Unpopular opinion: unless you regularly haul things, you don’t need a truck of any size. Unless you regularly go off-road or are transporting 5+ people and a dog or more, you don’t need an SUV. You can rent one of those for the rare times you need it! And in the meantime, you’ll save gas money and pedestrian deaths will go down…
I will somewhat disagree with the SUV comment, as my escape counts as an SUV, and I regularly fill it far past a sedan’s capacity when I go grocery shopping (the savings from driving 3+hours each way to the nearest Costco far outstrips the cost in gas) and when I go camping.
And, as I camp in a tent, and have kayaks I can strap to the roof, I don’t need a truck at all, because my car can get me to every campsite that a truck can get to, often easier than someone dragging a camper can.
Plus, since its a plug-in hybrid, and Canada doesn’t burn fossil fuels for power, my fuel efficiency is significantly better than the average sedan in drives under 100km, and breaks even above that.
On a 60km drive, I average 2L/100km, a 100km drive I average 4.6L/100km, and on a 300km drive I average 6.6L/100km (100km/h), 7.5L/100km (110km/h), or 8.8L/100km (120km/h), which is well within what sedans average.
All absolutely valid points and my only counter argument here is that is why wagon sedans exist. Growing up in Poland a wagon was the family hauler bringing all the stuff you mentioned to pretty much anywhere you need. People even haul rvs with the wagons and you’re still smaller and relatively more pedestrian friendly. Hell they even make performance cars in wagon spec like the bmw m3. Not saying that to discredit your point just that there was another option before the suv craze came about
Fun fact: Only 1.4% of the cars sold in the US are wagons and of them 72% were Subaru Outbacks.
I’ve owned two of them!
That’s because the Outback is pretty much the only wagon available here that isn’t over $100k
…wagons nearly don’t exist anymore in the US market, but i concur: hatchbacks, wagons, and minivans are purpose-designed vehicles for the way people use them in the real world, whereas modern trucks and SUVs are overwhelmingly poseur props for families in denial of their suburban utility lifestyle…
The last wagon style sedan I had had worse fuel efficiency than a modern f150 does (though it was an early 2000’s model).
Brakes on that thing also scared the shit out of me, it did not like stopping.
The Subaru forester sedans were very popular in New England from the early 200s to like 2014. Idk just saying there are good option, there were even diesel wagons from WV that had solid efficiency later on .
I’ve been thinking about replacing my 2005 car but the only thing I want to replace it with is an electric station wagon, of which Europe has several options and America has 0. I don’t want a compact SUV, I just want a wagon! I’ll probably leave the country before I have any options lol
Station wagons are for mommies in the 1980s; all the cool kids want SUV and pickups.
So car manufacturers made station wagons with upright seating positions and “off road” styling and called them Crossovers.
In reality, they just couldn’t reasonably add the same markup, so they shifted to other products. Also, fuel efficiency standards based on weight made it more profitable to sell larger vehicles, so they had another reason to shift. We really got fucked from every side.
Yeah, my car I always though was a hatchback, but apparently is actually classified as a crossover. The main reason I still have it (other than having been paid off) is because it still gets competitive mpg and it’s so practical. I used it to take all my crap to and from college. I can carry 9ft lumber in the cabin with the passenger seat down. I’ve gone on a service road in a state park and I didn’t get stuck.
The thought has crossed my mind to get an electric conversion for it instead of buying a new spyware riddled car 😆
Oh man, I really wanted a wagon, but being in Canada the only one available that wasn’t a $90k+ Volvo/mercedes/Audi was a Subaru Outback and I absolutely hated the infotainment system in it. I hate not having physical buttons. So we ended up getting a small suv. I really wish they’d bring over some of the wagon options Europe has.
I wish Canada didn’t burn fossil fuels for power but as an Albertan I can promise you that we do.
Sorry, the parts of Canada that don’t idolize Texas don’t burn fossil fuels.
If you haul anything pickup trucks are laughably bad to do so.
Modern pickups are bad. Old pickups were fantastic for “I need to pile a bunch of (insert thing here) in the back.”
But now every pickup is a massive motor for a tiny truckbed that my ford focus wagon has better hauling capacity.
the few local american pickups here in europe are only here because of appearances and do no off road or hauling. The pickups that do hauling are exclusively japanese and they are all beat to shit cause they get used as designed.
