Trucks: Full-Size vs Mid-Size

For a minute here, lets completely throw out the "mid-size" and "full-size" labels and compare apples-to-apples. Lets say you've got two trucks. Both have the same wheelbase, same bed length, 4 doors, similar head and leg room in both rows, more than adequate payload capacity for most buyers, more than adequate towing capacity for most buyers, and sticker about the same MSRP. One has more room to seat 3 across, can fit 4' materials between the wheel wells, and has a marginally higher (unused by most buyers) payload/towing capacity. The other is 5" narrower at the widest point on the body (greater difference at the doors due to more flared fenders) for easier maneuvering and ingress/egress during the daily grind, gets slightly better fuel economy, and is a little more adept when the pavement ends.

Since both are capable of meeting all of the needs of most buyers, while both also being compromised on different aspects of individual usage, why is such a big deal made by so many people (even on here) about one being inherently better than the other overall? Is it just people letting their own personal usage and preferences bias their recommendations to other people, rather than making their recommendation based on that person's specific needs, or is there something else that I'm missing here?

Yes

Not missing anything that I can see.

That is all.

because 'merica. Bigger is better.. though it begs the question why the Taco is such a popular truck. Is Toyota filling a niche the big 3 forgot about?

I feel like this is sort of aimed at stuff like me being completely turned off by the new Colorado. It's because the internet collectively lost their E36 M3 over the return of small trucks, then I see one parked next to a 2013 Yukon XL and it's EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE.

However I'm a 20 year old college student that doesn't see myself buying a new anything in the next 5-10 years so my opinion is worth about the same as used bubble gum in this discussion I guess.

9/10s of all the trucks I see.. especially the ones all kitted out for off roading, towing, or just being badass looking.. are solely used for commuting back and forth to work, gym, and the mall. For those folks, a smaller truck is best.. but let's face it.. they do not want to sell us small trucks, just like they do not want to sell us small cars.. bigger vehicles = bigger profits

My metropolitan Washington DC parking garage full of white-collar commuters is packed full of F250s, Tundras, Titans and other huge trucks. Aside from the few diesels there (mostly dually 350s), which admittedly get better mileage than my WRX, I don't really get it. Most of them don't even have tow hitches.

I had a Ranger back in the mid-90s and nothing but full-size trucks since. Yes, I do use them for commuting 90% of the time. But when I need the extra capability, I NEED it. Whether it's hauling lumber, towing a car on an heavy steel open trailer, towing my 6000lb travel trailer, they are jobs that call for a full-sizer. I'm not going to buy two vehicles so that I can have one that's slightly easier to park or gets slightly (and I mean slightly) better mileage.

Every vehicle is a compromise. For me, the downsides of a full-size truck (or SUV, as we currently have) are outweighed by the capability, however infrequently I may need all of it.

I use my truck as a car with a big ass trunk. I have a full size because I need to seat six, including three car seats in the back a few years ago and I couldn't do that with a smaller one. Just one data point, but sometimes people make choices based on factors you don't consider in your analysis.

Obviously, from another thread... I'm shopping this market now and based on that thread, I would say "YES" to the OP.

You get a few folks who read the original post and answer the question with the criteria given and offer useful feedback you may not have considered, a larger group of people who answer the question in terms of their own bias based solely on whatever they would want or need, several people who argue with them with an equal but opposite view, a couple people who feel you are an unwitting victim of a consumer-whore based society, your choices are the result of swallowing marketing hype and that all you really need is a Geo Metro. If the thread lives long enough the last page will give no indication whatsoever what the original subject may have been and there will probably be some unrelated pictures with text captioning them.

And why can't I buy a modern El Camino? That's the truck that really suits the modern man. Forget full size vs. mid size, I want a Ute.

I agree Mazdeuce. Bring on the Utes. I'd love to have one of these in the driveway.

Damn you, 2009 era GM.

Chadeux wrote: I feel like this is sort of aimed at stuff like me being completely turned off by the new Colorado. It's because the internet collectively lost their E36 M3 over the return of small trucks, then I see one parked next to a 2013 Yukon XL and it's EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE. However I'm a 20 year old college student that doesn't see myself buying a new anything in the next 5-10 years so my opinion is worth about the same as used bubble gum in this discussion I guess.

