Almost forgot, the Touareg's brakes kick ass. I believe they're private-label Brembo calipers and pads. And the X5 diesel is nice, though it was a little spendy!
There are no small trucks anymore. A Taco or Frontier of today would completely dwarf one from 20 years ago.
I forgoet where I read it but there's about to be a few to choose from in the next couple of years. A small Hyundai (like a beefy Brat) and I can't remember who the other was. VW makes this little truckette called the Saveiro that they sell in SA. Neat thing along the lines of the Rabbit pickup. You'll never see it come to the US but that's probably more to the Chicken tax than it not selling (although it'd be a fight to sell many).
I know. It's one of the reasons I drive a 17-year-old Frontier. That and I'm cheap. I admit, I was actually excited when the current Colorado/Canyon were announced, especially the diesel option. A mid size truck with a small diesel getting great mileage and being able to tow significantly more than a minivan? Sounds perfect for what I actually do. Then I saw one at the local dealership parked next to a Silverado. My first thought was, "I don't think GM knows what 'mid size' means."
My dad still drives an old style Tacoma. Those things are awesome and the little 4 cyl motors go forever. The modern Day Tacoma is the same price as a full size truck and gets the same gas mileage as my 3/4 gasser.
small or mid-sized diesel SUVs would be nice too. 99% of the time I drive my car, it's just me, and I'm not towing.
A used Q5 TDI would fit that if you have the budget and are willing to put up with whatever comes from Dieselgate. Jaguar F Pace is the other option in the mid-sized range. If you are willing to go to the bigger end of mid-sized: the X5, Touareg (used), and MB GLE diesels would work as well.
My 17 Taco is huge compared to an older generation. It's about a 7/8 scale 1/2 ton. Honda redid the Ridgeline, Mercedes is supposed to be adding a midsized truck. Then theres the Ranger/Bronco reboot.
A Ridgeline would be pretty useful for me if they would actually put a transmission in it with selectable gears. For example, no way to hold it in 5th when towing.
Sorry for the delay on this, been pretty hectic lately. So, the good; It tows effortlessly in that I barely knew it was there aside from having an incorrect drop on my tow bar. Could have driven faster sacrificing fuel mileage but overall did well. The bad, if you want to call it bad; 11.5-13.5 mpg.