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh if we were allowed to have the Toyota Hilux here I’d buy one immediately. Fucking closest to a truck I “like” is a Ford Maverick because it’s a “smaller truck”…
But they ONLY come in crew cab. For fucks sake I want a standard cab full size small pickup truck about the size of a HIlux or a ranger from the 90s. And frankly if they made one a hybrid I’d have a dream car, but hell I’d take a 4 cylinder. But nope. Around here they’re the shortest fucking bed for the biggest fucking motor that’s effectively an SUV that is somehow MORE useless because the wall between the bed and the cab means I can’t lay seats down. A fucking mini-van is a better truck in the US.
I apologize… this is an angry angry rant I have to do like once every other week…
You can arrange to import one. The US has a 25 year ban on cars that weren’t available originally. When it gets to the US modify to your liking and cop friendly nods from car guys who’ll appreciate the effort
https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/1999-toyota-hilux-manual-4x4-dual-cab/SSE-AD-18374144
Its okay, its better to vent on internet than in real life.
Id like a subaru brat. But it’s rare and i have no practical reason to own it.
My friend has a dodge ram. When his girlfriend left him, he moved out and i helped him move. I asked if i should bring my bus that i use for work. He said nah, DODgE RAM. We drove 4 times just to move his sofa and his side table. Piece by piece. All of his stuff would’ve fit in my bus and maybe something on his pickup. And my bus was still a bit shorter, because he couldn’t fit on his new parking spot, but i did.
Pretty much this. Like I said about my Focus, I’ve straight up driven with 2x4s that wouldn’t fit in coworkers trucks because the 4 foot bed is useless for that and I could fold seats down.
How so? Hauls my tools and supplies around the town just fine.
trailer for hauling and then own whatever you want for driving, a subaru impreza will handle the offroad most people think you need a truck for. If you haul often a van shits on a truck in terms of cargo space, practicality, protection of cargo, ease of loading and carry a trailer while you load or unload. Modern american trucks are just crossovers with a tiny, useless flatbed bought to appear country. Trucks are only for the edge case of construction workers and maintenance crews who have to actually go off road (as in area in the forest where there is no road, not a gravel path a ferrari can drive on without issues). And for serious offroad that requires you to actually carry more than a single chainsaw: unimog.
I disagree. I have a modern American 3/4 ton diesel pickup. It’s not a crossover. I’m not in construction or maintenance, I work in tech.
I have four horses and a gooseneck trailer for the horses that the truck hauls once or twice a week. I also have a flatbed for hauling hay or moving the tractor.
For literally everything else i have a small car, because that truck is awful to drive in traffic or urban areas.
A friend of mine used to have a Suburban because her husband was a boat salesman and needed something that could tow big boats. She called it the Urban Assault Vehicle.
Capitalism and consumerism is about buying shit we dont need man.
That why America doesnt buy public healthcare, its needed so we dont buy it. Ok?
Everyone has things they want but dont need. I doubt that guy has any real need for that thing but I’m sure it’s a ton of fun to own and drive around nevertheless.
unless you regularly haul things, you don’t need a truck of any size. Unless you regularly go off-road or are transporting 5+ people and a dog or more, you don’t need an SUV. You can rent one of those for the rare times you need it!
Maybe… but why not go further?
Unless you regularly transport more than 1 person, you don’t need a car. You can rent one of those for the rare times you need it!
Buy a motorcycle or bike instead?
Buy a motorcycle or bike instead?
No thanks, I choose life.
I’m 3yrs into having done this, and it only works because my wife has a car so really we only got rid of the 2nd car so doesn’t count.
I think it’s a really valid proposal for 2nd cars but even then only if you’re not needing to transport kids at multiple times
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You’re a shitty reductio ad absurdum, my kid and I live in England where rain was invented and I do fine without a car.
Just throwing it out there that rain gear exists and you can 100 percent ride a motorcycle or a bicycle when it’s raining without getting wet. I think everyone would be a better driver if they had to experience getting somewhere on two wheels.
Hell, a motorcycle can generate enough electricity to power heated clothing to keep you warm even during New England winters. If there’s no ice on the road I’m riding my motorcycle to work!
