Frontier and Tacoma

Ford is coming out with actual mini truck that harkens back to the Toyota Gen 1 size before they got bloated.

Thought it was interesting even though my ‘03 Ranger was a disappointment.

https://www.autoweek.com/news/g38006350/2022-ford-maverick-gallery/

 

That's nonsense. There's a ton of aftermarket parts for the 05-21 Frontier, it was a global platform. Just look at Z1 Offroad for starters.

The 2022 has only been on sale a few months yet there's plenty of stuff available.

 

All of the stealerships near me have $5000 markups, on Tacomas, IF they even have one. They refer to it as a “MAP” or a “Market Adjustment Price” One dealer has a $5,000 markup on a Tacoma and they require you to purchase a $1,900 extended warranty.

I decided I wanted a Tacoma in December. I found one I liked and left the stealership, when they brought up the “MAP”. I then called probably 15 other dealerships, within 4 hours of my house and it was the same thing. Finally, I found one that didn’t charge the MAP. It was located four hours away. They earned my business and will get it again, when all this “MAP” pricing goes away and it’s time for another vehicle.

 

It’s already out. I ordered one, but couldn’t go through with it and bought a Tacoma. They are reporting mid to high 40 mpg.

 

Nissan has the reputation as being an "Alternative Financing" brand for the perpetual temp tag crowd. I am looking over the new Frontier. But, yeah I have lingering doubts about the quality and I am concerned about the resale value.

 

Hahaha same in Houston. And they are doing like 90 on a freeway in a downpour. Hydroplaning into people.

 

What makes you think MAP is going away any time soon? Dealers have less inventory expense and sell less cars for more $. What is there not to like for the dealership?

 

Here's the Toyota lot compared to Nissan, this morning as I rode past on the way to the gym. Toyota lot is practically empty, Nissan is full.

 

There's a lot to be said for the smaller pickups. Tacomas have really crept up in size over the years.

 

I had an 03 Xterra SE like the one pictured that was "ok'. The V6 in it had probably the roughest idle of any new vehicle I have ever owned though. Nothing about it said or inspired confidence. In the early Aughts it was decent. I'm not spending Toyota money on a new Nissan anything though.

 

For me it's an economics issue as well as long term durability. Long term durability is on the side of Toyota. Period. At or near the same price, Tacoma all the way. When I purchased my 2017 taco TRD OR in 2020, I fully intended to buy a 2018 Frontier pro4x. Drove two pro4x's, one a 2018 pro4x with 36k miles and a new 2020 pro4x. Both drove about the same, stiff, buckboard ride. The throttle was choppy, like an on/off switch. My wife was in the truck with me both times. Then we happened to see taco in a higher end dealers used lot. Stopped and drove it. My wife was the first to say that there is no comparison in the ride quality of the two. The TRD OR drove like a cadillac comparatively. It was worth the extra 5k over the nissan. I would do it all over again. This mirrors what I did back in 1993, when I got my SR5. Drove the nissan and it felt clunky then to.

The other part is, in general, Nissans don't age well. I think they have gotten much better though and I would still consider them second place. I have not driven the latest Frontier and I am sure it's got lots of improvements, which it sorely needed to compete with Tacoma. I am probably going to drive one to see if what some are saying is true, in that it rides much better than a Taco. Even if it does, the Taco rides well enough that I would not sacrifice toyota durability for it unless I was saving a lot of money. Economics wise, I would never pay 5k over sticker for a nissan or ford or chevy. I bet your friend can work them down to sticker.

 

I was able to test drive a hybrid Maverick a few weeks ago and it seems like a nice truck. Good quality, smooth, great mpg. But…Truck is quite small. Rear seats are so tight, they won’t work for most adults. Not sure it has adequate utility. Long wait time to get one (one I drove was already spoken for). Doubt I’d be interested in Maverick, but I’m hoping Toyota offers a hybrid Tacoma in the next few years. Hybrid drivetrain seems better than our CVT set ups. MPG improvement is a big deal. It’ll be interesting to see what’s next.

 

CVT? Our trucks don't come with CVT trans. I hate CVT transmissions. Nissan brought those out in their rogue and murano, worst trans ever. So bad in fact that they are doing away with them in the pathfinder. Mainly due to lack of durability.

 

Ironically the last Nissan I drove was an Altima rental while my Taco was down. That Altima was a 4 cylinder with the CVT. Oof lol. Talk about selling a Toyota lol.

 

I drove a pathfinder with CVT and then drove the new one with the 9spd trans from the titan. The new one felt like it had 50 hp more, lol. Even the dealer sales guy said that the difference was due to the trans, and that they were getting a lot of warranty work on the cvt's. He also said that in the quarter mile there is half a second difference. And mileage is worse.

 

Your right, it’s an electronically controlled automatic . But I still think the hybrid transmissions (I guess they are technically CVT) are smoother and easier to drive.

 

I wouldn’t trust Nissan to address design flaws. I was asking a Nissan tech if they addressed the notorious cracking exhaust manifolds on the 5.6 when they redesigned the Titan. Of course not.

 

LMAO, that's no more a truck than the honda ridgeline is It's basically a car with a unibody converted to look like a truck. Like an El Camino, or ford ranchero. They should have called it the Rancherito.

 

Problem with CVT is durability. They are smoother because it is a belt that rides on a cone that varies in width. What makes it smooths kills it's durability. If you look at the actual gear, you gotta wonder how it can hold any torque at all.

 

here is a great vid on CVT for anyone interested

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fBbNKUSvuU