Change of plans... "Small" Pickups

[theknight571]

Some of you may have seen my last post (http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2289693) about my wanting suggestions for a "new" car, and I appreciate the suggestions from those that replied. However, since then, my plans have changed.

In discussing the situation more with my soon to be ex-wife and my son (one of the 6'+ teenagers mentioned in my original post) I have decided to change my car buying plans.

I am now going to look for vehicle I can drive for a couple of years and then turn over to my son. At that point he will be "needing" one. If I need to transport more than just my son anywhere I will have access to the truck my wife will be getting custody of.

He is interested in a small pickup, such as the Ranger, S10, Dakota, etc. and I'm fine with driving one for a couple of years so I'm OK with it.

Currently, in my price range, I'm seeing them in the 1999-2001 model years, so my question is how do these pickups hold up? Are they similar to their big-brothers? Am I off-base and should direct him toward another type of vehicle?

Input from "The Garage" experts is greatly appreciated.

 

[MixMasterTang]

American's seem to do awesome full size trucks, but mediocre small trucks. Have you looked into a Tacoma?

 

[CrackRabbit]

I wouldn't wish an S-10 on my worst enemy.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Ranger or Mazda - Same truck. The B3000 or 3.0L V6 in the Ranger is a beast known as the Vulcan. Its all of 145HP, but performs well and gets decent mileage.

Nothing wrong with the S-10 and its 4.3L V6 either - they go forever, parts are cheap and easy to work on.

 

[MrPickins]

Ranger or Mazda - Same truck. The B3000 or 3.0L V6 in the Ranger is a beast known as the Vulcan. Its all of 145HP, but performs well and gets decent mileage.

Nothing wrong with the S-10 and its 4.3L V6 either - they go forever, parts are cheap and easy to work on.

Just remember, they don't call it the 3.slow for nothing (I own one).

Solid engine, though. Keep oil in it, and it'll last longer than the rest of the truck.

 

[cardiac]

Ranger or Mazda - Same truck. The B3000 or 3.0L V6 in the Ranger is a beast known as the Vulcan. Its all of 145HP, but performs well and gets decent mileage.

Nothing wrong with the S-10 and its 4.3L V6 either - they go forever, parts are cheap and easy to work on.

Fuel mileage absolutely sucks. Had an '01 and was lucky to get a combined 15mpg...

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I have a 98 ranger as my home depot/ikea/rain vehicle, 2.5l lima, and easily get 24mpg hwy, 20mpg+ mixed.

It's been a fantastic truck. I've owned mine for 5+ years and have had no major issues at all. It has enough power to get up and go in traffic, but it's not fast by any means.

I'm thinking about selling it, but only because I need back seats.

 

[lavaheadache]

I wouldn't wish an S-10 on my worst enemy.

I love my s-10 stepside

 

[CraigRT]

Easy choice of those listed.

Dakota.. Get one with the V8 and you're good to go. The 5.2 is rock solid, and the 4.7 is good also (depending on years)
The 2nd generation Dakotas are awesome trucks, I wish they still made them.

 

[Meghan54]

Out of all the choices, I'd take an S-10/Sonoma over the rest. Why?

I lived with a '98 Ford Ranger for a year or so that had the 3.0 V-6. A dog by any definition of the word. Every time I drove that slug, I kept looking for the boat anchor that had to be dragging behind it. And that was its best feature.

Never have been a fan of the Dodges....if you think the interiors of a Ford Ranger or Chevy S-10 look/feel cheap, you've never been in a Dakota. At least, that's my general impression. And while true the S-10/Sonoma interiors were a lot of hard plastics, like the rest of them, at least it looked decent.

While the S-10/Sonoma isn't without their problems, such as the intake manifold tending to leak coolant and need replacing---not a hard or terribly expensive job, just irritating---the 4.3 V-6 is so robust that I tend to forgive that.

We had an '02 Blazer with the 4.3 V-6 that lasted ~10 years before the rear main seal let go at around 260k miles. Wouldn't have been too bad a repair, except when it failed, it failed dramatically and I was doing around 70mph on I-95 in Rhode Island towing a 2000# trailer. Unfortunately, the towing bill for the truck to its trip completion point, about 150 miles down the road, was going to be more than the truck was worth. So, three bottles of Lucas Oil Treatment into the crankcase, the truck did finish its trip, and died completely the next day.

Before that, though, we used that truck to two all over the SE, usually pulling a boat, sometimes one of our two trailers. And we towed.....a lot! It never missed a beat nor had difficulty with loads up to 3200#---the heaviest load we'd pulled with it.

Granted, gas mileage for any of the trucks with a V-6 or V-8 will be horrible, but such is the nature of the beast. Unless you're willing to put up with engine performance that can be charitably described as anemic by getting a 4-banger, don't look at any of them without at least a V-6. Our Blazer would hit around 17mpg combined, but would get 22-24mpg on the highway---and understand, for us, highway driving was usually Interstate, doing 80mph with the A/C on. Remember, we owned it while we were in the SE, and the A/C was on 70% of the year.

I've seen LavaHeadache's S-10 stepside and it's nice. Rare to see a stepside S-10 and it does look good.