Tacoma, vs Frontier, "Just My Own Observation"

This seems to be the issue with Nissans. A co-worker just traded his Nismo Frontier in on a new Tacoma. 80k on the Nissan and the tranny was acting up. Im not sure if this is normal replacement for a clutch, but he seemed to think not.

 

I just bought my latest Tacoma, my 2nd one. I couldn't buy the Tacoma before at least giving the Frontier a look, so I drove a 2013. It drove very nice, felt fantastic in fact, but it was horrible looking and feeling inside. The Tacoma is so much better laid out and functional. The Nissan also looked and felt cheap inside, like it was a 1995 vehicle. I also do not like the exterior look to the vehicle, but that is me. Like I said, it drove very nice indeed, but not any nicer than the Tacoma. In the end, the Nissan would have saved me a lot of money, like $3k, for a comparable package, but the Tacoma is worth it.

 

also. #6? idk how that is true. (i have not drove a frontier so idk first hand) but dosen’t the taco have the best in class stoping/braking? if there is a night and day difference and OP says the frontier is better. Then how does the taco have the best stopping?

also I have first hand experience stopping 3,000 to to maybe 3,300 and even slamming on the brakes at 75mph the taco brakes pretty damn good! Not much harder then without a load, and trailer does NOT have trailer brakes you can tell it’s bake there when doing an emergency braking but it’s not bad. FYI, i had a car cut me off and put on it’s brakes hard. The cop that was kinda in my bind spot next to me then got in front of me and pulled them over.

 

Congratulations! Either you have the world's lightest riding mower, or you are the only individual who has ever purchased a Taco with good springs from the factory! Either that or you're full of shit.

Once again. No. Your passenger isn't auto down unless you modified it to be.

 

the tacoma is a tin can. its built cheap and skinny. but its proven to run...
when you feel the door of even a ford ranger, it feels like a heavy truck door. not our trucks. the tailgate on a ranger prob weighs twice as much as ours. but my ranger was always breaking down even with only 70,000 miles on it. fords dont run like toyotas...

that said, i feel like small mid sized pick up trucks are engineered and built for people who haul stuff occasionally. not really doing heavy lifting all the time. which is why they suck with heavy loads, but drive so nice empty. if your going to be doing heavy lifting all the time, then a full size pickup is for you.

for all the highway driving i do with sporting gear, surf boards, snow boards, recreation the tacoma is a perfect fit and ride. my ranger used to beat the piss out of me. if i was working a truck hard or moving heavy stuff all the time, id have an F150 or tundra....

 

lol what are you so upset about?

Frontier is a nice truck. I don't think they look bad either.

Who cares about disc brakes? The drum brakes in the Tacoma work great and give it best in class stopping power.

 

I actaully really like Nissan's products, and my family and friends have had great luck with them. The first car I drove regularly was my Dad's '93 hardbody pickup, and that thing ran forever. I actually agree with most of your points, and it's great to see someone step out of the box a little bit and objectively compare the two. It doesn't seem like you had your Toyota glasses on or anything during your comparison.

My roommate has a 2005 Frontier LE 4x4, and my Dad has a 2005 Xterra SE 4x4, both with the 4.0 VQ. Having driven and ridden in both, IMO, their engine is MUCH beefier than mine. I think a lot of it is the tuning (more torque down low, different transmission gearing), but the Nissans just move when you step on the pedal. I know the specs are pretty comparable, but from a strictly feel perspective, I like the VQ engine better. I also think my Dad's Xterra tows better than my truck does. Both of those motors have over 100,000 miles on them without burning any oil, smoking, or any noises. I can speak for my Dad more than my roommate, but he plans on being buried in his Xterra. It's his favorite car he's ever had, and it almost convinced me to get an Xterra Off-Road. His Xterra also gets better mileage than my Tacoma (he drives like an old man these days though).

That being said, I hate the Nissan interior (not even close in my opinion). I get the look they're going for, but the seats aren't as comfortable, I hate the shifter/center console, and the plastic is hard and scratches easy. The tailgate lock would be good feature, but I much prefer the exterior styling of the Tacoma to the Nissan. The Tacoma is also quieter as far as road noise in my opinion, and definitely holds its value better. I just don't get the dogging on Nissan...they make a great product, and the Frontier/Xterra is a very capable vehicle.

 

I had good springs till i started taking my truck off road. also i have got a lot more miles on the truck since then. but when i first got my truck, it had 25k and I could put 300# to 400# and it would not sag like at all. now it does sag with less.

I think if i would not have started to off road at all other then for hunting,they would be holding up better and not sagging as much.

 

this. idk what op is talking about when he says it is night and day. and that the taco would not stop the load he had.

If you read my other post about it, the taco stops good with a load behind it.

 

I've never driven or ridden in a Frontier, but I did park next to one at the beach last month. So now I am an expert. Mine is an '06, not sure what year the Nissan was. Based purely on appearance, I am a happy Toyota customer.

And i agree with B737 because I use my Tacoma for similar purposes. My dive buddy has a Ford Ranger access cab and although a solid build for a small truck, it just doesn't compare to the Toyota. If i wanted to carry heavy loads I would get a full size truck.

