best small pickup truck?

[kats]

I should say you had had your money's worth out of it! 

[jakinbr]

So roach, what'd you get?

[kermujin]

I like the mazda-b (early ford courier), and that kinda thing.

My favourite vehicle, for sure! Mazda b2200. Fabulous little truck. What did you get, Roach?

[wordnerd]

India has a pick-up trucking coming to the US in 2010
http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/news/mahindra/dieselhybridandmore.html

[BlueOwl]

India has a pick-up trucking coming to the US in 2010
http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/news/mahindra/dieselhybridandmore.html

I wonder if it'll look like the trains they manufacture.


(pretty much a preview of an energy scarce future coming to a country near you)

[Chip Haynes]

The Lovely JoAnn and I have a 1995 Chevy C1500 W/T short bed p.u. truck with 175,000 miles on it. It runs great and gets decent mileage (18/24). It's got a 4.3 liter V6 and a five-speed manual tranny. We've owned it for 14 years now, and it's a great truck.

Be careful buying smaller trucks- sometimes they don't get any better mileage than the full-size ones. (I suspect their shorter gearing is the problem there.)

 

[BlueOwl]

I had a little v6 and called it "baby hugo".  Big appetite (for gas), no power.

[Mama Nueva de Elian]

The Lovely JoAnn and I have a 1995 Chevy C1500 W/T short bed p.u. truck with 175,000 miles on it. It runs great and gets decent mileage (18/24). It's got a 4.3 liter V6 and a five-speed manual tranny. We've owned it for 14 years now, and it's a great truck.

Be careful buying smaller trucks- sometimes they don't get any better mileage than the full-size ones. (I suspect their shorter gearing is the problem there.)

 

That's true. 

When truck-shopping five years ago, I nearly went with the same combo you've got, for the reason you state----  The EPA est. mpg for the v6 chubby and the 4 cyl yota differed only negligibly. 

My Toyota loyalty (misplaced, these days) overcame me in the end.  Plus, I'm not a big dude, so I just didn't need a big cab.

In retrospect, if i'd bought the new chubby, I'd still have it.   The toyota cab was too small for my current occupational needs, so it had to go.

[Chip Haynes]

Our Chebby is the now-rare regular cab model. No extension, no extra doors. Just one bench seat and two doors.

And most of the time, that's all we need.

[hillwalker]

fwiw,
I'm going to sell my 'doomer' wagon.
'86 F250 4x4 diesel. You know the one, the 6.9 IH idi diesel.

It has it's issues, but it's a solid normal truck. Normal cab, normal
bed, and so on.

I just do not ever use it.
It's near Winchester Va if anyone is interested in a post-EMP vehicle.

[Chip Haynes]

At least, with an old Ford pick up truck, parts should not be a problem for a very long time.

(There's just so very many of them out there.)

[Shamaness]

My Toyota loyalty (misplaced, these days)

Why misplaced?

[Mama Nueva de Elian]

My Toyota loyalty (misplaced, these days)

Why misplaced?

Toyota pickup quality and durability in the US, since the Tacoma line diverged from the Hi-lux, just ain't what it used to be.

My '04 was robust in its own way, but it was clearly a lesser product than my previous yota, a '94.

[fungusmunkey]

I would second the recommendations for pre-Tacoma toyota trucks  (mid 90's and earlier).  Although i'm not sure what year airbags became standard.

The 22-r and 22-re will go for a long time, just keep changing the oil, (and other consumables of course) and adjust the valves around every 80-100k miles.

They aren't overpowered by any stretch but with 4x4 will go over most anything reasonable.

The mileage is better than anything with a v6 or v8.  I'm getting around 23 mpg on a 4x4 22-re with the hubs always locked, mud caked on, and crap in the bed.  Some v8's I have had were lucky to do 18mpg with and empty truck and a very light foot despite reported numbers.

Another option I would suggest is the old ford 4.9 or inline 6 cylinder (it has multiple names).  Variants of that motor have been used for many decades and it is available in most of their light trucks until the late 90's i believe.  These straight 6 engines are known for their longevity.

Those inline 6 cyls have more torque than the toyota if you are looking at moving or towing larger loads, yet they get good mileage still (compared to v8 engines).  The manual tranny that most of them have has a granny gear first as well but not all of them have an over drive gear.

Neither of these choices are great for highway cruising at 85 mph though.  They can both do it but the gearing is a bit too low and keeping it around 65 is best for mileage.

The 2wd toyota trucks seem to be geared slightly differently, or maybe it is the weight and less air drag but they seem to be a bit faster and don't mind driving fast on the highway.

[FilterFeeder]

My '04 was robust in its own way, but it was clearly a lesser product than my previous yota, a '94.

same with most vehicles in my opinion.

Once you've owned one of these, no other 4x4 makes any sense at all: