I will be 75 this year and due to severe scoliosis have a handicap parking placard. We own three vehicles available for daily use:
2004 Chevy Silverado 3500 Diesel/Allison crew cab long bed (the beast)
2014 Jeep Patriot Limited with all options
2013 Cadillac CTS sedan (which we inherited last year from my wife's mother)
I find the big pickup causes less ache and pain when driving, even just around town. The Cadillac is so close to the ground that I feel like I have to climb down into it and then pull myself back up when getting out.
The Jeep is a nice height, but the driver's space is "compact". Not really too small, but no room to stretch or really get comfortable. There is just something about the shape, slope, or something about the seat back that gives me lower back pain after about a half hour of driving. I continue to try to find some combination that doesn't do that, but so far no luck.
The truck is BIG! I pull a 14,000 pound fiver with it and it is quite competent in the high country of Colorado. You do however need an airfield to make a U-Turn. As for getting in and out; it is equipped with wide, flat running boards and a grab handle above the driver's door to help pull up. Driving position is upright and well supported and the controls in a pickup are designed to be used while wearing work gloves so everything is well laid out and easy to reach.
I can drive it all day (well, six hours or so) without my back bothering me.
Obviously what is comfortable for me may not apply at all to your situation, but I wanted to point out that not all of us find a big pickup to be a bad idea.
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