CTYankee wrote:
Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon crew cab
Chevy Avalanche
Hummer H3
Nissan Frontier crew cab
Nissan Xterra
Toyota Tacoma crew cab
Toyota 4Runner
I have an opinion about all of these!
Colorado/Canyon: I fell in love with the new Colorado and it is a definite contender to replace my X should the day ever come. The Canyon I thought I liked better, but the Colorado can be optioned with more offroadable things. The older ones are also solid vehicles, and I see tons of them daily and they have a strong aftermarket.
Avalanche: The nooks and crannies everywhere are pretty fun, but for the size of the bed you may as well just get a Tahoe or Silverado. The sail pillars (which are critical to the structural rigidity of the body) only limit further what you can do with the bed.
H3: It's like a bigger Wrangler, nice low gearing. By all accounts a solid rig, but parts will be an issue in the coming years. You'll be the coolest kid on the block if you can get your hands on an H3t.
Fronty/X: I'm biased, of course. Second gens have better low-end torque than the Toyotas; Xterra has the shortest wheelbase on the entire list (but also the least cargo space).
Taco/4Runner: Since the early 2000s, the exhausts on these things hang below the frame, so you'll need to do exhaust work (or buy a really low-hanging skid) to offroad them. Since the last facelift/reboot (2015 or so) the power band really isn't where it should be, prioritizing mid-range output. But you can basically drive one for free with the resale value.