Truck opinions?

Mr Ducky and I will soon be in the market for a small used pickup truck. I'm thinking along the lines of a Nissan something, as I've had wonderful reliability from our current Nissan. Four cylinder is preferable, but no more than six, and if it's a six it would have to have pretty decent gas mileage. Stick shift is ideal. It will be our spare vehicle and also used for small hauling - stuff that won't fit in the car, and on vacation for our camper. The camper is under 600 pounds, so it's really not that big of a deal to haul. It'll also have to be a few years old, as our budget won't accommodate anything resembling a larger price tag.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm not nailed to the Nissan, it's more the reliability that is a must.

I'm sold on Toyota now, so Tacoma? Huge reliability but gas mileage will be better on something else. Just don't get a Colorado from Chevrolet.

I just bought a Honda Accord a couple of months back and since that I have been paying more attention to the Honda line. Honda does make a Ridgeline. It would at least be worth checking out. I have a friend who is a mechanic and we talk about vehicle reliability from time to time. He has told me in the past that Hondas have a pretty darn good track record for reliability.

Do NOT reccomend a Dodge Dakota,Powerful lil truck,BUT youre lucky to get 18 miles a gallon.

I got a Nissan Frontier (2006) in January as my 20+ yo Ranger finally died. It a 6 cyl and I like it alot; however, the MPG is only around 15-18. I think the 4 cyl would be the better bet. I think the Nissan and Toyota trucks are a better deal in the long run as they still make the medium size truck since Ford and GM dropped the small line and went to full size only. The Dodge; a nice looking and logts of o[tions (6-8 cyl) but reliability is still the big ?????????
Go with your budget and heart. Good luck

Frontiers and Toyota trucks have solid reps for being good trucks... The ridgeline isn't a truck, its more like a oversized CRV with a small bed. I have a Dodge Ram, and love the power of the hemi. But the gas mileage is 14 MPG at best and its hardly small. The dakota's are also fairly solid, but again, terrible mileage. If your looking at cheap, MPG friendly, and reliable, and are ok with marginal towing and hauling ability, then stick with Nissan and Toyota's offerings.

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Originally Posted by Five-0

I'm sold on Toyota now, so Tacoma? Huge reliability but gas mileage will be better on something else. Just don't get a Colorado from Chevrolet.

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Tacoma for the win.

I had a 2000 Extended cab and loved it. It was the picture of reliability, fuel milage was acceptable for a truck, and would handle tasks it probably shouldn't have for a truck of its size with ease.

I will say that Toyota is weaker in mpg due to reliability. The drive trains in their trucks are beefy as hell. More mass to move = strength not mpg. The safety ratings are also excellent.