 

Wow! Who pissed in your Cheerios? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the a while back toyota starting putting 4 leaf packs on the sr5/sport but left the 3 leaf packs on the OR.

 

I used to own a Frontier, and now have my Tacoma. I had my Frontier for 3 years and put around 50,000 miles on it. I just bought my Taco in May. I had a 2005 Nismo off road Frontier with the 4.0 v6. I loved that truck, I got rid of it when gas was at it's peak, and bought a Scion TC and then a Toyota Camry. Ever since I had got rid of the Nissan I missed it. I missed having a truck. I will not make that mistake again so the Taco is here to stay for a very long time. Now to compare the two truck's....

I loved my Nissan, and it was a great truck. I kept it stock, the Nismo off road package was nice. That truck went anywhere and through anything and never let me down. I bought that truck when I was 19 and was very hard on it. I never had one problem with it. The Nissan had a lot of power, was great off road for a stock vehicle, and was fun to drive.

The Tacoma will hold its value better. I like the interior of the Taco better, and think its a better looking truck all around. The Taco has a lot more aftermarket parts. My Nissan was a pig on gas, it sucked gas down like a full size. I know the v6 Tacoma's are getting better mpg than what I got in my Nissan.

The Nissan had more power (I have a 4 cyl, and my Nissan was a 6 but I work for Toyota and have driven many v6 Taco's), The Nissan's stock suspension was better, The Nissan's bed was more durable.

All in all both are great truck's and i really dont think you can go wrong either way.

 

My last truck was an '04 Frontier 4x4 Off Road package, current is an '07 TRD DCSB. Not the best or current comarison, but I literally had 0 issues with that Nissan. In fact, if it was a 4door I would still have it. Tacoma, I got it a little wet playing around off road and the ADD actuator filled with water and disabled the 4x4, it had bad pinion bearings(when I bought it) that i had to replace, springs squeek so bad it irritates passengers, 3-400lbs in the bed and it bottoms out on the freeway overpasses, starter got wet and almost died (would intermittently not start until it appearently wore away the rust inside?).

 

I'm not upset . What he posted was inaccurate, so I corrected it. And I agree, our brakes kick ass!

Same as above. Our brakes rock!

Fortunately it was just bananas and milk in my Cheerios this morning . You are correct about the 4 leaf pack being recently added. His 2010 has the 3 leaf pack, and even if he got the TSB done the payload in these trucks is pretty abysmal. Not that I'm complaining, because I rarely have stuff in my bed.

 

I have a 2014 Toyota DCSB on order. Couldn't get a 2013 order but thats another story for another thread. Anyway why did I choose a Tacoma over a Frontier? Nissan has a very good product. Very comparable in many ways. I've test driven them but there are two main reasons I chose the Tacoma. The exterior look and reliability. I just like the overall look of the Tacoma in general more so than I do the Frontier. When it comes to reliability Toyota has been doing it longer than Nissan and better. Those were the two biggest reasons that made me decide.

I will say though that Toyota better step it up because Nissan is catching up fast and could overcome if Toyota doesnt start leading at a faster and better pace. Just my 2 cents anyway.

 

You forgot that the Frontier's aftermarket support is practically non-existent compared to that of the Tacoma.

 

If the Frontier aesthetics were amped up, I bet it would give the Tacoma a run for its money. The 2 main issues I have with the Frontier are the ugly interior (and I like the Tacoma seating position better) as well as the exterior heft. The Frontier needs to lose a few pounds here and there and I think it would then be a pretty clean vehicle (like the 1st gen Frontiers). But Nissan seems to have beefed up the body even on the newest Xterras which look like the older Xterras had a reaction to a bee sting.

 

I hate their frontierclub forum too. People on there as nice/same as TW, but the forum layout sucks and no one has any good build threads except a few here and there.

 

I almost bought a Frontier, but I liked the look of the Tacoma better! I will say, my brake pedal does feel a little spongy, but my brakes are great! The truck stops on a dime! I have the 2013dclb Tacoma and it came with the 4 leaf pack.I also think the interior of the Tacoma is more modern, compared to the Frontier, and the stereo is way better with the JBL system with entune and factory subwoofer.I like the look of the extended cab Frontier's more then the 4door Frontier's.I know it's a matter of preference, but I don't like or understand why the back door windows on the Nissan aren't full glass, why is there a bar breaking the window up and shortening the width of the window? I still like Nissan though, I just think the Tacoma is meaner and more modern looking compared to the Nissan.Plus, all my friends swear by Toyota, I have heard their reliabilty isn't what it used to be, I'm hoping that's not true! time will tell, if I start having problems with my Tacoma, I'll get a Frontier, until then I love my Tacoma!!!

 

My Boss has a 2008 Titan - Paint is chipping and rusting already. My Neighbor had a Nissan Altima '05 - Rusting out. My Dad had a '99 Altima that the bottom of the door sills rusted out. Most Nissans I see over 5 years have problems with the paint. I guess i'm to much of a sissy princess with my truck, but I want it to look good.