Full Size truck vs Compact truck opinion

Asfew of you know last friday my Ranger went to the body shop for hail damage. My insurance called me up and asked if I wanted a rental, I said sure. Call up the rental company and they immediately saw I had a truck and asked if I wanted a truck as my rental. I made sure it was covered by the insurance and agreed. Choices of full size
-2012 Dodge Ram sport quad cab 4x4 (blue)
-2013 GMC Sierra crew cab 4.8L 4x4 (grey)
-2012 Gmc Sierra Crew cab 4.8L 4x4 (red)

Since the grey GMC was parked out front and ready to go I took that one. My brother has a 2010 ram so I didnt want to take a ram since I have driven one before. I wasnt sure how I would like the 4.8L in a crew cab format, or even the size of a full crew cab with short box but here we go.

I drove it home and immediately saw I was surrounded by three things
-Space and a lot of it (too much for my opinion, my fiance was sitting way to far to my right for liking
-Hard Plastic (the interior of the Sierra looks better in person then in pictures but it still looks and feels cheap. I do like the clarity of the dials, button placement and the steering wheel. Everything felt comfortable)
-lots of options (i was surrounded by lots of buttons my ranger could only dream of having. Onstar, Steering wheel mounted controls, bluetooth connectivity, 6 speakers that sounded great, dome light, auto headlights, vehicle information, etc. I could even completely turn off the traction control and stability with a push of a button. It had a bench seat but was more then comforable.

The engine left me somewhat laidback. The 4.8L had adequate power for merging and passing but off the line, its not an engine that feels rushed, power comes gradually with a great exhaust note. It just left me wondering "is the 5.3L better" I am sure for what I do the 4.8L would be fine, but it felt too lazy for my liking. I was also not a fan of the transmission. It shifted smoothly at cruising speed but the 4 spd OD was harsh when pushed above 2,000 RPM. Fuel Economy was far from impressive. I managed 16 MPG driving the same way I drive my ranger which achieves 19 MPG at this time of the year. Buying a GMC I am sure I'd opt for the 5.3L for better performance and for its 6 spd tranny.

Overall the truck impressed me. I tried to open minded, but out of the big three, the GM full sizes were my least favorite on paper and in terms of looks (exterior and interior). It was nice to drive, the steering was responsive (although a little light for my liking) the chassis was great in handling and the rear suspension bounced a lot less then my ranger does. It offered a pleasant ride and even my fiance was comfortable sitting the back seat.

But driving the Sierra for a weekend for 200 KMs through stop and go traffic, mall and hospital parking lots, backing up in my usual parking space merely confirm what I feared. I hate driving full sizes. I have driven a 2001 Ram, a 2010 Ram and now a 2013 Sierra and I hate how wide it feels on the rode, I hate not properly seeing where the front bumper is. I hate the height (I/m 6"2 and the ranger is the perfect height). I hate the length (tried to do a three point turn and it ended up being a 5 point turn. Now I know these are all things that are easily overcome with time and practice but I just dont see myself with one.

I enjoyed the space (a true back seat) and having a 6 ft bed would be fine with me, and I especially loved having a v8 (I dont mind the MPG if the performance is there). I loved cruising at 1,500 RPM at 60 MPH and not hearing anything but when you get on the throttle the pushrod engine sounds great, but the trade offs are enough to get me in one. the GMC's MSRP was $43,000. I am keeping my Ranger for a lot longer now, I thought of maybe getting a Ram with the 3.6L when it came out but no way. The bigger I'll go now if I need it (for kids) is a Frontier crew cab.

All I can say is that it felt like home driving my truck back yesterday. It felt great seeing my 4L SOHC on the hood, 5 spd manual in my hand, the road noise in my ears, but most of being able to park and fit anywhere

To those that traded up from a ranger to a full size, I respect you, its quite a big step in terms of size and its one I dont want to make. Rock your F150, Sierra Silverado, Ram or w-e truck makes you happy but this weekend confirmed that I love my Ranger

Next step is installing the LED cargo 3rd brake light I got from Buggman .

 

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the 5.3 is a lot more gutsy than the 4.8 and i mean a lot more lol

 

yeah the numbers are there. IIRC the 4.8L is 300 HP and 305 lb ft of torque and the 5.3L is 315 HP and 335 lb ft (give or take). Most say the 5.3L is the engine of choice especially in crew cab format. the 4.8L didnt feel strained, or underpowered just lazy

 

Yeah, the 327 is one of the best motors chevy every built..

