First…the domestics are more than good enough…way better bang for your buck than an expensive import(Toyota/Nissan)…under 10G's…definitely go domestic
Next, you'll notice the only diesels here are big motors in big, heavy duty trucks. If you aren't pullin' huge weight regularly…skip those (you'd be hard pressed to find a decent one under 10G's anyways)
Dodge's are hardest on fuel
Ford's are fine…but meh
Chevies are fine
GMC over the equivalent Chevy…not a deal breaker, but GMC does have a slight edge in overall quality. Don't know why, it's just a fact.
Chevy/GMC might get the best fuel mileage per hp/tq out of the bunch too
If I'm shopping for a sub 10G 4x4 truck…2000-2007ish V8 GMC Sierra :)
I'm going to disagree with almost all of this.
I assume you're moving back to the penal colony after a year, so resale value should be something to look at so that you don't lose $4-5k. Full size domestic gas trucks are pieces of shit, and the ones you spend $10k on today will be worth several thousand less a few years down the road. Compare that to the 3/4 ton dodge cummins (diesel) that I bought for $12,500 a few years back, if I were to sell it today with 35,000 more miles on it, I doubt I would lose a penny. I made money off the toyota, mazda, and nissan pickups that I have owned.
If you don't want diesel (which your only pay back will be in re-sale. The gains in fuel mileage over a full size gasser are made up my the higher price of diesel) then I would go for something like this:
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/cto/4503568359.html
The toyotas will have better mileage than similar nissans. Tundras are just about the same size as a half ton. Tacomas are essentially the hilux, but without the kick ass diesel engine.
You can get japanese imported hilux pickups if you want something familiar.
That's the problem with cities, they're refuges for the weak, the fish that didn't evolve.
I don't want to google this - sounds like a thing that NSMB will be better at.