I've occasionally considered the purchase of a pickup, but the big ones (the new Tundra sounds especially nice) seem too big, and the small ones (used to) seem way too small (on the inside). Plus there's the matter of the pickup bed I don't have much use for, especially since I have a pathological desire NOT to help anybody move. But on a rental lot a mid-sized pickup is a much better alternative to the tiny little econoboxes for a big (and tall) guy's comfort.
I'm not even sure there are 'small' pickups anymore, they've all grown so much over the last couple years. This rental Nissan Frontier would've easily been categorized as a full size a couple years ago, but the 4 doors on my rental really ate up bed space, creating a bed of not much more use than an Explorer Sport-Trac's. (So much for the fleeting idea of picking up a new queen-sized mattress at Costco...)
How well does it fit, you ask? Very well! Getting in the headroom is just the slightest bit tight (for somebody who's 6'4), but I got better at ducking into it as time went on. Leg room was fine, and the seats are surprisingly supportive. Easily the most supportive seats I've sat in, very nice lumbar and side bolstering, but unlike most side bolstering it wasn't too tight on me. No real adjustability in the stripped rental version though, so if the supports are in the wrong place for you it's probably just too bad. Also, even with the seat all the way back the center console arm rest was too far back... I'd say it'd be non-existent for anybody who has the seat forward much. Lots of plastic inside, of course, but other than maybe the steering wheel it wasn't of objectionable quality. Oh, and the center cup holders were pretty stupid (too small rubber things that accidentally detach and come out with the bottle I was drinking from).
Driving... it's surprisingly powerful, but of course the rear wheels spin coming out of parking lots and the like. Having the power only go to wheels under a big (usually) empty box will always be a problem with pickups, unless they have some kind of full time 4WD. Plenty of go, and even without any manumatic the transmission seemed to do well enough.
There were only two noticeable weak links in my experience. The first was the stereo. I know, rental car, I was "lucky" it even had a CD player, but the sound was amazingly bad. Obviously no bass, no clarity to the highs either, but even the mids sounded just awful, and none of the basic controls helped. The second point was more annoying: the pickup squeaked. Like a mouse, every single tiny bump, joint, or rough patch, at any speed--a more clear and distinct sound than any produced by the radio. Because it's a rental and was almost certainly abused I wouldn't condemn all Frontiers for this, but it was to the point that if I'd had the car any longer I'd have traded it away. I know one might expect this kind of thing with a pickup, but it felt surprisingly solid in all other respects (despite the Nissan commercials of a couple years ago that made their pickups look like they were made of playdough fastened together with gummy worms tied in knots).
So I'd rent one (but not the squeaky one) again, but not for long drives because of the audio (and gas usage) and not for hauling because of the tiny bed. The seating up front was great and looked fine in the back (once again, had four full sized doors), better than many cars and all pickups I've ever been in. So if you're just looking for something to get from A to B and it's this or some crappy economy car on the rental lot, go for the Frontier. But the Dodge mid-size I'd rented over a year before was a better truck (usable bed), didn't squeak, and I didn't notice that it's stereo made me want to rupture my own eardrums to escape the sound.