Hi I own only a moped and when it rains/snows:
- if it’s not too severe I just wear a poncho and be a bit miserable
- if it’s too severe I take a cab
the occasional cab fare is peanuts compared to what I’d be paying in gas and insurance
I rent a car/van sometimes when I need to haul stuff. Same deal
(This is our asshole; I hope that counts)
I guess technically he’s my asshole too.
For more than a decade I only rode a motorcycle in Florida. I even made trips - with a passenger - to Costco. It required plenty of straps and saddlebags and a big backpack, but it was doable to get groceries in it for two people.
This was on a Triumph Scrambler, and I had added a luggage rack etc, so not something you could do easily on a stock sport bike, but you don’t need a big touring bike for this kind of living, either.
The times I needed to haul something big, I rented a truck from a big box hardware store. Saved a ton of money over the years, and only now have a Prius (with a roof rack to haul stuff) because I live in a place with harsh winters. No sidecar yet, but thinking hard about it…
I would absolutely own a bike instead of a small car if I was the only one on the road. I just don’t trust other drivers enough to do it.
Fuck people who buy those big beasts, then can’t handle them for shit, and try to park as close to the front door as possible, fucki ng up parking for every other vehicle. Never even trying to park straight…ungh.
Edit: to be fair, i used to own an oversized pick up. Similar but a much much earlier style/model. At the time i regularly traveled forestry roads like, 40 kns into the back country, so i actually needed it. Got rid of it when it was clear i was not going to be going into the field anymore. These do NOT belong in a city.
Every trip in a truck with an empty bed is a waste. Tooling around with stuff in the bed without the intent to deliver/use it at your destination is even worse.
Yet that describes 99.99999% of all pickup truck use in America. Just a huge ass waste of gas and space in parking lots.
Trucks are expensive too! If I were a scam artist I would definitely be targeting people driving shiny pickup trucks with empty beds. Because they definitely aren’t practical or realistic people.
Wait: Maybe that’s how MAGA started? 🤔
That’s how you know it’s all for show. People casually forget you can rent trucks for 20 dollars a day too. “Oh well I’m glad I have it for towing and moving”. Bull. How often do you tow really? And even then I’d expect it to sit at home most of the time. Moving? Once a year. Rent a truck. I go to home Depot and rent theirs when I need it.
Buying a truck like that shows you are way too worried about what people think of you, you have to feel “big”, which usually means you’re a small man, and probably bad with money.
People casually forget you can rent trucks for 20 dollars a day too.
Rented a big truck for my move. It was a bitch to drive, cost me 75bucks for 2 hrs (it has the 29.99 in-town advertising plastered on the side) and didn’t fit more shit than a rental van of the same price.
Honestly vans are so much better to move with. Can move so much more, and don’t have to worry about the rain.
I haul shit home two or three times a week, nothing to do with work.
Hell, today picked up a nice mower (free) to fix to fix and use or sell. Also found a cool wooden chair my wife likes for her campsite.
Hauled cull wood from the store to my camp for building stuff last Saturday. Had it not been raining, I was going to take my kayak or canoe to the water today.
You don’t know me or how I live. Could you be any more judgey?
Yes I could, because you use your truck, so I’m glad. You are one of the few. The vast majority of truck owners would do one of those things maybe once a month, and that’s wasteful and posturing.
I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about Dave the accountant in his Oakley’s who drives an hour each way in his big stupid truck, acting aggro on the road just to appear manly, all while never using the truck for any truck things. The truck that carries at max a briefcase.
I just looked up the dimensions of that thing and it has 10cm (3inch) shorter bed than mine. How you even manage to pull that off with a truck that big is beyond me.
These brodozers aren’t used for anything useful. I like having 4’ between the wheelwells and a box long enough to get a full toolbox across the front of the box and still get a 1000L fertilizer tote in it. And low enough that I can climb in the box without a ladder.
Emotional Support Vehicle
For the 3 days out of the year they might actually need such a massive beast they can rent a truck. I remember when I was car shopping and told a “car guy” at work I was looking at a Subaru he got all worked up. He tried to talk me into buying a massive SUV or pickup because they were more macho or some shit.
I cant actually tell what you drive, it’s hidden behind that douchemobile in front.
