Help Looking for small work truck Best MPG btw 1985 - 1998

Consider a Tacoma, they are quite sturdy. Also any Mazda truck made after about 93 is a repackaged ranger as Ford bought them out.

----------------- The SnoMan

Just my opinion, mind you.....

You have two problems: 1) the auto tranny is going to steal some (in my case, a lot) of the benefits of a smaller truck and engine, and 2) a well-maintained V6 can actually do better for you than a 4-banger which initially might appear to offer better gas mileage.

The problem is (if I were in your shoes and had to have an automatic) finding a V6 that's been well maintained with that kind of age on it.

People on this board have routinely complained about the mileage of their V6 Tacoma/4Runner/Prerunner models, auto or manual transmission. 16/17/18 in town. Worse yet, my 4-cyl Prerunner X-cab (no manual offered) gets crappy mileage precisely because it's an automatic, and because the truck is almost too damned large for the engine. So I've given up performance (versus a V6) for pretty much nothing.

I once had a (new) '88 Ranger 4x4 2.9 V6 5-speed that consistently got 20 or better in town and mid-high 20's on the highway. But with age, that mileage dropped to 17/18 also (beyond 75k miles).

Right now (I have no choice) I have an '05 Grand Caravan with a 3.3L automatic and it consistently gets 20mpg in town - but it has less than 25k miles on it.

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So I'd find a standard cab Tacoma or Nissan Frontier with a 5-speed

4-banger, or a V6 automatic. Best you can hope for out of any of those is 20mpg to low 20's depending on how you drive, what you drive in, and what you're carrying.

Further, I wonder if one couldn't find a *full-sized* F150 or Chevy with a large V6 or small V8 and do as well. I'd read up before I bought.

Lots of variables out there.

Stew

What's most important to you? On the smaller trunks, high MPG and auto tranny really don't mix. If you want high MPG, I'd go for a Taco with a 4-banger and manual tranny. Heck, you might even want to look at the older (pre '95) Toyota trucks -- those 22R 4-bangers were pretty unkillable.

If you just gotta have a auto tranny, then I'd go for the V6, but you're looking at roughly 17 town / 19 highway mileage -- not what I'd call "high MPG". And you'd want to be hauling a load most of the time -- the V6 is overpowered for the Taco, and a 2WD will be constantly breaking loose the rear tires in the wet without a good load in the bed.

Do any of you use a bed cover - fabric or hard shell and how much does that help

or are there any other tricks to get good mpg?

maybe a truck that is lowered 2 inches or has some addon body moldings or even a bug deflector on the hood?

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Does it have to have AC?

~:~ marshmonster ~sips his mushroom tea, takes a hit off his joint....wonders what you're really willing to sacrifice for gas mileage~

I have a 90 Toy pu short bed with a 22re and 4 sp manual trans and average 30mpg between the streets and freeway. Not bad for a truck!