Taco versus Frontier

I looked at the Frontier at the time I was purchasing and for me I hated the Interior of the frontier, not appealing at all. Also it does feel slower from a stop like mentioned already but quicker from a dig. I Traded in my Chevy Colorado for my Tacoma ultimately and for once I n my life I own a vehicle that is still worth something. Having only been a Chevy truck owner I never had a chance to know what resale value means. That is ultimately why I will never own another GM, if Nissan drops a Cummins 4cyl in the frontier that might be interesting. Titan is supposed to get the 5.0l Cummins and that should be a sweet truck.

 

I grew up liking Datsun/Nissan over Toyota (70's, 80's). 4 of first 6 vehicles were Nissan product. Bought new Nissans for each of my kids when they turned 16.
1st Tacoma was 07 Sport 4x4 AC. Flawless performance for 6 years, 80K miles.
Thought it was time to go to a full size, auto trans, so got a new 12 Titan SV 2WD.
Hated the transmission control, lack of traction in minor circumstances.
I live at 3800' above sea level, work near sea level. Roughly 14 miles for the climb, on a total one way trip of 19 miles.
The V8/trans management/gearing was so disappointing. Severe rpm drop, loss of torque, the violent downshift from 5th to 3rd. At 5900 lbs, a runaway train going down the hill.
At 13k miles needing brakes already. Old Tacoma, no brake work in 80K miles.
Sold at a loss at 16 months, 16K miles.
Bought exact same model/color 14 Tacoma, as the the old 07.
Titan was a big disappointment to me.

 

My findings:

The industry standard was set when Toyota released the Tacoma. It's been a great seller ever since, and yes...a great performing truck. Even with the frame and leaf spring issues, customers still stand by their Tacomas...and often trade-up for the newer ones.

The competition has been slowly biting away at Tacoma "sales", but have they really been taking a bite out of the fact that the Tacos are still as every bit competitive (performance-wise) when compared to the other offerings?

One of the main reasons for my Tacoma purchase is the plethora of aftermarket support and parts availability.

 

Resale, resale...
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...est-vehicles-for-holding-value/1#.VC0vuhY8Ac0
http://www.usatoday.com/story/driveon/2013/11/18/resale-value-alg/3624413/

This is not the reason I own one, but for others, this is a VERY important aspect.

Least cost to own...
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money...ble-car-brands-models-five-year-cost/5229493/

 

If you have been in an pre 2012 Tacoma and a 2012+ Tacoma you will notice very fine little refinements. I've owned an 06 and a 13. I feel like Toyota worked a lot of the little fine details out that most first time owners wouldn't recognize. I love my 13, I just don't like the gas mileage, that's my only gripe about the tacoma. If you do your homework before you shop you should know what your getting with a Tacoma especially if you have owned one in the past

Before you read this I understand this is Taco vs Frontier but...:

I owned an 07 Titan for a about a year, tt was a powerful truck, but other than that it had so many issues. I just didn't trust the longevity of the truck. The transmission was shit in it, the interior felt cheap, and I was always worried about the rear end because I heard they where bad news. On a positive note my buddies dad has an 06 Titan 4x4 crew cab with a 6'' procomp lift and 35's and never had a single issue with it. He uses it on their farm regulary. So maybe I had a bad experience. Last, I especially didn't like bringing that big beast to the stealership. Also, it seems like most newer Nissans (friends vehicles) are always in the shop for electrical issues. I could be being a bit critical because I'm biased.

The powertrains and drivetrains in these trucks are bullet proof. I'm deployed to Afghanistan and you don't see any frontiers or titans. But you do see a metric fuck ton of Tundras, Tacomas, and helixes. Many of the Tacomas out here are up-armored (hundereds of pounds of extra weight) which is a testiment for the powertrians and drivetrains.

 

While I don't spend a ton of time on this site, I haven't experienced any "issues" with my Taco so I was just mentioning some of the issues to the OP that others have had. Other than maintenance and a few upgrades (headers & dual exhaust w/out any cats, upgraded shocks/struts and others) I've only had to replace the front U-joint (quite recently), battery (FL is hell on batteries), the radio (volume did what it wanted to do) & the resistor for the blower motor (within the past 6 months). I have 156K on it and for the most part drive it like a car. I do tow my bass boat but don't do any off-road. My cousin has a 1st Gen and IMO it doesn't compare with my 2nd Gen.

 

actually I meant fall... doh!

 

Tacomaworld newb here, first post but thought I'd weigh-in ...

I've been researching a new truck purchase for over three years now. I just purchased a 2015 Tacoma Prerunner SR5. I haven't had it 48 hours yet. My purchase was necessitated by a family expansion and the need for a double cab. I traded in my Nissan Frontier for the Tacoma.

I had a 2005 Fontier Nismo 2WD access cab that I bought new. For the first 100K miles I think it was one of the best vehicles I've ever owned. I only did routine maintenance and never had an issue ... until one day the engine cut out when I was leaving the house. It happened a few more times. Turns out is was an ECM relay that went out and it was under recall. My bad for not having had replaced before. Before I knew what was wrong I had tried restarting the engine several times and flooded it. Nissan apparently has catalytic converters close to the engine. They were damaged, in my opinion, due to the faulty ECM. Nissan did not agree and wanted $2500 for the repair. I went elsewhere with aftermarket replacements for half the cost. A few months later the cam shaft position sensor went out, leaving me stuck at Home Depot with a bed full of new materials. Then the fuel position sensor went out. This was another recall item for every model except the 2005. The sensor is attached to the fuel pump, which was fine, but the parts still cost $500 because they're linked together. This would have been a $750 repair with my local mechanic. I didn't even bother asking Nissan their cost. Then the transmission started acting up, which is when I found out about the problems with the radiator. That was this past Friday and I bought the Tacoma Tuesday.