I ‘enhanced’ and it seems to be a Nissan, aka ‘pickup-mobile’ for the chicks…
Nissan Navara King Cab D40. In the US these are called Frontier.
Yank tank!
I remember a time when that Frontier was considered a big truck, especially compared to Rangers and Tacomas.
Now the Rangers and Tacomas are almost as big as the Dodge in this…
ETA: Just noticed you’re in Europe. Sorry that 'murican fattism has reached you, I didn’t know these compensators existed across the pond.
Sorry that 'murican fattism has reached you
I don’t mind. I’m a car guy myself, and I like them in all shapes and sizes. I’d probably drive one too if I lived in the US, but over here they’re just way too big and impractical not to mention they stick out in traffic like a sore thumb and, quite frankly, make you look kind of a douche.
They’re way too big here too we’re just replacing infrastructure to satisfy thousands of people’s penis envy instead of telling people no.
It does make you a cunt by definition, since your modern stupid bright LED headlights shine STRAIGHT into the eyes and/or rear view mirror of everyone else.
They’re H4 halogens and I can assure you they’re not blinding anyone thru those fogged up headlight lenses.
Headlights are literally placed at exact height of a rear view mirror and eye height of many cars. Even incandescent will blind.
You’re talking about the Dodge? In that case you’re correct.
Of course the dodge, that nee-san is fine.
My dad has a '93 ranger, the modern rangers are almost the size of the f150s of that era, and you can’t even get them like a 7ft bed like he has.
The 4 cylinder manages almost 20mpg which isn’t too shabby even by modern truck standards. If I could get pretty much the exact same truck with a modern engine, maybe a hybrid, it would be a no-brainer.
4wd would be nice too, his is RWD, and that thing doesn’t like rain, snow, loose gravel, pretty much anything but dry asphalt when you don’t have any weight in the bed.
We’ve gotten plenty of use out of that truck, we’re not towing or hauling anything heavy, but we’ve moved a lot of furniture with it, picked up some small loads of bulky lumber and such from the hardware store, hauled camping gear for a bunch of kids back when I was in scouts, etc. I don’t need anything bigger.
I’m kind of crossing my fingers that the maverick adds a mid gate to extend that tiny bed a bit. That would basically check all of the boxes I’m looking for. Ideally that would still be my 2nd vehicle in addition to a small EV for most of my daily commuting but I’d get enough use out of a truck like that to be worth it if I could afford and had parking space for a second car.
Nice. I’m planning to get a compact pickup soon. The prices are starting to get really steep where I live. It’s like $4000+ for a 25 year old truck with 180,000 miles on it.
we have reached a time when the normal size vehicle is called a compact
Everything has gone the way of the fast-food soft drink size.
It’s so stupid, if you actually need a small truck your options are to buy used basically.
We just need a couple small (easy to navigate in cities, good on gas) 4wd trucks on the market. You’re basically stuck in Ford Transitsright now, which they’ve just stopped making, or buying 20yr old Mazdas and Rangers. Or being forced into the same F150s every other fleet operator has. I know the market for these vehicles exists (though demand is low) why does no manufacturer try to fill it?
Actually small trucks stopped being made in the early 2000s. Mid size, which has also been growing for several years, is the smallest kind that got made after the EPA regulations changed.
People like to blame truck owners for their bigass vehicles, but I think they’re only half responsible, with the other half being that actually small trucks just don’t really exist anymore.
My grandfather drove around a beat up Datsun pickup, smaller than most sedans these days. But it did the job for what he used it for, and ran forever. I think I’ve seen less than five on the road in the decades since. They seem out of place in today’s SUV/huge truck world.
I think 70s-80s small pickups are going to become collectables in the future.
…manufacturers cater to the compact + economy truck market overseas but protectionist tariffs pretty much give them a captive market for luxury yank tanks stateside; your best bet for something new is finding it in puerto rico and paying the premium to ship it across the gulf…
They are starting to at least make some more reasonable vehicles. Not exactly small but not the oversized monsters.
Ford Maverick, Honda Ridgeline, Hyundai Santa Cruz, Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon, etc.
Honestly if the towing capacity was more I would have gotten the Maverick instead of the F150 for work. Sadly it can only haul 7,000lbs and I haul around a 10,000 GVW trailer all the time. The F150 in got can haul 13K.
