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Originally Posted by plutonium239,Jun 1 2008, 04:31 PM
Do you really think the full size pickups can average 17mpg? Forget what the EPA data says.
With a Diesel yes they can. With a big Duramax Diesel my 03 Chevy 2500HD Crewcab can easily average over 17mpg's if I'm not towing. At 55 to 65 mph I've seen 20+mpg's. A normal full sized pickup, ie: F150 or 1500 could easily get 20mpg's with a slightly smaller diesel. On the other hand with the price of diesel...
I love my Ridgeline, but the gas mileage isn't anything to write home about. Probably a couple mpg better than my old Avalanche on average, but it drives/rides worlds better w/ little sacrifice in usable space/utility.
Why does anyone need a small pickup? Honest question.
Because they can not afford to keep fueling up those big gas guzzlers!
Seriously a small pickup is all I ever needed and am on my 3rd Nissan hardbody. First one lasted 15 years . Also a guy at work is starting to retire his 1990 Nissan because he says it is starting to lose compression and has over 500,000 miles on it! Same as me he replaced with a nicer 1995 model and mine is getting an average of 24 mpg.
I work at a Ford dealership. The Ranger (the last truly small pickup left) cannot be found anywhere. We've been sold out for two months, and won't get 09's in until the end of July at the earliest.
I've been debating replacing my Impreza with a compact pickup (I've really been looking at the Nissan Frontier).
4WD for the winter, plus the fact that I seem to move every year, and I plan on purchasing a house soon which means I'll be making lots of trips to Home Depot. I don't need a full-size truck, and I'm sure a compact will give me the bedspace I need, the towing capacity for my jet ski, and still deliver a decent mpg out of it all too.
I don't see the point of a full-size unless you need the towing capacity, or regularly haul loads in the bed that a compact would not have the capacity for.
Now, if you need a full-size for business purposes, that is another matter entirely. I think the average joe that has a full-size can likely get away with a compact.
Over the years I have owned an '86.5 Nissan SE V6 4x4 King Cab, a '94 Nissan XE V6 4x4 King Cab, and for a short while a piece of chit '94 S-10 4x4 ExtraCab. Between these 3-trucks I have over 275,000-miles of experience in compact pickups.
So, based upon that I have the following to say...
- compact pickups are great and they are a good vehicle type to have, and I agree it is a shame they are all gone and now we just have mid-size pickups
- never again will you find me owning a mid-size or compact truck
- what we really need is some substantial hybrid technology added to full-size trucks so they don't consume so badly
I love my Big Red Beast, and I have zero regrets having purchased it. I know for myself I will own this truck for at least another 8 to 10 years and as gas continues to go up in cost, my number of miles will go down, but as I really NEED a full-size truck I have every intention of keeping it, I just don't fill up the 28-gallon tank anymore.
06-01-2008, 03:44 PM
