Topic: Used Vehicle Advice: Used Small Trucks

[Autos_Editor]

We investigate a range of popular used choices for a cheap and useful small truck.

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[WRX_Pilot]

Always been a fan of the Frontier and the Ranger, but I'll never forgive Ford for abandoning it, especially since they have such a good one sold globally!

Forget about the Tacoma, no matter how good it is people continue to ask outrageous resale figures.

I know why compacts disappeared, but I still don't get why automakers can't produce one cheap enough so they don't compete with the full-sizers?

[Solstice2006]

Always been a fan of the Frontier and the Ranger, but I'll never forgive Ford for abandoning it, especially since they have such a good one sold globally!

Forget about the Tacoma, no matter how good it is people continue to ask outrageous resale figures.

I know why compacts disappeared, but I still don't get why automakers can't produce one cheap enough so they don't compete with the full-sizers?

Biggest thing the bothered me about the Ranger was the lack of crew cab.  It there was a 4 cylinder crew cab, I would have bought one.  That way I could throw my 2 lawnmowers (in the summer), weedeaters, in the bed.  And every so often drive my daughter around in the back seat.  Can't put a baby seat in the back of Ranger.  You can in the Toyota, Chevy, and Dodge. 

The new Ranger that is sold worldwide would be probably have the crew cab with the 4 cylinder...

[drive67]

I have a 2005 Tacoma with 200,000 km with not one problem in 9 years that's why they have a high resale, and I can expect another 9 years and 200,000 km. I have the 4 cylinder  manual transmission which gets combined 70% highway 30% city 9.5L per 100 km.  I live in the country and use the truck to take my garbage to the dump, firewood, 12 sheets of drywall, dirt/plants, just picked up 650sq ft of hardwood flooring and found that the small truck works fine. Not everyone needs a full sized pickup with real world fuel numbers at 14L per 100 Km.

At work we have Dakota's which I find dangerous with transmission and computer problems where I rather take a 20 year old beaten up GMC over the Dodge. If the battery goes dead on the Dakota you can not let off the gas when boasted or it will die. The solution to drive a couple of blocks two feet on on the gas and one on the brakes. We have 2 Colorado's which I've had computer traction control problems coming on dry roads. Both the Dakota and the Colorado feel cheap compared to the Tacoma and full sized pickups.

I prefer the Toyota or Nissan before 2005 they had more road feel and stiffer ride but smaller all the way around. World wide Toyota has a small diesel pickup which I would buy.