Yeah, I don't get the point of the "medium" trucks either. I call today's full size trucks "extra full size", the "medium" ones are pretty much full size at this point. The new Colorado is almost as big as a GMT400.

You're biasing your question in the way you answer it. Obviously, you prefer the smaller option because of the way you characterized payload/towing capacity as "more than adequate for both" and referring to the payload of the larger truck as "unused by most". But there does exist a market that needs that more than adequate capability.

Also, when doing Truck Stuff like towing, there can be quite a difference in stability and comfort between the sizes. I've towed the same trailer with a T100 (turbocharged out the wazoo), an old Tundra, a new Tundra and a Ram 2500. There's quite a difference in how they all cope.

There's an obvious call for both big and little trucks. Taco sales illustrate the demand for a smaller, reliable truck from a group that didn't grow up in a Ford/Dodge/Chevy truck family. Trucks that work need to be able to work. Everyone will judge how necessary big or little trucks are by their own perception of what other people are doing with their vehicles. But those other people made their choices for a reason. If you saw my truck at Home Depot, you'd assume it was just a pretty mall crawler that's completely oversized. But if you saw it steaming over a 10,000' pass dragging a two-car trailer and four people on board at the start of a 7000 mile round trip, you'd see it differently.

Well that was every bit the head-on train wreck that this thread was specifically intended to address.

Chadeux wrote: I feel like this is sort of aimed at stuff like me being completely turned off by the new Colorado.

No, I totally get that. Today's mid-size trucks are far from the more 'compact' trucks that would also suit plenty of people's, but far from everybody's, needs just fine.

Sadly though, the people that this thread is most applicable to, are also apparently the ones most oblivious to the actual point of it.

Bonus points to Huckleberry for demonstrating an advanced mastery of the subject.

I am incredibly pleased with my new Ridgeline and have put nearly 4000 miles on it this month.

So, there is the Ridgeline, the Tacoma, the Frontier and the Colorado. Are those the trucks that are considered less than full-size?

Driven5, if one of the smaller trucks fits your needs then buy one. If you want or need a full size truck, then buy one of those. If you are just wondering why other people buy what they buy, then realize that you don't have to understand and it is their decision of what they buy.

bmw88rider wrote: I agree Mazdeuce. Bring on the Utes. I'd love to have one of these in the driveway.

I would probably be wrong.. but I bet if Ford or GM brought over an UTE with the big V8 and set it up as an alterative to their big cars (that they barely make anymore) and trucks.. The performance alone would sell them.

Though you could not call them "ranchero" or "El Camino" too many images of overgrown mullets to resurrect those names

I see so many full-size trucks driving down my two-lane rural road every day. Dozens.

90% of the time the trucks are only carrying the driver. So judge these guys (why do people need to judge people because they prefer a certain type of vehicle), by this, they'd be missing the weekends when these same trucks drive by with two dirt bikes in the bed and two quads in the trailer.

And who cares if these trucks are never used to their full capacity? Not me. I mean am I gonna waste my time judging the Z06 driver that never tests the limits of his cars cornering or testing it's top speed?

People buy what they like. Period. What people drive doesn't affect my day-to-day existence. If it affects someone else's, their priorities might need a little tweaking.

ebonyandivory wrote: People buy what they like. Period. What people drive doesn't affect my day-to-day existence. If it affects someone else's, their priorities might need a little tweaking.

It does affect your day to day existence though. It affects the environment, public safety, and public access. There's no place in this world for DDing a car with poor mileage, especially in large metropolitan areas with inherent smog problems. This goes the same for large trucks as it does sports cars. Also, people who buy these large vehicles are frequently not prepared for the size of them. They treat them like a car and don't realize that they have a larger turning radius and more mass. This puts the rest of us at risk as either pedestrians,bicyclists, motorcyclists, or simply with smaller vehicles. We need to consider the ramifications of parking and driving these in large metro areas, too. I can't tell you the number of times I see 3 SUVs parallel parked in spaces that could accommodate 6 smaller smaller cars.

None of these are reasons that preclude someone from ever DDing a corvette or f250. But to say that someone else's vehicle choice doesn't affect you is just passing the buck.

