Time to Downsize

[bkraft]

With $4.00 gas a reality it has come to me that the days of a 13mpg rig are over at least for me. I have narrowed my choices to three; GM Canyon or Colorado or the Toyota Tacoma. All will be Crew Cab,4x4s with tow packages and either the I5 or 6 cyl. motors. Fords while my first love are a distant 4th cause I need that rear seat, My kid is 5"8" and 200 lbs and is only 13 so I do need the room and the Ford Jump seats do not seem to be a solution.
Do any of you guys have any experience with my top three choices? Or have you made do in my situation with the Ranger. Any and all opinions and experiences are welcome.
Thanks in advance

[STUMPJMPR]

The 6cyl small trucks don't get much better gas mileage than the full size trucks...I'm in the same boat but i'm looking at 4cyl 2wd engines....I don't tow much except a small boat but i do use the bed alot...

[30-30man]

Stumpjmper is correct.  Most only get about 1-2mpg better, that's not worth the money.  A Dodge Hemi, Ford, or Chevy v-8 will get close to 16 mpg in town and 20 on the highway with the right rear end. 3:08 or 3:55 etc... There is just no real compromise for power and economy.......I use two vehicles.  A Dodge Hemi 4wd or Chevy s-10 4.3 marine v-6 when I need a truck then a Geo Tracker when I don't.   This has cut my gasoline use in half and has kept the miles off my truck.

[Graybeard]

Spending $30,000 or more on a new vehicle you think is gonna get better gas mileage vs keeping a truck you have that is paid for but gets worse mileage is NEVER a wise move economically. Day in and day out with all the driving I do my Toyota Tundra with 282 HP V8 gets about 17 mpg or so is comfortable and has plenty of power.

I drive less than 7500 miles per year even taking into consideration a vacation trip from time to time. I do not make purchase decisions based on gas mileage alone. Today Matt hauled 65 3'x11.5' sheets of roofing metal home in the bed of it for the roof of my barn side shed. This is free metal taken off the bingo parlor he works at part time as they are putting on new metal. This looks almost new really. Let's see you haul that in a down sized truck. That probably saved me over $1000 and maybe a lot more that I was gonna spend on a roof for the side shed this year. I can buy a lot of gas with the savings.

[R.W.Dale]

Unless you're one of those people who drive 300 miles a day it NEVER makes economic sense to buy a new car/bike/truck to "save money on gas"

 In my personal case I actually went the opposite I sold a 2002 Nissan maxima SE 6 speed that got 30MPG and bought with cash a 92 Jeep Cherokee that gets 17mpg and in the process I'm saving a fistful of cash. That $430 a month payment I was making buys a hell of a lot of $4 a gallon gasoline, more than I'll ever burn in a month

[bkraft]

Thanks guys for your input, the trucks that I was looking at were all 05's would have financed less than 6,000 but after serious consideration I'm beginning to think that that money could be better spent. As always Mr. Graybeard cuts right to the heart of the matter. But MAN, that V-8 Ford Triton sure drinks the gas.

[STUMPJMPR]

I'm in bad situation both ways....I drive about 25,000 miles a year...I have a silverado I'm still paying on it and only get 17 miles to a gallon by the time it is paid off it will  be almost wore out so in my situation i am seriously thinking about downsizing to a smaller truck because i will always have a car note no matter what....

[trotterlg]

I had a Chevy S-10 4X4 V6 5 speed and it only gets around 18 MPG, I went all out and picked up a Suzuki Sidekick 2 door, 4X4 it gets 30+ MPG with the same driving.  The Wifes big Buick gets far better mileage than the S-10 did.  Larry