Test drove a Frontier tonight

Things about my Tacoma are kind of driving me nuts and I was to the point I was thinking maybe I'd start looking at some other things. The RPM hang, ridiculous throttle response, poor clutch, airbag light now on full time, ABS that I'm convinced is going to get me into a wreck some winter, steering that feels ridiculous...

I was doing some research on forums and had read that the Tacoma would feel like it had more pep, but the Frontier would feel more solid. Some of the interior and exterior did feel more solid to me. The steering felt alright. It did indeed feel slightly underpowered compared to my Tacoma. I felt like I was able to shift this transmission smoother, despite only being on a test drive and not being used to it. But the gear shift did feel substantially more loose and weak. Not so sure that that would be something to be concerned about though. The clutch was a lot more smooth. The ride did feel better. The Frontier had a much better feel when hitting rough parts of the road surface. Maybe that's just because it's new though, I don't know.

Anyway, bottom line, it wasn't bad, but it was far from blowing me away.

 

Looks like you could use some more test drives. Try out the Fords, Chevys, and GMCs.

 

My brother has a 2006 Frontier Nismo. It was nice when it was new however, the truck is falling apart. It runs great but is totally not as solid as the engine. Great motor, crappy truck in my opinion. My bro is looking at a 2011 taco now and he says the frontier can't even come close to the quality of the taco. Just my .02

 

I test drove the Frontier also and really like it for all the reasons u pointed out. I still bought a tacoma because... well because its a tacoma. No regrets tho

 

I'd like to see someone else's opinion on the colorado/canyon...

 

This pretty much sums up every experience I've ever had with Nissan - shit hooked to good drivetrains.

 

No personal experience but I have never heard anything good about them.

 

What would be interesting is a colorado or canyon 4x4 with the 5.3.

 

Same here. And from what I've seen the I5 motor is gutless, and even with the 5.3 V8 they're still slower than the Tacoma I believe and not any more capable.

 

My uncle has a Colorado. I drove it in 2005 when it was brand new. I actually liked it at the time. That's actually what first got me wanting a midsize truck. At the time I had a 2001 Saturn SC1. That was a great car, wish I still had it sometimes.

That's partly why I find the Tacoma so frustrating. I've driven cars (and some trucks) that were much cheaper and supposedly a lesser vehicle, and they ran into much high mileage before encountering much of any problem. I'm only at 55K with my Tacoma and I feel like it's going to start falling apart already, and I've babied it.

Anyway, I would never buy a Colorado or Canyon. I've read too much bad things about them, and I would never buy a Chevy/GMC now anyway.

 

That's the only Colorado I had any interest in. Overall I still didn't like the truck even with the V8.

 

My Brother in law owns one of these. Powerful as all hell. Decent looking exterior. Very boring interior. Prefer my Tacoma [TRD Sport Dbl Cab] over his [Z71 w/ 5.3v8] any day.

That being said, we did some off roading together, it was awesome vs. my limo-length truch when cresting steep hills. Short wheel base = good. Jealous of the AC owners out there.

 

I think the Z71 Colorados actually look like nice trucks. In fact, the Colorado, Dakota, and Tacoma are the only midsize trucks that I like the appearance of.

I've seen older Frontiers that looked good. I think they were probably NISMOs. But the new ones, including the Pro-4Xs I don't think look that great.

 

I'm sure no one on here will agree with me, but I really like the Ranger. The base model just has something to it that I love. Mainly that the floors are completely covered in rubber.

 

Go and see the new Ford F150, I saw it at the LA autoshow and it is a great improvement from the past. You can also get GREAT discounts (+/- 10,000 below MSRP) depending on the dealer and model.

 

When it comes to the smaller trucks Tacoma/Frontier/Dakota/Colorado, the Tacoma wins hands down. But if you need something bigger i would like the Silverado/Ram/Tundra/F-series, I would say the Fords win in that category

 

I really don't want anything bigger than the Tacoma.

 

drive one and you'll change your mind

 

Make sure u get the 4.0L engine because their 2.5L is out of a Nissan Altima, no joke

 

Never tried a Ranger, but I don't think I'd want one anyway.

I'd try another Tacoma, but I'd prefer a manual transmission, and based on what I read here, I don't think they've fixed any of the problems there.