Whats a good 4cyl truck - Northern California Ford Owners

This is topic Whats a good 4cyl truck in forum General Talk at Northern California Ford Owners .

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Posted by N8 (Member # 6048) on :

I know it sounds funny. But I am looking into buying a lil 4 cyl truck. Both for a commuter and the haul capabilities. I will also be having it wrapped so smaller the better.

So far I looked at a Nissan Frontier so far. DOesnt have to be brand new, but looking for some 03+ possibly. Just want to get opinions and any experiences with maintenance, recalls or anything else.

Posted by 02GT707 (Member # 6322) on :

nissan frontier, GO for it i have one and i love it, great on gas

Posted by Jdub07 (Member # 2728) on :

toyotas n8,...they never die

Posted by 93venom (Member # 778) on :

toyotas with the 22re, i have one and i cant kill it, had 1800 ponds in the bed, and gets 27 mpg.....think they made these little pickups until 95 with this motor. mines a 93 168k miles, i fully expect 300k lol

Posted by N8 (Member # 6048) on :

thanks venom.....not looking for something that old as I am going to do a vehicle wrap on it as well. So I am looking for something with a newer body style and lines.

Posted by cummins (Member # 5931) on :

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! Toyota for the win suckas!!!

L8, if you want an 03+ then get a Tacoma and get the 3.4L v6 its a bad ass motor. There's really no mpg difference between the 4 and 6 but the power and towing capacity of the 6 hands down beats out the 4 cyl by far. 01 and 03 have the same body style so no problem with getting an 01. Are you looking for a 4 door, ext cab or regular? I think this one is pimp

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/car/723113021.html

For all your car needs you should be looking at Toyota. Once you go Toyota you don't go back. Kinda like going Asian. Next car for you should be a Supra!

[ June 18, 2008, 09:04 PM: Message edited by: cummins ]

Posted by N8 (Member # 6048) on :

lol @ L8

Yea been hearing Toyota from everyone. I kinda like the look on the Tacoma. Frontier looks a bit more rugged tho.

wow there are some priced pretty well.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/car/724670158.html

[ June 18, 2008, 09:16 PM: Message edited by: N8 ]

Posted by cummins (Member # 5931) on :

quote:
Originally posted by N8:
lol @ L8

Yea been hearing Toyota from everyone. I kinda like the look on the Tacoma. Frontier looks a bit more rugged tho.

wow there are some priced pretty well.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/car/724670158.html

ummmmm SCAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!! No way in hell that ad is real.

Frontier looks rugged LOL. Man you are talking Toyota here. There is no other small truck the rest are just cheap imitations.

Posted by 50Reasons (Member # 6452) on :

get a yota

Posted by Luke87GT (Member # 21) on :

They are all pretty reliable...

Toyota probably tops the charts, with Nissan/Ranger/Mazda very close behind.

I owned a 94 3.0 Ranger that went 200K miles before I sold it. I am confident that it would have gone another 100K easy. I am currently driving a 2.3L Mazda that is stone cold reliable and gets 25mpg average. I could not be happier with these little trucks for DD duties.

Best of Luck!

Posted by stangin' (Member # 514) on :

+1 for a taco. my dad has an '02 taco 3.4L V6 with 185k and still running great. we do all the regular maintenance and it just keeps going. NEVER had a single problem. it's slow as a slug, but hey it's a truck right?

btw, it avg. ~20-21mpg hwy.

[ June 19, 2008, 11:48 AM: Message edited by: stangin' ]

Posted by N8 (Member # 6048) on :

20-21 avg? Isnt that pretty bad for a truck of this size? I am getting about that in my 5.0 [Big Grin]

. But yea I think I will be picking up a Tacoma this weekend (a dual cab longbed) found some pretty good deals in the Sac area.

Posted by cummins (Member # 5931) on :

Trucks never get great gas mileage. Plus the taco you are thinking of is not that small of a truck. Sounds like you're going with a similar one of the link I posted, good choice! Oh and you can always supercharge the 3.4 if you want more power. Post pics if you get something. Remember, once you go Toyota you don't go back!

Posted by stangin' (Member # 514) on :

quote:
Originally posted by cummins:
Remember, once you go Toyota you don't go back!

haha, very true for my dad. he just picked up a '08 Tundra a few months ago. it's a monster.

N8, yeah these trucks aren't that great on gas, but what truck is? i think that 20-21mpg is decent for a truck. my brother has the smaller tacoma, '03 4cyl, and it avg. about the same as my dad's V6. he's going on 160k miles. one advice, if you're going 4cyl, get a manual.

i've driven an '05 frontier and honestly it cannot compete with the taco.

[ June 19, 2008, 02:30 PM: Message edited by: stangin' ]

Posted by Luke87GT (Member # 21) on :

quote:
Originally posted by cummins:
Trucks never get great gas mileage.

Bingo... N8, even though some of these trucks have tiny little 4 banger engines, they still have truck gearing and they still have the aerodynamics of a barnyard door.

25mpg is pretty good imho...

Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :

quote:
Originally posted by N8:
20-21 avg? Isnt that pretty bad for a truck of this size? I am getting about that in my 5.0 . But yea I think I will be picking up a Tacoma this weekend (a dual cab longbed) found some pretty good deals in the Sac area.

sounds pretty horrible to me, I had a `05 4.8L chevy extended cab short bed and it got 21mpg on highway trips, and would spin the tires for blocks, I think it had close to 300hp even with the base v8 [burnout]

Posted by stangin' (Member # 514) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Blind:

quote:
Originally posted by N8:
20-21 avg? Isnt that pretty bad for a truck of this size? I am getting about that in my 5.0 . But yea I think I will be picking up a Tacoma this weekend (a dual cab longbed) found some pretty good deals in the Sac area.
sounds pretty horrible to me, I had a `05 4.8L chevy extended cab short bed and it got 21mpg on highway trips, and would spin the tires for blocks, I think it had close to 300hp even with the base v8

yeah, it's weird. i had an '04 silverado 5.3L V8 and it avg. consistently 20mpg. my uncle with a similar silverado 4.8L avg. 21mpg.

Posted by 92stangLX (Member # 3252) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Luke87GT:
They are all pretty reliable...

Toyota probably tops the charts, with Nissan/Ranger/Mazda very close behind.

I owned a 94 3.0 Ranger that went 200K miles before I sold it. I am confident that it would have gone another 100K easy. I am currently driving a 2.3L Mazda that is stone cold reliable and gets 25mpg average. I could not be happier with these little trucks for DD duties.

Best of Luck!

I love my Ranger. Never had any major problems with it (alternator went out but that's it). It's got 148k and runs great.

I would get a V6. My 3.0 gets 21-23mpg on the freeway.

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