Tacoma vs Frontier

Any thoughts on the frontier and how it compares to taco?

 

It's a ok truck, the interior sucks. Transmission and engine combo are decent. Not sure about maintenance costs. There are a ton of grab handles on the interior, like we have cup/bottle holders.

 

Frontiers are solid trucks, they're cheap and you'll know everytime you get behind the wheel, but you'll get to where you need to go

 

They're known to be dated but some people like that...enough that they haven't bothered really updating it much in over 10 years at least. My dad had one with the 4.0 (I think) v6, was a 2006 I believe...that truck hauled ass and was fun to drive.

 

My friend had one. It was a 6 speed manual Pro 4x with the locking rear diff. It was a perfectly capable truck. He added 33's, a titan front suspension swap, and alcan rear leafs. It was pretty sweet. Then he sold it and got a ZR2 lol


DSC_6739 by Phillip Keefe, on Flickr

 

I test drove a Frontier before buying my Tacoma. The interior is very dated, but I could get around that. They are affordable and reliable.

The main thing I couldn’t get over was the turning radius. It was atrocious. I was driving a 4 door Ram 1500 at the time and went to turn the Frontier around in an area wide enough for my Ram to turn around easily, and the Frontier wouldn’t make it. Surprised the heck out of me.

 

Test drove both with an open mind.... Tacoma all the way.

 

They’re fine trucks, just kind of dated and cheap. They are pretty much the same truck that was released 15 years ago.

 

How is the reliability and resale on frontier? I know tacoma is resale king, but the reliability is so-so. I already have a leak on my 2018 taco. Thinking about jumping ship to a nicer engine. I only get 17-18 mpg combined out of my taco (90% city driving), so the frontier can't be much worse on mpg. I could care less about a dated interior.

 

If an oil leak bothers you that much, not sure you'd be lovin' the Frontiers reliability.

 

Test drove a Pro4X manual trans extended cab V6, loved how the drivetrain felt. Release point on the clutch was not nearly as high as the Tacoma, which was nice. Dated platform though.

 

How is the reliability on the frontiers?

 

How is the reliability and resale on the frontiers 4Pro?
Can it 4-wheel as well as the Taco OR>?

 

My dad is on his second frontier. He had an 06. Now he has a 15. Both drive exactly the same. Fairly reliable but it had its share of problems. Nothing catastrophic or major really but not flawless. Also it like mentioned already the turning radius is the absolute worst of almost any pickup. And if you are worried about mileage good luck. My dad is an old man and drives like one, he gets pretty terrible mileage. I think last time I borrowed it was something like 14-16mpg. My tacoma with full front bumper. High clearance rear, sliders, full set of skid plates and 265/70r17 BFF ko2 tires I still get ~19mpg. Also mine rides way smoother down the road than his does. I wouldn’t trade my tacoma for any frontier

 

Buy a Ridgeline.

 

Reliability is okay. Not as good as the first gen Tacomas, but on par with 2nd/3rd gen, in my opinion. A friend had one for years and then sold it to another friend who put 600,000 miles on it without any major work done (radiator replaced, something on the transmission went bad, other than that standard maintenance and wear-and-tear items)
It will 4-wheel just fine, but it does not have the after market support like the Tacoma has if you start looking at suspension/lift options, bumpers etc.

 

Is the turning radius bad on the 4WD model Frontier?
I remember the Tacoma 5 lug version also has a terribly high number.

 

I had a pro4x. I liked the rail system in the bed. Big aluminum cleats and rails. Also two rails on the floor of the bed. Another thing to mention is the fully boxed frame.
But... it traded it in for my taco about a year after buying it. Took a pretty big loss.
No problems with it, just not as much aftermarket support for them compared to the Tacoma. The back seats did feel like the seat backs were nearly vertical tho.

 

Reliability is ok, but resale value isn't as great. My 04 with low milage 80k is blue booked at 5k. My 07 Tacoma was 21k with 80k on milage.

 

Toyota paid for a rental for me for about 10 months while my Matrix was there for an airbag recall. Since I had just bought my 2015 Tacoma I opted to rent the Frontier for the first month just to compare.

Driving both trucks for a month really made me glad I got to keep my Tacoma and return the Frontier. Turning radius was a big difference. I can park my Tacoma easily anywhere. The Frontier you actually have to think about where you're parking! Not good for a midsize truck. The interior is way better in the Tacoma as well.

And no one's mentioned it yet, but the Tacoma also looks a lot better than the Frontier. This may not be important to some people but it is to me!

I'm not sure what the price difference is between the two, but I am certainly happy with my decision to buy a Tacoma!