For my first car, I want something reliable in a truck. Should it have a v6 or a v8 in it? I want power but I also want good mileage. I want it to run flex fuel so if it gets good mileage on normal gas it can get ok mileage on e85. I want something close to 20 mpg or higher with regular gas. 17 mpg is ok with me on e85 because I mainly want the power with it. Is a chevy or a ford more reliable? I want either of those because the dodge/ram transmissions usually break and aren't reliable. Should I get a ford f150 v6 or v8, or a Chevy Silverado 1500 with a v6 or v8? Please say engine type.
For my first car, I want something reliable in a truck.
don't get either
I want power
then get a naturally aspirated V8
but I also want good mileage.
Then don't get truck. Either you NEED a truck, or you get a 4-cyl car.
I want it to run flex fuel
I'd advise to you steer away. It only causes more expensive problems.
you will get terrible mileage with E85, but we already explained that to you the last time you asked.
He's not buying an engine. He's buying a truck and the domestic makers stopped caring a long time ago. They're junk and I can't recommend them unless you needed the towing capacity.
Have a read: https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/postid/8203/
I should correct myself. They are trying ... to make money by catering the pavement princess gadget crowd. Not by making good trucks.
Chevrolet ... same thing. Everyone knows the new AFM engines are junk. They're often already broken as soon as they leave the factory.
And just so you don't think I'm singling anyone out .... (although they can't really be called domestic any more):
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Get the F-150 between those two.
Good gas mileage and big truck can't be used in the same sentence. V8 trucks get bad gas mileage. That's the nature of the beast. V6s aren't much better. You also waste the truck's capacity with a smaller engine.
If you want MPG like that, get an old Ford Ranger with a 4-banger and teach yourself how to drive a standard. Those are almost bulletproof domestic trucks if taken care of. My 1999 3.0 Ranger gets 19 MPG, I got 21.2 MPG once going 55, it's rated at 19 on the highway. Case in point about MPG, a 1999 Ford Taurus with the same engine would get around 25 MPG. The Ranger weighs around 1,000 pounds more than the car.
The 3.0 is available as flex fuel capable (look for a U in the VIN), but E85 isn't worth it. You lose more MPG per gallon than you save buying E85. My Ranger is a flex fuel, but I've never used it.
Full size trucks aren't always practical unless you really need the pulling power. You probably don't need it if you're getting a first vehicle. My 3.0 pulled an empty 12x6 U-Haul trailer on the bumper from the store to home, where we attached it to our 2500 Dodge turbodiesel. That weighed 2,000 pounds. A frame hitch would have been able to pull the fully loaded trailer. That's a decent sized trailer.
@Justin_Shepherd I heard that a 4 cylinder engine isn't the smoothest. Sure they get good mpg, but I want a little more power. If I can get a smaller truck with a v6 that can run flex fuel and gets decent mialage overall, I'll be happy. It just needs to be reliable, it only needs the 1 row of seats which will make it lighter, the v6 will make it even lighter, and I really only need to use it as a truck on occasion when I need to do a few things for people. V6 gives more power than an inline 4 and more mpg than an inline 6, so I'll be happy with a v6 single cab ford f150 flex fuel for my ideal uses.
then get a Tacoma
Tacoma doesn't make a regular (single row seat) cab anymore. Access cab is the least you can buy.
I see. I guess a Ranger is the only thing that matches the criteria but it's likely to be a disappointment. I wouldn't keep it much past the warranty period.
I want it to run flex fuel
I'd advise to you steer away. It only causes more expensive problems.
Well if the car is built to run flex fuel then there shouldn't be any expensive problems, and I guarantee by the time I get a car in like 2 years that e85 prices will break even to gas pieces and then some because of emitions or whatever.
well I have a flex fuel engine and I've done extensive research and I can tell you that the system is very half baked and doesn't work reliably, so yes, you're likely to experience problems. Don't take my word for it. You can search the internet, and TSB database yourself to see what people say about it. This will be your ... first vehicle?
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You guarantee or what? What do you base your prediction on? Do you have any sources ... or whatever?
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Did you come for advice, or do you already know everything with all your experience?