Among compact pickups two vehicles really stand out. The Dodge Dakota and the Ford Ranger (and clone Mazda B-Series). Dakota is the only one to offer a V8 engine and near-full-size cargo and towing capacity. Ranger is the most refined and probably the best daily use vehicle.
Among the Recommended choices we really like the Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma for their drivability and comfort. General Motors' compacts (the Chevy S-10 and GMC Sonoma) are getting a bit long in the tooth. But they still offer class-leading ride quality and a strong V6 engine.

Answering criticism that the original Japanese-styled Frontier looked a bit wimpy, Nissan has given the '01 models a heavy facelift for a late-summer 2000 debut. Coming in late fall is a first-time supercharger option for the mainstay V6.
Anchoring the 2001 lineup is a pair of price-leader 4-cylinder 4x2s, a regular cab and an extended King Cab in XE trim. Next come V6 King Cabs and 4-door Crew Cabs arrayed among 2- and 4-wheel drive and XE and uplevel SE trim. Also back is the Desert Runner, a 4x2 V6 XE or SE King Cab built on the higher-riding 4x4 chassis. Base models retain Nissan's familiar 2.4-liter 4-cylinder, while V6s use a little-changed 3.3-liter engine. The new supercharger option boosts V6 horsepower from 170 to an estimated 210; it will be available in four models labelled SC: a Desert Runner, a 4x4 King Cab, and 2- and 4WD Crew Cabs. All engines team with manual or automatic transmission, which are unchanged from 2000, as is the part-time 4WD system. SE models have standard 16-inch wheels and tires instead of the 15s on XEs, while the new supercharged Frontiers get standard 17-inch footwear.
The 2001 restyling brings a macho "technical look" front end with a bumper that imparts of a sort of bulldog look, plus large wheel flares with exposed bolts and holes and a bulged tailgate with standard keylock. The facelift, created by Nissan's San Diego design studio, adds 7 inches to overall length; other dimensions stand pat. Inside are new Maxima-style white-face gauges that "reverse" to a black background at night, plus a new steering wheel incorporating cruise control functions, larger knobs and switches elsewhere, and a new line of audio systems, including one with a 6-disc in-dash CD changer. Interior dimensions are unaffected.
Full particulars on options and pricing weren't available for this report. However, Nissan says various packages will be available for all Frontiers, including a leather-trim group except for XEs and, for SE and SC 4x2s, a limited-slip differential.
Sales were slow to get rolling when the Frontier replaced Nissan's Hardbody pickup for 1998, hampered not only by styling but the initial lack of V6 power, something most buyers want in a compact truck. Since then, Nissan has corrected these and other shortcomings, and even put Frontier ahead of the pack with introduction of the 2000 Crew Cab, the first small pickup on the market with four front-hinged doors. The Crew Cab is proving a big boost to Frontier sales, which were up 58 percent year-to-year in the first four months of 2000 after falling 5 percent in calendar 1999. The 4-door should continue to get the bulk of Frontier marketing emphasis, and could eventually replace the 2-door King Cab.