Sports cars are for the track, trucks are for hauling, and most drivers don't need either.
If someone says "I need a truck or suv" then I understand saying "you may not need one." But someone saying they want one then someone else explaining what they need is just condescending.
in the future I am 100% getting a minivan
Of less-tall there a Subarus at least.
I wish I could show you the photo of my Mazda Miata with six 12' 2x6s hanging out the back. :-)
Someone hasn't seen not the Dakar Rally, but the support trucks class for it. The rally cars need support. Replacement tires, suspension parts, engines. How do they get them? A fleet of support vehicles doing the same course. So then they made that a race as well. The Dakar Rally Truck edition features heavy vehicles weighing over 3,500 kg (7,716 lb) T4/5 racing across 8000km/5000 miles of sand, rocks, and desert.
One of the reasons I love a pickup is that it separates the cargo from the interior
A lot of times I have oil/gas/chemicals in the back which I would not want in the cabin space
Also it depends do you care about height of cargo or not?
For example a minivan can fit plywood but not a dirt bike
The vehicle with soccer mom vibes may fit your use case better but that doesn't explain the cost difference. Mini vans are cheaper to manufacture. The frame, axles, brakes, engines, towing, payload hardware etc. are all lighter duty.
I have 2 questions about this:
* are you actually, really, sure? (Is this hard data?)
* does it matter when it's never going to go off-road and rarely strained (e.g. for towing)?
For example the f150 is rated for 1.2 tons, the 250 1.3 to 1.8 depending on configuration. gotta go to f350 for an 8 ton configuration.
For people who don't think about this often, imagine four 200lb guys riding in the cab of the f150. It's already a third of it's payload capacity at that point. Can't fit too many bags of cement in after that.
Of course this is moot in comparison to a minivan which has a payload capacity of about 3/4 ton
Now I'm really confused. My father's Citroën CX station wagon (built 1983) was rated to tow 1.5/1.7/1.8t depending on configuration (AFAIR 2.5l Diesel engine for 1.8t), and we regularly made use of that. Admittedly 2026 is not 1983, but a BMW 3 class (not X3) can also tow 1.8t. What's the point of the F150? I guess if you want to do tow 1.8t every day? I would expect that the max rating also be higher if the reliability/life is better...
If you have 800 lbs of payload, two 175 lb adults you now have 450 lbs left of payload for a trailer you are left with ~4500 lbs of tow capacity using 10% of that on the tongue. It's not just people either - anything in your vehicle lowers your payload (the physical hitch itself, pets, coolers, accessories, ect)
Lots of people just look at pure tow capacity but ignore tongue weight/payload capacity of what they are using to two.
Most common F-150 configurations are actually limited on their tow capacity by payload over their advertised raw tow capacity. My 2012 F-150 farm truck has 1400 lb payload, minus two people and the hitch you're at ~ 900 lbs left for tongue weight so ~ 9000 lb pull load or ~4t
The other thing people neglect to consider is just where they tow and WHAT they tow. There's a big difference between a flat utility trailer and a square cargo trailer.
I guess my point is numbers aren't everything.
Source: 20 years in the professional trucking industry
That said, looking at the numbers still makes some sense to get a rough understanding of the design space of these cars though. (And, well, the numbers I was replying to were confusing the heck out of me.)
(My source: German class BE driver's license = car with heavy trailers. You're limited to 0.75t trailer OR (car + trailer) ≤ 3.5t without that, in B. The E is a separate exam, both theoretical and practical. Aside from theory bits on how cars with trailers behave, you have to parallel park or T-turn a trailer to pass it.)
I always find such arguments comical. Have you seen soccer moms? They all drive huge SUVs. SUVs = soccer mom vibes!
Station Wagons -> Minivans -> SUVs
What's next? I hope we loop around back to station wagons.
And I rented an SUV once and was surprised by how small it was on the inside compared to the outside. Seemed way less practical than it could have been.
Still, I prefer driving a awd suv in winter if I am at risk of being in a snowstorm.