All that being said, I still considered a Frontier Crew Cab with the understanding that I just wouldn't keep it past 80K miles. I'm thinking the Tacoma should last longer. The Tacoma also has more back seat leg room, which was my reason for looking for a new truck in the first place.

Some comparison thoughts:
- My Frontier had much better pickup / power and when functioning right a smoother transmission. (My wife has an FJ with the same motor as the Tacoma so I'm using that for comparison also.)

- The Frontier had a rougher ride (prob. the offroad suspension). The Tacoma to me is more carlike and refined. I don't think one is better than the other, just different.

- The turning radius and low speed handling on the Frontier is terrible. The Tacoma is tons better.

- I averaged just under 18mpg in my Frontier in mixed driving and 21mpg on road trips. I'm hoping the Tacoma does better.

- The resale value was a huge consideration. My Frontier was worth almost nothing with 118K miles on it. I looked at a used Taco and couldn't believe how much they were.

- I got a better deal on a comparable Tacoma than what Nissan would offer in my area and the Tacoma comes with 2 years of free maintenance.

Also, I asked my dealer about the next Tacoma version and she said there wasn't really anything on the horizon. Maybe that's sales talk maybe its true. But I've been looking and reading for three years now hoping "next year" would be the year when they updated the design and neither Nissan or Toyota have done much. I was holding out to see what Chevy did. I don't really like Chevy's but thought I would wait and see and was not impressed with what GM took several years to design with their Colorado.

Sorry for the long post but this issue is something I have strong feeling about.

 

Nice first post lowprofile.

I agree with you on all points. I drive a 2013 Pro4X for work quite a bit and have used it offroading. Nice truck and I think it feels much more solid but I don't like it as much. The turning radius is noticeably worse in the frontier even though it has a shorter WB than my DCLB.

All that said, I would probably go for a new frontier with a cummins diesel when that happens if I was looking for something new.

 

Timely info on the Taco/Frontier/Colorado/Ranger numbers:

http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/by-th...tacoma-frontier-1639032173/1641795535/+travis

 

Came from a mid travel frontier. I'd go back too. Love my taco too. Feel like my Frontier was a little quicker, but it was modded. It's a solid truck, especially with the titan swap. It would go wherever you were willing to put it. Hopefully my taco will provide the same satisfaction when its all done.

 

I looked at a Titan Pro 4x before buying my Taco. Nice truck. Nice bells and whistles. Felt like a nice drive and more what I wanted going from a a Silverado. But was looking to downsize so picked the Tacoma.

In may 2013 they offered $11000 cash back. Was a pretty sweet deal.

 

They are offering me 15,000 off... I haven't gone for a second test drive because I'm worried I'll buy one instead if waiting for the new Tacoma and Ridgeline to be leaked.

 

Dang, I completely forgot about the inferior radiator design on the Frontier. For those that don't know, Nisssn thought it would be a good idea to plumb the transmission cooler lines through the radiator. What happens is the lines corrode or break causing coolant and trans fluid to mix, otherwise causing catastrophic engine damage.

On the Nissan forums, while our first mods are leveling and tires, they are all doing the transmission cooler line "bypass" mod. Grant it, it is a cheap mod (less than $20) but still, can't believe they designed it that way.

 

When i went to the transmission shop last week we checked the fluid and it looked ok. The owner told me though that most Frontier owners he knows just replace the radiator at 100K miles. When i was at the dealer earlier this week i asked the salesman if they had fixed the radiator problem. He said he had no idea what i was talking about. I popped the hood and the current radiator does look different but i have a feeling that Nissan hasn't changed the design. To do so would be like an admission that it was a faulty design and therefore subject to recall. If i had been more interested in the Frontier i might have pursued it further.

 

If you are worried about beating every other truck off the line like some sort of testosterone driven teenager then the Tacoma my be a better choice but to me the frame is the killer for Toyota and will greatly affect resale value down the road. If you trade your vehicles in every few years it probably doesn't really matter which truck you get.

 

Nissan did come out with an updated radiator. Don't remember exact time frame.

Nissan isn't the only one who designed the transmission cooler that way. I suspect it was to serve as a heater for the transmission fluid in winter. I remember my auto staying in a gear lower before the fluid built heat, then it would shift into OD. Usually after a couple of miles it was fine.

 

we are not seeing any improvements or change because everyone pushes for comfort and looks. any they hit theyre max, you want more power or better offroad accessories start asking for it. bring back power and tq and solid front axles!!


and toyotas frame rot atleast gets recalled and fixed so resale isnt affected

 

Never will have solid axles back.

 

Pretty much every automatic transmission has the in-radiator cooler. The issue is Nissan used cheap radiators.
If you'll look into it you'll see the mid to late 90s 4runners also suffered from the same ailment. It just takes more miles for it to happen b/c it's a better quality radiator.