SMALL PICK UP'S

[Victor3]

I remember in Car and Driver, I think, where they said that the only off-roading most 4WDs ever see is pulling into the driveway. I will say that the only time I ever NEEDED the 4WD on the Ranger was when it dumped nearly three feet of snow overnight. That was once, in about an eight year stretch. Since the tendency is for the front drive to go out first on 4WDs, I sold the truck. Now I have a Scion--- if I need to haul something, I rent a truck.

 I live in the city but have almost always owned a 4WD. Probably only use 4WD ~5% of the miles they drive but I can't get to many of the places I go out in the sticks without it. In winter it often saves me from having to put chains on.


 My current truck, 2008 Tacoma, cost ~$1700 more with 4WD than a similar 2WD model. Well worth the price of admission to me...

[ironglow]

I have a Kia Soul now.. I bought a small trailer from Harbor Freight, ity has a 4' X 4' frame which I put a 6' plywood on..  I can put a lawn tractor on that and the Kia barely notices it. 
   There is some discussion of Scion building a pickup on the Scion XB base.  If they do, and the bed is of a decent size, where I can haul a 4X8 plywood.. even with "red flag" overhang,.. I may go with that.
 
        BTW: My Kia.. with good all-season tires and traction control, is a real bear in the snow.  I can even lock the axle for short, straight distances..

[ChungDoQuan]

I would surely go for a Scion pickup! My little toaster shaped xB has the best traction control and ABS I've ever driven. It does nearly as well in snow and ice as my 4WD Ranger used to do! If they made a pickup that worked as well, I'm already sold.

[ironglow]

  I just hope if they do it, Scion doesn't go the sleek, sports-car route with a smal, 3'X4' box.  We need a functional small pickup.
  http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/01/report-scion-still-considering-small-pickup-truck.html
 
  Hyundai was considering a pickup, but it was to be a mid=size, sold as hyundai or Kia... But I guess that's a non-starter, at least for now.  http://rumors.automobilemag.com/hyundai-wont-build-midsize-pickup-truck-in-us-134489.html#axzz2WRF0Mz5R
 
  Who knows?  Ford is reconsidering another small truck...  Just like our domestics, to drop a line, only to say..  DUH!  Why did we do that ?
   http://blogs.automotive.com/2014-ford-f-150-svt-raptor-special-edition-debuts-ford-sees-room-for-compact-pickup-133817.html

[JonnyReb]

 I had one of those Mitsubishi mighty max's too . Was the first new vehicle i ever bought, an 89 model with one factory option, a cassette player. 6000.00 out the door and i earned the money at auto bell car wash, a local chain. Good memories.

  That little truck would go anywhere my buddies fancy new 4.3 S-10 extended cab 4x4 would go, plus some. His motor was so strong and the gearing so high, he just spun about no matter what. Wet grass would stop that fancy 4x4(then) cold. My little mitsub would trundle right through anything but deep mud and high rocks, it was so low to the ground that it would hang up in the deep stuff but other than that it was amazing for a 2 wheel drive. Did a 12 hour trek from virginia to N.Y. on Thanksgiving of 89 during a 2 ft snowstorm. Interstate 81 was shut down but i was to young and dumb to stop, i drove all afternoon, through the night and made it safe the next morning, that little truck never seriously slid or slipped once that i remember, even up and over the Penn mountains, up to enola and then on to Rochester. Was totaled in a head on collision about a year later. Heck of a truck.  J

[Larry L]

