Chevy 4cyl turbo. I hesitated to post this here because of the 1/2 ton is worthless 6700 lbs ain't nothing crowd here but for some people this may be all you need. I bet this thing pulls better ...
If I were in the market for a 1500 series I would drive one. I would hope that the turbo direct injected 4 would have a nice broad torque curve to keep constant shifting at bay. I drive a 2011 Tahoe with the 5.3 in my job and on the freeway any time you hit the gas it downshifts one or two gears. It gets pretty old, I wouldn't stand it for my own daily driver.