Nice little rig, like this better than the new Ranger, that's for sure!!
I had the Duratracs on my Wrangler and found them to be a great 4 season tire, not too loud as mentioned in the article and decent enough on ice, absolute beast in the snow!
Yes, I like this better than the Ranger. If I were looking at midsize trucks, I would look at this and the Tacoma, and choose that which felt more comfortable and easier to live with on a daily basis.
The review seems bang on with regards to fuel consumption. My dad has a Colorado with the same 3.6 V6, and is reporting similar mileage throughout his truck's lifetime.
The only 'problem' with the engine is that (like Chrysler's Pentastar) it likes to be wound up to high RPM to make most of its power/torque, but the transmission shifts up as quickly as possible, and is reluctant to step down, all in the name of economy. So that makes the truck feel a little sluggish.
I think the little diesel would be perfectly suited to this truck, but I'm not sure the extra cost at purchasing time is worth it. Maybe if it has higher resale compared to the V6 then it would be worth it, but I don't think that engine has been out for long enough to be sure.