Consumer Reports most reliable midsize

I considered a new Frontier but Nissan's financial problems kind of swayed me over to the Toyota brand.

 

The Frontier was a good contender until I discovered they inexplicably made the power steering feel as stiff as manual steering. Even the professional reviewers who have always liked heavy steering were perplexed by this. My biggest like on the Tacoma is that the steering is light and comfortable.

 

No disputing that 4banger turbo is achilles heal for Tacoma.

 

Things people who have never driven a 4g say

 

That and inferior suspension design, tech, and shocks made it not an option for me

 

How so? Granted I've only had mine for a month, but it runs great and has plenty of power. My last tank came in at 24MPG too, so I can't complain about that. Remains to be seen how reliable it is, but turbos aren't new or unique anymore. IIRC it makes more power than the old V6 did as well.

 

Yeah, we all chose this one for a reason. Both engines seem to pull quite well, and it seems in some cases that the regular ICE turbo setup is making for better mileage than the hybrid, which personally I find ironic. (I am getting 19 mpg in Eco; but then again it is in the mountains.) The power is really there in both cases; I drove them back-to-back. Throttling the hybrid has more immediate responsiveness and the torque response is greater when you hit the accelerator pedal. And I hear you on the hybrid longbed. Frankly, what I really wanted was a hybrid longbed Limited -- but I guess they just want those of us who want that to be forced to but the only one.

 

My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from a guy who knows a kid who's going with the girl who saw the 4 banger blow up at 31 Flavors last night. I think it's serious.

 

I'll dispute that. I was very anti turbo which is why I checked out the Ridgeline and Frontier first and yes, there are many makes with unreliable turbos. But after extensive research and now having this truck for four months. I'm pleasantly surprised at the drivetrain, trans included, which I never even feel shifting up or down.

 

Actually, the low tech was what initially drew me to the Frontier. The ridiculous amount of nanny systems in the Tacoma is what I consider it's biggest drawback. Very, very annoying and distracting.

 

OK, someone please clue me into this "Eco" mode. Is this an upper trim thing. I can find no settings on my SR5 or info in the War and Peace size manual about it. Apparently the short cycling A/C is affected by this according to some folks which is why it interests me since that's driving me nuts.

 

And when you turn them off, do they come back on automatically the next time you start it, or do they stay off?

 

I see them being used commercially maybe when those get replaced they will switch to Tacomas, but they are probably easier for the shop to work on, and what ever people like about NA Toyotas the Nissan offers if you can't find the used Toyota you want.

I see a good number of people driving them, even the super cab 5G Ranger is popular around here, mostly older folks and Rwd the local dealer couldn't keep an FX2 XL on the lot for more than a week, production was limited at the time.

 

So far the one's I have found stay off but I keep finding more and more. Plus the annoying and distracting road sign icons in the instrument cluster flickering when changing colors cannot be eliminated. You'd think Toyota would want drivers actually reading real signs out in front of them rather than taking their eyes off the road to squint enough to see miniature road signs to the left of the speedometer. Just plain stupid and counterproductive.

 

I turned off the road sign icons—— used the steering wheel controls to go into settings menu (I think they list it RSA) and it has not come back. Agree with you that it is an irritating “feature”, especially when you get on a 65mph stretch and the last sign the truck “saw” was 45

 

Thank you! That worked. Nanny system #62 turned off. They should default everything to off and make the incompetent drivers spend the rest of their lives searching for and turning on what they need to become acceptable drivers.

 

Instead of a Frontier just go buy a gently used Gen3. Or even a Gen2. Choices are plentiful and you’ll never regret that choice. Sales numbers illustrate that Frontier is mostly the truck people recommend for others, but rarely buy themselves. No doubt Nissan regrets that.

Unlike an LC70, the Frontier’s old-school truck vibe is not by choice, but because Nissan is broke. That’s why the Frontier remains forever stuck in the year 2005. Even the Nissan engineers by now wish they had a budget to build something more like a Gen4 Tacoma. That, and their next paycheck clears.

 

Yet Nissan refreshed the Armada and offers a Nismo version that's probably 85k to drive off the lot. No wonder they are broken company, why they couldn't get a world midsize out of the Navarra that could be built and sold in North America is beyond comprehension. Globally I don't think the Hilux is doing great compared to it's rivals. I don't think Toyota will find it self where Nissan is, but they could only be a few blunders away from getting close.

 

How is it different than the $65k 2 wheel drive SR5 Sequoia?

 

I guess it's not. 2wd Sequioa doesn't really make sense. I guess if you want a Sequioa and don't need 4wd but for 65k? 2wd Xtra cab with a cap for 38k makes more sense. Who is the customer that Toyota is looking for with a 2wd Squioa security company in Florida? They could buy a Hyundai CUV and be able afford another guard's salary.