…i’m not sure they’re actually made any differently; everything in europe gets a dramatically greater tow rating…
The new Toyota Hilux Champ seems kinda nice too I think. It’s kinda ugly but kinda not - and dirt cheap
There’s a reason there are “full-size” pickups. The box is 49" wide at the narrowest point across the wheelwells so you can fit full sheets in it. There have been compact pickups for a long, long time (Toyota), but they’re narrower than fullsize and you have to build a deck in them above the wheels to get full sheets in. Sometimes even then you have troubles.
It’s like $4000+ for a 25 year old truck with 180,000 miles on it.
And even worse if you’re picky about features, like a manual transmission or four wheel drive.
Those were the requirements I had on top of a black color.
Sorry about your massive penis.
Nothing to apologize for
Put a Ford Focus behind it to show what people actually need.
Too bad the gov blocks smaller pickups from being imported. Practical sized vehicles.
Shouldn’t generalize like that. People with a legitimate need to space for hauling cargo exists.
Agreed but considering how bed sizes haven’t changed but the rest of the trucks tripled in size his point isn’t too far off the mark
So that people refocus their goals? fingerguns
Frontiers are awesome little (relatively) work trucks. I don’t ever need to haul people so I ripped out the rear seats and installed shelving for anything I need to keep secure and dry. Big enough bed to throw nasty/oily parts. And a good enough towing capacity for most rental equipment like bobcats and lifts. Basically a half van.
This is actually a Navara, which is the European equivalent of the Frontier. As far as I know, it’s otherwise the same vehicle, but Frontiers usually come with a 6-cylinder petrol engine, whereas this one has a 4-cylinder turbo diesel. Mine originally only had two seats to begin with, since I preferred the longer bed instead. Ironically, the bed on this monstrosity didn’t seem any bigger than the one on mine.
Yeah, they’re pretty close to the same truck. I would have loved the diesel option, but we’re deathly afraid of small displacement diesels in the US.
Frontier is exactly as much truck as most truck owners actually need. I love it. I wish it was more fuel efficient but it’s a mild, modest, effective vehicle and i have not yet run into a situation it couldn’t deal with. Wonderful purchase. It turns like a boat but that’s a decent trade off to avoid the Toyota Tax on the Tacoma.
I did the same when a coworker showed up with an F350 crew cab 6.5ft bed. Lifted, offroad lights, cb antenna, diesel (which is the HD option in the US). He lives in the suburbs and pays laborers for everything. So I plopped my dutiful little Mazda B2300 next to it (Ranger) that regularly hauls a little bit of wood.
Guaranteed he bitches about gas/diesel prices too.
He didn’t buy it for MPGs, he bought it to complain about $/gals
I don’t understand I maxed out my credit to buy this thing, drive and look like a douchebag and girls STILL avoid me?!?
Oh yeah, wrong vehicle. I am DROWNING in numbers with one of my vehicle types: motorcycles. Every time I ride somewhere, I get someone coming up. So many reasons. They used to have my bike model, they want a buddy to ride with, they have a meet coming up, they’re doing a charity ride, they want photos, they… Wait you said girls didn’t you. Shit.
Girls? They come out when the 2 door Geo Tracker comes out with the roof off.
So I plopped my dutiful little Mazda B2300 next to it (Ranger) that regularly hauls a little bit of wood.
'96 Ranger 2.3L here. My truck has the same engine as the Ford Pinto and that’s the way I likes it!
iTs A liMa blah blah blah pinto, lima, it’s beans inside, this is beans
In the future, cars will be so big that we will need a second, smaller car to drive us to the driver’s seat.
For anyone interested: there’s a new community for small trucks !keitrucks@lemm.ee
If only we could import the modern ones to the US!
The TELO Truck looks promising, I just wish any of the people showcasing it asked the CEO about the data it collects and their privacy policy.
Well lookit that, I am interested! Thanks.
Ford Ranger 2004 vs 2024 is like Mario before and after mushroom.
I miss the little Ranger. That thing was the perfect pickup truck (if your market didn’t get the actual perfect pickup truck, the Toyota Hilux)
Thanks for blinding everyone on the road with your Dodge.
Mammoth tank vs medium tank
Plot twist: they’re both OP’s