The SVT Ford small truck is the same as the Ranger pickup made in Australia. It's been hopefull that Ford would bring it to the US but it's not going to happen. Build quality versus what is required in the US is way off. Frankly, the OZ Ranger is crap. There's also another issue of what engines would be available to put in it. They basically have none except maybe the 3.7 V6 but that's going to take time to get the certs on it in a small truck. Then you have next to no safety equipment or designed crumple zones that would require redesigning of the truck. Just far too much crapola.
Since the OP asked about small USED trucks, don't over look the Nissan Frontier. They are for real and have far fewer issues than any other brand truck in that segment. Only bad thing about a Frontier- resale value sucks which is whacko. Just try to find a used one. Most folks won't give them up and for good reason. They are a well built truck.
While you may want a small truck as a lot of folks do including me, the full size trucks hold resale a lot better and get better fuel mileage. The new F150 with the 3.7 V6 gets better fuel mileage than any of the little trucks, has 300HP, has far more room, and has a better safety record than any of the small trucks. Geez, even most of the F150s with the 6.2 big V8 gets 19 hiway averagely with most test fleets and these guys drive 'em like they stole 'em. That's even better than the EcoBust. But the fuel miser of the full size trucks is the GM 5.3 Flex. About the only thing it won't pass up is a parts house.
If a full size will do and you can hold on a few more months, the Dodge Ram Diesel is coming. A V6 that will put a full size truck at or near 30 mpgs hiway and have a tow rating at 8000lbs. It will come with a very commercial grade ZF automatic transmission and should be a near bullet proof truck. Problem will be price and availability, they will be in HIGH demand. This is the first vehicle that Dodge/Chrysler has come out with that doesn't suffer from the raping Daimler did to the company. They did their home work on this one and will draw the line in the sand for others to attempt to equal. If yer a Dodge fan, they are back!

[ironglow]

Off topic The best little vehicle I had was a Suzuki Samurai Hardtop. It didn't pretend to be anything other than what is was, a MPV.

 Did yours come with a kidney belt? 


 My buddy loved those Samurais. Neat trucks for sure. Only vehicle I've been in that had a worse ride and was more likely to end up on its roof than my lifted CJ-5 though...

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  I had 2 of those Samurais..never could figure why they ceased production.  I suppose it was the bad press Consumer Reports gave them.  Never had any problem with the unstability they talked about..naturally one should not try to drive it like one would a Porsche, but I considered it as safe as any offroad capable utility vehicle I ever used.

[Conan The Librarian]

Ford had a Ranger plant near here. Closed it due to poor sales of that model.

[SHOOTALL]

I remember in Car and Driver, I think, where they said that the only off-roading most 4WDs ever see is pulling into the driveway. I will say that the only time I ever NEEDED the 4WD on the Ranger was when it dumped nearly three feet of snow overnight. That was once, in about an eight year stretch. Since the tendency is for the front drive to go out first on 4WDs, I sold the truck. Now I have a Scion--- if I need to haul something, I rent a truck.

 I live in the city but have almost always owned a 4WD. Probably only use 4WD ~5% of the miles they drive but I can't get to many of the places I go out in the sticks without it. In winter it often saves me from having to put chains on.


 My current truck, 2008 Tacoma, cost ~$1700 more with 4WD than a similar 2WD model. Well worth the price of admission to me...

 
 
 
 
My 4wd has stayed engaged for a week or more racking up thousands of miles. It gets used a lot on job sites and hunting.

[Conan The Librarian]

I've benefitted many times from not just 4wd, but from the basic design of the truck: Higher clearance, more weight, towing capacity. If I were to buy another truck, it would have 4wd. Best of both worlds for me is to have an economy car as a daily driver, and an old pickup for when we have snow, for towing a boat, and for going on hunting lands.

[Victor3]

Off topic The best little vehicle I had was a Suzuki Samurai Hardtop. It didn't pretend to be anything other than what is was, a MPV.

 Did yours come with a kidney belt? 


 My buddy loved those Samurais. Neat trucks for sure. Only vehicle I've been in that had a worse ride and was more likely to end up on its roof than my lifted CJ-5 though...

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  I had 2 of those Samurais..never could figure why they ceased production.  I suppose it was the bad press Consumer Reports gave them.  Never had any problem with the unstability they talked about..naturally one should not try to drive it like one would a Porsche, but I considered it as safe as any offroad capable utility vehicle I ever used.

 Many thought that way.


 They can go dang near anywhere but some don't know where the line between "dang near" and impossible is. Like trying a steep rock climb after watching heavier, longer/wider wheelbase vehicle do it. 

[SHOOTALL]

A lot of guys around here get the small pick ups in 4WD instead of jeeps. Some say the go better off road. Others need the cargo box for dog boxes and tool boxes. I can say both go better on sand and mud than my F-250.