked but I’d like to give somebody else a chance. Any recommendations?
My husband loves his Dodge Ram 1500. We traded in the 4-door Hemi for a 2-door, uh, six-cylinder, I think. (I’m so mechanical.)
If you can wait a little bit there’ll be a new player on the scene.
It’s a bit ugly, but then, IMHO, a real truck ought to be.
The Ford F-150 is the best-selling truck in America.
Might be too large for your needs. The smaller Ford Ranger is based off the Mazda B-series.
No, the current Mazda offerings of the past 15 years are based on the Ford Ranger. Ford hasn’t sold a Mazda based pickup since 1983 when the Ford Courier was discontinued.
Thanks for the replies. I went to the library yesterday and they just happened to have the Consumer Reports 2009 car addition sitting on the magazine rack. The cars they test seem to have all the options, the opposite of what I’m looking for, but still good data. I can’t remember the details but they rated Toyota Tacoma and the Nissan Frontier (and one other?) very high. But the models they show are the extended cab/tiny bed type that I can’t see myself using.
The F-150, which does seem like a “small” truck is listed as mid-sized.
Off to do some test driving this weekend.
I’ve had an F-150 for 11 years now, and it’s running great. It’s been a very dependable vehicle. The mileage is terrible, but these days my commute to work is very short.
Previously, I had a little Nissan truck that was also very dependable at 11+ years.
One of the things I liked about the Ford when I bought it is it had a pretty smooth ride compared to the Chevy and Dodge models I test drove. The turning radius on the Ford was noticeably smaller, which comes in handy in parking lots and driveways.
I am in the same boat your are “shiftless”. I keep looking at the offerings from Ford and GM, sorry, I wouldn’t consider a Chrysler, but when I look at the Consumer Reports reviews I see the Tacoma and Ridgeline are the most reliable and also the cheapest to operate.
When I buy a vehicle I expect it to run flawlessly for years. I have owned a Tacoma in the past, and a Tundra, and never had to put money into either of them. Say what you will about how reliable your F-150 is, but more owners seem to prefer their Japanese trucks. Go figure.
BTW, the Tacoma is built in California (at the Fremont NUMMI plant), so technically it’s American made!
I’m just waiting for the incentives to get better later in the year… as the economy continues to crater…
I have an F150 and it’s a decent truck but it’s certainly not “small”. If I was in the market for a small truck I’d be going for a Toyota pickup (Tacoma), they have the reputation of being pretty indestructible and running forever (hundreds of thousands of miles). “Top Gear” tried to break one (look up Top Gear Toyota Hilux on youtube, you can see the series) and despite putting it through slightly more rigorous* wear & tear than the average owner it just wouldn’t die.
I had a 1988 Toyota Celica and it was astoundingly well engineered, ran flawlessly through snow, Death Valley, crammed full of passengers, hauling cargo, etc. Not a flashy car but it just worked and if something ever did need replacing it was simple to work on for this rank amateur. Unlike my F150 which is a major PITA to do even basic maintenance. If other Toyota vehicles are built as well as my Celica, and from what I’ve read they are, it’d be a good choice.
- “slightly more rigorous” included having it washed out to sea, hit with a wrecking ball, set on fire and finally placed on top of a tall apartment building that was then blown up. They were still able to drive it into the studio.
:eek: I wouldn’t drive that to a booger-pick.
When I go to a booger-pick, I need some hauling capacity.
So far, my plan for the weekend is to check out the Tacoma and the Nissian Frontier. The Ridgline looks more like a car with a small truck bed. Does it come in a form with just a cab and bed? The F-150 I may look at but this is a commuter car and I would really like to get some mileage. And I would like to buy American if I can so dolphinboy’s news moves the Tacoma to the head of the list.
I’ve got an '07 Tacoma. Four cylinder, manual transmission. I love it. It gets around 23 mpg just around town, on longer trips I’ve gotten close to 30.
My friend has a Frontier, that’s pretty nice too. He’s got the four door(crew cab? It makes no sense that a crew cab is bigger than a king cab.) with a six cylinder and it gets only about 13 mpg.
The Frontier is more like a car than the Tacoma, FWIW.