Diesel or gas? Half ton or 3/4 ton?
I went from a Ford F250 ('01) to a Dodge 2500('15). Ergos on the Dodge are way better, but it's also not really a fair comparison because the trucks were 14 years apart. Huge difference in technology between 2001 and 2015.
Prefer the engine on the Ford, but again - not a fair comparison because the Ford didn't have the DEF/DPF system that the .gov mandates on all diesels now, so it was significantly less maintenance and less opportunity for problem. But the Dodge is way quieter, smoother ride and even with all of that garbage added and a 4" lift, I get better mileage out of it than the 7.3.
If you aren't hauling or towing much, take a look at the Ram 1500 Eco diesels. Some complain they lack power and get up, but I didn't find them to be slow and had no complaints about getting up to speed. Granted, it was only a test drive, so hard to really say if that is realistic or not. But cruising down the highway at 75 in the one I drove, I was getting something like 28 or 29 mpg. They don't tow as much as some of the other half tons though, so there are drawbacks - one of them being that Dodge has done a piss poor job on availability.
Chevy and Ford half tons are what they have always been - pretty solid and reliable, each with good points and each with drawbacks. Dont' know much about the Nissans with the Cummins in them, other than I see more of them on the road despite the fact that they are fugly. Toyota is awesome with their smaller vehicles, but they haven't made the transition to full size well IMO - trucks are not appealing to look at to me, ergos are meh and the mileage in them is not good compared to Chevy, Ford or Dodge.
No matter what, be prepared to replace a windshield every 5 years due to chipping, cracking or sandblasting from the environment. I went through similar in El Paso and AZ, which was a learning curve for me on that end.
