Second Best?

[OldJackPine]

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I needed a tow vehicle by May 2010. I felt it unlikely that a Mahindra would be available by then and I bought a regular cab 4x4 Silverado with a 8 foot box. I had been using a Ford Ranger with a 7 foot box. I miss the convenience of the smaller truck. The full size Silverado with tow mirrors is as wide as many parking lot slots.

I feel it unlikely that I will get the chance to buy a Mahindra but it looks possible that Jeep may bring back a pickup in the next couple of years. If the right midsize truck becomes available, I will go back to a smaller truck.

The Silverado is doing a good job towing my travel trailer. Towing I get 14 mpg. Running solo it has averaged 16.5 mpg. I have never seen the 21 mpg hiway claimed but I consistently get better that the 15 mpg city listed. It does needs stiffer springs for hauling. GMC chose to set the suspension up to get a car like ride. I think that is a mistake since more people are buying trucks to use as trucks, not daily transportation.

I hope we will be blessed with several suitable choices in the next few years. Mahindra looked like they were headed in the right direction. It now looks like someone else will have to lead the way.

[hsfbfan]

Not sure I agree that most of these trucks are used for work instead of daily transportation.

[OldJackPine]

With gas prices staying low, that is likely true. I did a state wide search to fine the right regular cab truck since so many are buying extended and crew cabs and so that is what dealers stock. When looking at Ford F150's, I noticed a large percent of Superduty 250's and 350's were regular cab. With the steep discounts on 2010 Superduties I was tempted to buy one. If the diesel engine had a better reputation I might have done just that.