 

I believe the 4.8 is the one that 4 of the cylinders "shut off" to save fuel while driving at constant speed/rpms..

 

i dont think the 4.8 does...i know the 5.3 does

 

no the 4.8 doesnt have cylinder deactivation, just the 5.3 does

 

one of the things i like about the new gmc/chevys is how i fit in them. im only 5'9" and its nice to feel like your able to see over the guage cluster lol some trucks seem like that. but yea like you said kinda cheapy charlie. its nice you stayed un-biased though lol

 

I really liked the interior layout. easy to read dials and buttons and the blind spots are really good for a truck this size. Even the factory mirrors (no towing mirrors) were more then adequate.

lol i try to stay unbiased. I have never been loyal to one brand but GM is my least favorite since I dont like how their vehicles look inside and out.

 

yea i like the layout as well, feels like it fit in it.
lol yea i am probably the most biased on those things, i only look into fords lol but whats the fun in that i might need to look into something different.
also ik what you mean about it sucking to drive in traffic, the fullsize trucks feel so damn wide

 

i FUC&ING LOVE my 2012 sierra. mine's a 2wd ccsb with the 5.3 and a 6 speed trans.


AMAZING. love all my buttons, blue tooth, the room, and it's freaking comfortable for a truck. stupidly quiet inside, really comfortable seats, as well as a plush ride. i could not be happier at all! it turns tighter than my ranger did, even when that was 100% stock. the only thing is that since it's longer, i can't fit in the small parking spots, but i have no problem getting in or out of them.

if anything, although the dash of the sierra is all plastic, to me the entire layout, gauges, radio, and glove boxes are higher quality. the plastic has texture, all 6 gauges have chrome bezels, and the smooth plastic steering wheel inserts break up the mono-color all black wheel common in rangers. don't even get me started on storage. i have a glove box, an upper storage box on the dash (right above the glove box), center console, and the center 'seat' flips up and is a locking storage container w/ power port. 3 cup holders in the center console and 2 holders in each front door, 2 pop out of the rear arm rest and 2 more on the floor flip out of the back of the center console.

the 5.3 is a beast, and i'm glad my friend talked me into finding one instead of settling on a 4.8. 6 speed is a cruuuuuuiser. cylinder deactivation gets me 30ish mpg cruising on the freeway on level ground. i also have manual mode w/ shifting on the gear lever off the column, and tow/haul mode. power is there to definitely get past someone, and as opposed to my 3.0 i have never felt like i've needed to floor it to get going or even get up to speed.

oh my god and the ROOM! it's bigger inside than my freaking apartment!

i don't want to gush or anything, i freaking LOVE my new truck.

 

im so jealous dude lol i want a fullsize so bad! storage is another thing i totally forgot about, probably since i have little to none in my single cab...

 

yea i like the layouts of the GM fullsizes...my F150 isnt bad either though

 

Doyouquaxu: yeah the sierra is an impressive truck. the combo you have with the 6 spd, 5.3 and 2wd would be my truck of choice for the Sierra but I would have the extended cab and not the crew cab. The seats were extremely comfortable (even for a bench seat the lumbar support was great) I wasnt a fan of the column shifter, it felt on the vague. Youre right about the turning circle, it turns tight and the steering has just the right weight I would just have to get used to the length. Driving the Sierra confirmed 2 things, If I would shop for a full size the sierra would now be a contender (not a fan of the silverado look) but it also confirmed that fullsizes arent for me.

 

I find the small guages (I.E. Fuel, temp, etc) look a little too small on the 09+ f150.

 

ive never driven an 09+

 

you get used to it. hated on my ranger how i could pull it out of park then just use my palm to push it down from reverse to drive, but sometimes end up in 2nd or not even in a gear so the truck doesnt even move. happened a few times. i think i'm just really biased, but the more i've owned and driven it, the more i love it!

 

i`ve driven a GM cargo van, a 2000 dodge caravan, 2003 nissan frontier a 2001 dodge ram and now a 2013 sierra all with column shifters and i havent found one that I like. the best is the frontier, its precise but park is almost putting your hand through the windshield its so far away. I am curious as to how precise the 2001 + ranger column shifter compares

 

the F150 column shifter is very precise...i pefer it over the console

 

really then it might be a column shifter i might like then? I prefer the look and the convienience of the floor shifter over the column