2013: Toyota Tacoma vs Nissan Frontier ?

The first truck/car/thing I ever drove was my father's standard 4 banger Ranger. F that, that thing was a pain in the ass.

 

I just junked my Frontier, there transmission are crap and the motors leaks oil after like 60k. F*ck Nissan.

 

the frontiers ride is way stiffer than my 4x4 sport. resale is bad on the frontiers too. i like my tacoma.

 

Nissan doesnt like to fix their problems without a fight. Although the frontier seats feel more like a truck's, Tacoma has better... well everything 4Wheel Magizine named Tacoma the best price for what you get for '13.

 

You can't compare the 2013 taco to a front they did not even have a 2013 model lol

 

in the May 2013 issue of fourwheeler they did

 

From what I understand there was no 2013 frontier

 

its says that the pricing wasn't available for the story but they used last years price but a 2013 frontier S

 

As former Frontier owner and now Tacoma owner.....there is no comparison. '05 to present Frontiers are no gen 1 or Hardbody. Tacoma hands down!

Hope you a newer model than a '10 or own a manual that way you don't have a strawberry milkshake issue. Or better yet how the guides for the timing chain don't fail on you and wipe out the engine like some have had happen.

 

bad
Wellll That's one of 74,000 surveyed.. Singular opinions based on singular experiences... Every vehicle has them without regard to badge.

I know guys are passionate about their wheels. But there are times and studies that will sometimes bruise the ego. Toyota is a great company. but they are not at the top of their game anymore as others have caught up and improved. Toyota has had to deal with some issues and maybe some corner cutting. I respected JD Powers ownership surveys when Toyota was always at the top of the list and respect them when Ford or Nissan is as well. That did not change my opinion. But it did relieve me of any reservations about shopping for a low mileage 08-10.

 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xKw2hX6xShc

Been around for awhile, and posted several times. Everyone has their own opinion, likes and dislikes. To me Ford, GM and Nissan all lack build quality and it shows as they age.

 

Personally, I don't care how high they rate the Frontier, IMO, they're fugly as hell and I would never own one based on looks alone.

It would be like having and ugly wife that does everything else perfect. I don't care how perfect she is, she'd still be fugly and that's what I see first and last.

 

^^^this

Frontier is a shitbox, there is no justifying it.

 

I don't agree. Toyota has had a strange relationship with consumer reports and other magazines, but I really don't think they care what the reviewers say. I think they respond to the market, which is why more than 1 out of every 4 vehicles sold here in California is a Toyota. 27%. I don't think they need magazine reviews to sell cars, and I didn't buy mine based on past or current reviews. I bought it because I liked the truck and I know a lot of guys who own them and just rave about them and if their truck burned up tomorrow, they would go buy another.

Now I'm not trashing the frontier or honda because as I've said many times, they are fine cars, but I would hardly say toyota isn't at the top of their game. I see no clearly better option.

 

Personally I think the Tacoma just looks better. I the interior felt better (someone pointed out in another thread that the Frontier had a better back seat but I still disagree). I came from a Ford Ranger and needed more room (baby on the way).

I wonder if the people over in the Nissan Frontier forum talk about how much better they are than Tacomas?

 

Well considering it's California..how many are Priuses?

I only mention Toyota not at the top of their game because I do respect JD Powers as their data does not come from "professional reviewers" hired by magazines who get paid from truck advertisers.

JD Powers is not a "magazine" in as much as a research organisation. Their results are not from "professional testers" but from actual owners who chose these vehicles based on their own individual research and desire. People who buy Toyota have high expectations for reliability. Toyota can live on that for years. I am just as surprised as anyone to see the initial quality on the 2012 Tacoma fall behind Nissan, Honda, and GM. I will be curious to see the three year study on the 2012 model year. That is far more important to me than silly factory mistakes.

http://autos.jdpower.com/research/Toyota/Tacoma/2012/Truck/index.htm

I purchased a Tacoma because I did the research and at the time it was the best choice. The price/mileage were right. The largest depreciation hit was taken and minimal going forward. I consider myself pretty practical and non emotional about vehicles. If I had to buy new today I would look at others like the Ridgeline which is unique in that it has a very car like quality to it yet has the bed. The Nissan does not appeal to me. Also MPG on a truck is not something i care about.

 

They post about similar things that we do...

Wanting a Diesel
Wanting better Gas Mileage
Claiming that Frontiers are sexy and Tacomas are fugly
Underhandedly bashing Toyota

The only thing I've noticed is that there are more "common problem" sticky threads and excuses. Also, there are a lot more people that compare everything to the Tacoma...from highway to towing to off road.

Ali can say is that the Tacoma is THE mid size truck to compare to. That is saying something. Like 4 years ago when the iPhone 3G was hott. Every company compared their product to the iPhone. Everyone tried to make their phone better or equal, but they just couldn't. Now, even with the other options that have in some ways surpassed the iPhone, they're still the standard to compare against. For what the iPhone does, it's still the best, but the rest are a lot closer because of market demand...

Is apple still riding on their success of prior years? Yeah...a little...but they will come out with something new again...

Is toyota still riding on the success of years past? Yeah...a little..,but they will come out with something new when the market demands they do so...both trucks are looking for new models to be released in 2015-2016...

 

Fair enough. I'm similar in my decision making, but still in general think Toyota is the best or one of the top manufacturers around. I remember when they had all the bad press because of the accelerator pedal issue and they took a lot of heat, but they stood their ground, and came out of it ok. You are right about resale value, and to me that's huge. Ridgeline is a nice vehicle, and probably rides better because it's more of a car and less of a truck. If it weren't for the fact that I knew I would be offroading, I would have seriously considered it.

 

I only just bought my Taco last week so I can't speak for its longevity. However, I CAN speak about the Ford fucking Ranger lol. Work provided me with one for a year. It was free, and I still felt ripped off. What an absolute, piece of shit that truck was (08). It was actually a dangerous truck to drive. The brakes we so bad you had to be clairvoyant to avoid hitting something, it was the most uncomfortable thing I have ever been in, the bumpers are made from what appears to be some type of composite of aluminum foil and silly putty, the cab would whistle when I went around a corner at moderate speed due to the cab flexing, and the worst part of all was having to be seen driving around in a Ranger. Seriously, whoever puts that thing ahead of the Tacoma in any category besides "most likely to kill you", is an idiot.

As for the Frontier, I looked at them before buying my truck and by the time I added all the options that came with my TRD Sport that I couldn't live without (Double Cab, 4x4, heated seats, back up camera ect) It was MORE expensive than the Tacoma. Add in the fact that it is Fugly and doesn't retain anywhere near the resale value, and it's a no brainer IMO.

 

Frontiers are junk. Too many bs tsb's and recalls to count. I was a Nissan tech for 2 years and in those 2 years I repaired shit that you wouldn't expect to need repairing on a new truck. I started comparing some of the repairs that I was doing on frontiers to repairs that I had done to my truck. It was very one sides in favor of my tacoma. At 12,000 miles on one frontier 2010 I had to replace both rear axles bc the seal was leaking. Still have my stock rear axles, on an 08 frontier I had to replace the transmission and radiator bc the trans fluid leaked into the radiator which caused overheating problems in the transmission. Replaced an oil seal on another 08 that was located near the camshaft, anyways that was leaking oil through the front cover. Oh my tacoma has only needed routine maintenance. Nothing has ever broke and I'm at 130,000 with my 2009 TRD double cab sport