Return of the small pickup? (1 Viewer)

[marcfj60]

Perusing Car and Driver articles today I came across this:

2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Is a Small-Pickup Version of the Tucson

Hyundai's new unibody pickup is a spiritual successor to the Subaru Baja and other small trucks America has been missing.

www.caranddriver.com

Then it recommended this article:

2022 Ford Maverick Could Be a True Compact Truck

This unibody pickup, possibly arriving by the end of this year, should share components with the Bronco Sport crossover.

www.caranddriver.com

I've been saying for years that the US is primed for a compact pickup that gets great gas mileage, if the US auto consumers are willing to embrace compact pickups like they did in the 70's and 80's. I even envisioned it would likely be a unibody, car-based chassis with a car engine that someone like Hyundai could probably pull off. Although, I was hoping for something more like a Hilux with a diesel motor and a manual transmission. My first car was a '76 Datsun 620 pickup. It was actually kind of a piece of crap but it still got me around in high school and college fairly cheaply, even if it only had a 4-speed that made highway driving slow. Second car was an '86 Toyota SR5 XCAB 2WD Turbo (22RTE). That truck was leaps and bounds ahead of my Datsun with fuel injection, 5-speed, power windows/locks, cruise control and even air conditioning!

 

[slimbuddha]

Perusing Car and Driver articles today I came across this:

2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Is a Small-Pickup Version of the Tucson

Hyundai's new unibody pickup is a spiritual successor to the Subaru Baja and other small trucks America has been missing.

www.caranddriver.com

Then it recommended this article:

2022 Ford Maverick Could Be a True Compact Truck

This unibody pickup, possibly arriving by the end of this year, should share components with the Bronco Sport crossover.

www.caranddriver.com

I've been saying for years that the US is primed for a compact pickup that gets great gas mileage, if the US auto consumers are willing to embrace compact pickups like they did in the 70's and 80's. I even envisioned it would likely be a unibody, car-based chassis with a car engine that someone like Hyundai could probably pull off. Although, I was hoping for something more like a Hilux with a diesel motor and a manual transmission. My first car was a '76 Datsun 620 pickup. It was actually kind of a piece of crap but it still got me around in high school and college fairly cheaply, even if it only had a 4-speed that made highway driving slow. Second car was an '86 Toyota SR5 XCAB 2WD Turbo (22RTE). That truck was leaps and bounds ahead of my Datsun with fuel injection, 5-speed, power windows/locks, cruise control and even air conditioning!

I would totally be interested in an actual compact 4x4 with decent gas mileage . I had an S-10 2WD that I on,he got rid of when I had kids, couldn’t really fit a car seat in there, but that use-case is long gone

 

[krazykat69]

Every small pickup got bigger and bigger over the years, so the "small" trucks are not small anymore. I would like a compact 4x4 truck, like from the 70's and early 80's. With up to date drive train.
I had a 1982 Dodge Ram 50 4x4, locking hubs, single cab, manual. Great little truck.

 

[vegasfj40]

Thats why I'll be keeping my 98 Taco. I love that little truck.

 

[SteveLCetc]

My only complaint about my new Taco is the MPG. Barely over 20.

 

[ststephen69s]

My wife drives a 94 Toyota Pickup (they didn’t give them names yet as I’m sure you know) that she won’t give up for anything, even when she had a 94 4Runner.

 

[slimbuddha]

My only complaint about my new Taco is the MPG. Barely over 20.

That's precisely what keeps me away from it, size and gas mileage. I might as well get a full size.

 

[SteveLCetc]

You're still going to drop about 5 mpg going from a Tacoma to a Tundra.