I have a new car buying dilemma.

Here?s my situation, I purchased a new SUV and took out a loan for 5
years on the truck.  Currently I have about $14,000 left to pay with 4
years left to pay for it - I pay about $320 a month.

I am now considering purchasing a new car for about 30k and trading in
the truck.  I believe I can get about 14k for the truck using Kelly
Blue book pricing.  I would break even with the loan but am left with
a new car payment.  I was thinking of putting down 5k down payment
which would bring the car to around 25k.  My monthly expenses would be
417 / month for 60 months.

I guess my question is ? is this a smart thing to do?  The truck is
about a year old but takes too much gas and is not practical in the
city.  I would like to get this car but not sure if it?s worth it. 
Any advice would be great.

Thanks!

One thing to consider is depreciation.  A new car or truck loses value
the most rapidly during its first year.  You have already taken the
"loss" on your 1 year old vehicle and you would be taking another big
loss on the next new vehicle. Is it worth it to take this loss again
just to get a car with better gas mileage?

Clark Howard would advise you to buy used vehicals and think
functional instead of sporty. Most used models depreciate ten or
twenty dollars per month, compared to about $3000 the first month for
most new cars. Wouldn't you rather be saving half your income, instead
of worrying will your pay check last until the next pay check?  Neil

A calculation: Let's say you drive 15,000 miles per year (1,250 miles
per month).  Let's say your current vehicle gets 15 miles per gallon
and your new vehicle would get 25 miles per gallon.
You would need to buy 1,000 gallons per year on your current vehicle
and 600 gallons per year on the new one.  That's a difference of 400
gallons per year. If you assume gas costs $1.90 / gallon, then it's a
cost difference of $760 per year ($63 / month).
So, it looks like you would lose more in depreciation for the first
few years than you would gain in fuel savings. The numbers might come
out in your favor if you intend to keep each car for the long term - 8
years or more.