Many trucks are sold as not much more than vehicles to haul around some plants. But, what I would consider 'real' trucks tend to have 8' beds. My old Toyota Tundra was great at towing, had an 8' bed and was generally an all around great vehicle. It was long, but it was meant to be.
You can need a truck monthly and the short bed size can meet that need. I don’t see how a Subaru Baja or Hyundai Santa Cruz or even a Ford Maverick is very useful but someone else might think it’s all they need.
I have a full sized Chevy 1500 truck with a crew cab, which I assume is the SUV part to you, and it has a slightly smaller bed at 6.5 feet. That’s plenty for me, I would not put the tailgate up anyway if I loaded it up with lumber or sheet goods. It’s the towing I need more than the bed, I could have got the same towing with a Tahoe but it cost twice as much and I don’t need a third row or the extra truck space.
I do have a family and passengers, so I do use the crew cab too. I have more than one requirement to meet with the vehicle.
I think if you wanted to attack people as truck personalities you’d go after the crowd with lifted trucks with huge tires that are ultimately just used as city vehicles. Thats almost always after market modifications for looks and machismo. But you still have to acknowledge you don’t really know those people and how they use their vehicles enough to judge them. They might be off-roading on the weekends or a couple times a year. The thing about vehicles is, you don’t get to buy a new one just to meet your occasional needs. People replace them irregularly enough they have to figure out what solutions/problems are most key in addressing. For me, I know I use my truck as a city passenger and commuter 90% of the time. But I also know I need to tow occasionally and it’s very inconvenient to find an adhoc solution to that problem. I also know having a bed is helpful on occasion. I also know my family already owns a SUV so getting another SUV isn’t really adding any capabilities. I also know a towing capable vehicle that’s not a truck, is significantly more expensive than my truck. I didn’t want to buy a truck, the requirements of my life and constraints put me on that path.
I haul plywood all the time, though; the shorter bed isn't really a problem. either you slide it in at an angle or you put the tailgate down and put it in that way with a strap.
I picked up a 70k mile 2011 Silverado from an Ontario government auction for $3000 and it's worked great. Tows my boat, carries my dirt bikes, and has enough room in the cab for me, my partner, and my dog between us. Who needs a backseat!
The Tahoe I had last was a great as I keep tools and what dry in the truck. It only had 2 rows of seating and I don’t need more passenger space in my vehicle. My wife has the city vehicle SUV that we keep clean and use for passengers. Mine is the work / utility vehicle.
When I replaced it recently , the same trim level cost twice as much as a Silverado. And they all have 3 rows now, which means I lose most that space.
It’s all about trade offs. No vehicle is a perfect all rounder. I’d prefer the Tahoe but didn’t want to pay extra for it and have to yank out the 3rd row. I could own a Corolla but it would be overly inconvenient, and probably more expensive over time, to rent a larger vehicle every time I need it.
I see people with trucks with 4ft beds (like the weird Jeep thing) and they just seem useless. Gimme an 8ft bed, ideally a bit longer! I don't need a big cab, but I have a truck to be a truck!
(Really, my 2nd gen Toyota Tacoma is pretty close to perfect 95% of the time for me, especially with a cap on the back)
I even have a box trailer that functions as a portable tool shed for things that need to stay dry/safe. I also don’t have to unload the supplies at all just to get use of my unloaded truck back. Meaning , I can disconnect the trailer and use it as a storage space while my truck goes back to nontruck duties.
The amount of variety of uses and needs highlights how versatile having a truck is. Many people think someone is mostly commuting and has no need of a truck, I usually tell them they probably don’t understand that persons needs as much as they think they do.
I got one, years ago. The bed was not large enough to readily hold full sheets of plywood (the minivan I owned before could hold full sheets!). And yet, the truck was long such that parking, maneuvering in parking lots, etc, was a pain in the ass (here the minivan was about tied with the truck).
So sucked as a regular errand-car, sucked for hauling sheet goods.
(Sold it during the tail of Covid when used car prices were skyrocketing for whatever reason. Never again.)