Does it really matter what other people think? I DD a Colorado, the most hated small truck on here. TOO BIG, TOO INEFFICIENT, TOO AMERICAN, is what I usually hear. When the intolerant start shouting, I just tune them out. Personally, I think it's perfect.

You want to drive a bro dozer to the mall? Do it. You want to drive a Miata to a mud rally? Do it. Do I think they are the wrong tool for the job? Who cares?

Huckleberry is looking for a truck. Long bed, auto? Short bed, manual? My personal preference is long bed, auto. Just about everyone on here disagrees with me. Should he care what I think? Only as much as he asked for opinions. I'm betting he prefers the manual. Do I think he's wrong? Nope. It's not going to be my truck and I don't have to live with it on a daily basis. In that situation, he's the only person that is 100% right. Even if everyone on this board says he's wrong.

The reason I prefer the full sized trucks is that they generally give you the extra capacity that (sometimes) you need out of a truck while the penalty is negligible. If the only difference between two vehicles is that one is slightly narrower, they get the same mileage, the bigger one is safer, and the bigger one is 25% better when loaded up you can bet your keister that I'm gonna go bigger. Narrower isn't an advantage for me. Capability is.

I sorta like these threads then realize I don't want a used car loan for 2.5 ton tow rig that would have me buying projects every weekend. HOWEVER........I really would like the hives opinion on this D21. Is it too hard/expensive to shade tree? It could get in a smaller scale project nirvana each weekend. http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/cto/5784799153.html

So I always had a mini truck growing up as I ran a small lawn business. For bulky, dirty, not heavy stuff they were the perfect answer. Toyota 22r extra cabs, and Isuzu pup trucks were the "answer". So fast forward and what do I really need today?
-4wd to allow me a stupid high hp daily driver sedan

-Enough bed to put a Kart in to go racing

-Enough tow capacity to drag a rabbit on a tow dolly across the country

-Enough load capacity to take truckloads of topsoil, stone, etc to do yard projects

-Driveable enough (small enough for Mrs. 84FSP to rock when needed) read not silly wide

I would like to think a 4.0 ranger 4wd would work. But for smaller options and cost think a Dakota might actually be the answer. In the end I come. Back to early tundra or f150 as the towing capacity and weight capability seem to knock out the trucks I would much rather drive.

penultimeta wrote:

ebonyandivory wrote: People buy what they like. Period. What people drive doesn't affect my day-to-day existence. If it affects someone else's, their priorities might need a little tweaking.

It does affect your day to day existence though. It affects the environment, public safety, and public access. There's no place in this world for DDing a car with poor mileage, especially in large metropolitan areas with inherent smog problems. This goes the same for large trucks as it does sports cars. Also, people who buy these large vehicles are frequently not prepared for the size of them. They treat them like a car and don't realize that they have a larger turning radius and more mass. This puts the rest of us at risk as either pedestrians,bicyclists, motorcyclists, or simply with smaller vehicles. We need to consider the ramifications of parking and driving these in large metro areas, too. I can't tell you the number of times I see 3 SUVs parallel parked in spaces that could accommodate 6 smaller smaller cars. None of these are reasons that preclude someone from ever DDing a corvette or f250. But to say that someone else's vehicle choice doesn't affect you is just passing the buck.

The new Diesels are pulling down mileage figures close to small cars from a few years ago. At what point will that argument be completely moot rather than 90% irrelevant? Pretty darn soon. Same for emissions.

Maybe someday you can introduce me to all those people you somehow know aren't prepared for the size of the vehicle they bought and also to those that treat their vehicles like cars because, for the life of me, I cannot seem to look at a vehicle and know those things about the driver.

So far in my 46 years, the only memories of being impeded personally by a vehicle are of d-bags parking their small, fuel-efficient cars in handicapped parking spots while I'm trying to take my patients in for medical procedures or appointments.

Honestly, I'll take all the responsible moms that take their kid to football practice in the Yukons and Escalades and Expeditions at our field than one 19 year old texting her girlfriend while driving her Saturn.

"General Cell Phone Statistics. The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. Nearly 330,000 injuries occur each year from accidents caused by texting while driving. 1 out of every 4 car accidents in the United States is caused by texting and driving."

Not sure how that might compare to those accidents we know were cause by someone treating their SUV's and trucks like cars. Not sure how you'd even prove that. And provable facts are all that matter to me.