Which small truck do you think is best on fuel?

JOHNL · April 1, 2006

Of all the small trucks in the past say fifthteen years which ones or ones do you think would be cheapest on gasoline.

doverarjim · April 1, 2006

My daughters truck is a 97 GMC Sonoma with the 4 cyl. and on the Interstate she gets just about 30 mpg and around town she said about 22 to 24 mpg. Not to bad for a wore out motor that is outdated as far it is.

Mark_in_Tulsa · April 1, 2006

Why exactly?

The reason I ask is because one that is cheaper on gas, may not be cheaper in maintenance, or parts,.....etc

Crabhart5.3 · April 1, 2006

4.3L S-10's are probably the best combination of utility and mileage.

JOHNL · April 1, 2006

My daughters truck is a 97 GMC Sonoma with the 4 cyl. and on the Interstate she gets just about 30 mpg and around town she said about 22 to 24 mpg. Not to bad for a wore out motor that is outdated as far it is.

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Mark, Good point. That was my next question. I'm taking a job that requires a long drive each day.

dr9672723 · April 1, 2006

I have to add my 2 cents here. I have a 2004 Ford Ranger with 94,000 miles on it for a company truck. I fix elevators for a living, so I do a lot of driving, and carry a lot of spare parts under the shell in back.

This is one irritating truck. It has a 3 liter V6 and a 5 speed automatic, but it only seems to use all five gears when you have it floored. Usually, it skips gears when it upshifts, and shifts like a 3 speed with overdrive. I have to keep overdrive shut off most the time, or it will lose speed and shift up and down constantly. The d*mn transmission upshifts way too soon, is very slow to react to changes in throttle, and when it does finally downshift (after about a 2 second delay), it goes down too low, and the result is a screaming engine and no more speed than before. I don't know what the rear axle ratio is, but it is way too high. It seems the objective was to gear it so the corporate fuel economy numbers would be good, rather than making it any good as a work truck. You have to stand on the gas pedal half the time just to compete in traffic. It only gets 17 - 20 mpg tops in mixed driving. My full size Chev with the 4.8 V8 does as well with so much more power.

I've never driven an S10 or a Colorado, but I can only hope the company does not choose another @#$%* Ford.

pm26 · April 3, 2006

My daughters truck is a 97 GMC Sonoma with the 4 cyl. and on the Interstate she gets just about 30 mpg and around town she said about 22 to 24 mpg. Not to bad for a wore out motor that is outdated as far it is.

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I do not believe this. We had an S10 with a 4 cylinder/auto in our motorpool and this thing did not even have A/C. it was badly underpowered and we could not get more than 20 mPG out of it no matter how hard we tried.

A 5 speed manual may do better, but I do not know by how much.

pm26 · April 3, 2006

I have to add my 2 cents here. I have a 2004 Ford Ranger with 94,000 miles on it for a company truck. I fix elevators for a living, so I do a lot of driving, and carry a lot of spare parts under the shell in back.

This is one irritating truck. It has a 3 liter V6 and a 5 speed automatic, but it only seems to use all five gears when you have it floored. Usually, it skips gears when it upshifts, and shifts like a 3 speed with overdrive. I have to keep overdrive shut off most the time, or it will lose speed and shift up and down constantly. The d*mn transmission upshifts way too soon, is very slow to react to changes in throttle, and when it does finally downshift (after about a 2 second delay), it goes down too low, and the result is a screaming engine and no more speed than before. I don't know what the rear axle ratio is, but it is way too high. It seems the objective was to gear it so the corporate fuel economy numbers would be good, rather than making it any good as a work truck. You have to stand on the gas pedal half the time just to compete in traffic. It only gets 17 - 20 mpg tops in mixed driving. My full size Chev with the 4.8 V8 does as well with so much more power.

I've never driven an S10 or a Colorado, but I can only hope the company does not choose another @#$%* Ford.

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I had an '89 Ford Ranger supercab with the 2.9 liter V6 and 5 speed manual. The truck would get about 20 MPG average. Performance was not spectacular, but not bad either.

I am certain that your transmission is out of adjustment. I own an '83 Mercedes 300SD turbodiesel with a 4 speed auto and there are several adjustments to make the transmission shift properly. A transmission downshift cable is one, and another is a vacuum modulator valve. When the downshift cable is adjusted too loose, this car will shift way too early, it is extremely reluctant to downshift, and in general performance will be terrible, On the other hand, with proper adjustments, the engine power is used properly, and the engine will rev up just the right amount before the transmission shifts.

Suggest you take your truck in for transmission shift adjustment.

drumset5994 · April 4, 2006

My S10 2.2L Auto got 18 City 20 Highway...it had 4.11 gears in the rear, because the engine lacked power (118 horse). It was really a work truck...it hauled a ton of heavy crap i had...a fridge, etc...but it was extremely extremely slow...most hills you had to get a running start...at 45.

Then my mom bought a S10 2.2L 5-speed Stick right after i traded mine for my Silvy...same engine, 3.73 rear end...its really fast actually. While working the clutch down hills...i averaged out 30-33 highway...no BS...i drove 160 miles on $8 of gas a week ago...and that was at $2.69 a gallon.

drumset5994 · April 4, 2006

I have to add my 2 cents here. I have a 2004 Ford Ranger with 94,000 miles on it for a company truck. I fix elevators for a living, so I do a lot of driving, and carry a lot of spare parts under the shell in back.

This is one irritating truck. It has a 3 liter V6 and a 5 speed automatic, but it only seems to use all five gears when you have it floored. Usually, it skips gears when it upshifts, and shifts like a 3 speed with overdrive. I have to keep overdrive shut off most the time, or it will lose speed and shift up and down constantly. The d*mn transmission upshifts way too soon, is very slow to react to changes in throttle, and when it does finally downshift (after about a 2 second delay), it goes down too low, and the result is a screaming engine and no more speed than before. I don't know what the rear axle ratio is, but it is way too high. It seems the objective was to gear it so the corporate fuel economy numbers would be good, rather than making it any good as a work truck. You have to stand on the gas pedal half the time just to compete in traffic. It only gets 17 - 20 mpg tops in mixed driving. My full size Chev with the 4.8 V8 does as well with so much more power.

I've never driven an S10 or a Colorado, but I can only hope the company does not choose another @#$%* Ford.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I had an '89 Ford Ranger supercab with the 2.9 liter V6 and 5 speed manual. The truck would get about 20 MPG average. Performance was not spectacular, but not bad either.

I am certain that your transmission is out of adjustment. I own an '83 Mercedes 300SD turbodiesel with a 4 speed auto and there are several adjustments to make the transmission shift properly. A transmission downshift cable is one, and another is a vacuum modulator valve. When the downshift cable is adjusted too loose, this car will shift way too early, it is extremely reluctant to downshift, and in general performance will be terrible, On the other hand, with proper adjustments, the engine power is used properly, and the engine will rev up just the right amount before the transmission shifts.

Suggest you take your truck in for transmission shift adjustment.

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I think the real problem is that its a ford.

I-H8-4Ds · April 4, 2006

My former employer had a 97 Windstar van with the 3 liter V6 and automatic. The transmission shifted the same and it was annoying, but the 3 liter actually did pretty well. Maybe you have a plugged cat?

Maybe it's just a Ford....

RevolutionRaceWorks · April 4, 2006

I had a 95 sonoma x cab with the TBI 4.3 and a 5 speed with 308's out back and was able to get over 30 mpg for a very long time. The new owner is claiming 35 but I don't belive him.. he din do anything to it heh..