Of the mini trucks the only one that retains resale value is the Toyota Tacoma although the Ford Ranger is too new to know at the moment.GasGuzzler wrote:The market has expanded too wide for there to be a single solution...in fact there is no solution that covers all the bases. Each manufacturer has chosen what they think the proper path to sales is. There is no point to me, at least the path Chevrolet and GMC took. Why pay 85% price for 65% of the truck that then loses 75% of its value in the first three years.
My 2007 Sierra 1500 2WD is worth 1/3 it's MSRP still. Try that with a bloated mini-truck. No, I don't trade often (my last one was 14 years old with 267K miles when I sold it) but for that reason it seems these "small" trucks are akin to throwing money away.
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The Ranger is running a 2.3 engine as the only option. The cockpit is nice and the back seat may be a bit roomier than the other vehicles but supply is limited on the lots and the dealers seem to be bringing them in stripped to try and keep the price point down. Aftermarket options are limited because it has only been out a couple months. I am not certain I trust a small engine running turbo compared to a larger engine doing it's thing at a lower RPM. The 10 speed transmission is probably nice and the truck is probably set up more for road than the other trucks except the Ridgeline. Ford claims a new frame for the U.S. market. The rear seat folding action doesn't get it much out of the way.
And the local dealer ROYALLY hacked me off assuming I was either an idiot, desperate or stupid and unable to do simply math rolling into 'a standard deal' their anti theft locator and kill switch ($1500) a 4 year warranty for $4K on a vehicle with a 3 year mfg warranty and offering me an interest rate that is 4X what my credit union offers. ($7K in additional interest over and above the rate I know I can get) I probably should have expressed myself a bit less nicely about the 'offer'.
I totally agree with you regarding the Canyon/Colorado in that they are quite expensive for what you get and not nearly as capable. They just aren't very comfortable to sit in and if you drive it back to back with a 1500 you probably won't buy the small truck. A year ago I could have purchased a leftover 1500 for less than I could have gotten a leftover Colorado for at the same time and the 1500 was a nicer truck. I'd have had to remove the stupid drop in bed liner and patch the holes the incompetents the dealer hired to put them in left however. Looked like he had the kids from 8th grade auto shop do the job for pizza.
I rented a Tacoma for a week. I like the truck and it's a better driver than I expected at first. It is set up more for off road than the others. The rental was a 4x4 and I don't really need that capability. It sucks gas during acceleration and although it will run like a scalded dog the gas mileage suffers at highway speeds over 70. I think I got an average of about 16MPG mixed driving and running off design point. The seats are not electric and the adjustments are pretty basic. The steering wheel adjustments one ALL the mini trucks are pretty limited but combined with the manual seating adjustments I found myself knee knocking the steering getting in the Tacoma. (probably would happen with the other mini trucks as well) Visibility is good. The rear camera isn't bad but lacks the predictive outlines most of the other trucks are showing now.
I'm currently renting a F150 for a few days. It drives nice but the suspension (even on the 4x4) is a bit softer than I'd expect. It bounces more than my Buick. It seems more stable at speed than most of the mini trucks but it's super wide in the cockpit and visibility suffers. Even with large mirrors and the wide angle mirror insets it seems harder to check all the possible blind spots. (Still better than the currently designed sedans with super slanted A pillars and rear view mirrors mounted on the eyeline.) I am not certain but what the fuel economy on the F150 may be better than the Tacoma when driving like a bat. The full sized truck is just too big for the apartment and idiotic CA parking lots.
The Ridgeline drives nice but it looses a lot of value quick. I don't need a built in ice chest and it seems like a stupid place to put the spare tire in the under bed trunk that would require you to unload the truck to get at it. Having a hidden 'trunk' isn't a bad idea it's just moronic to put the spare tire under a lid that's covered by your cargo.