I like manuals if I bought a new 2016 Taco it would be the manual. If I bought a 2017 diesel canyon it would be a Auto. Different machines different engines. The small modern diesels are awesome, but their power band makes manuals tricky especially off road use. You either have nearly zero grunt or you have gobbs of grunt the transition between can make them tricky.
The rest of the world doesn't seem to have a problem with manual transmissions in an off-road environment. Think Americans are less skilled or lazy...or a combination of both.
I have personal reasons why I like manual trans over autos...dad is in a wheelchair, you never know when you'll loose an ability...pushing that clutch in is a constant reminder of how good I have it.
Hence the screen name.
As for price? It is what it is. If a 6cylinder Subaru decked out is almost 40k, a nice truck with real transfer cases hitting 40k should be no surprise. Cost to build these trucks is pretty much the same as a full size so thinking smaller is cheaper doesn't work its flawed logic. If you want a big truck get one. If you want a smaller truck get one. I cant use a big truck its too wide to difficult for daily use around here. A really nice Canyon pushing 30+ on the highway would be an interesting replacement for a Subaru, or mid sized light SUV. I had a Ranger years ago loved it. Today I would need a 4dr, good crash rated quiet nice interior midsized pickup to replace our Subaru or it aint happening.
Spec wise I like the GM diesel, but I don't want have to pay for things I don't want or need. Can buy a fullsize for $10K less than what the GM Midsize is commanding. That $10K in savings buys and awful lot of fuel, beer, and tacos...I am self employed...the more I spend, the more I have to work...and I kind of like this semi-retired lifestyle I am living...the less I have to work the better.
We don't need to haul people, and never will...extra cab 6' bed is about perfect for us. has worked for the last 15 years...I imagine it will work for another 15 years.
I could forgive GM for the no manual, if it was offered in the extra cab, work truck model for around $30K...I can pick an Ecodiesel for that...so not unreasonable.
Best bang for the buck right now seems to be a extra cab 6.5' bed F150 XL/XLT with the 5.0 V8...decent mpg and power numbers...not that much bigger than a midsize CCLB, available with a payload up to 3000lbs. My neighbor has one, compared it to my Tacoma...it really isn't that much bigger. Be reall hard for me to leave Toyota though. In all reality..I really only need a 4 banger 4WD Tacoma, can grab one of those under $25K...that sounds even better than spending $30K...and forget about spending $40K on a truck that isn't going to do anything that much different for my needs. $40K for a little truck that can't really haul anything physical size wise...seems crazy to me, I can get that with a Tacoma for much much less.
