Froniter Nismo 4x4 Comparison

Sorry about the Froniter, I meant Frontier of course.

 

didnt even notice,
i need to adjust my montier

 

I retract this statement. I don't know what I was thinking. trucks shouldn't have carpet at all, they should have rubber floors. They should also not have fabric on the door arm rests. IMO that is worse than the awful material they make the center armrest out of. At least that stuff you can clean up with a microfiber towel and warm water.

Also, the Nissan with an auto is a dog, but one with a 6-speed is stout. I think a 6-speed truck can spank my double cab.

 

i think the nissans are heavier which is why they are slower even though they have a more powerful engine

 

I agree with you about the auto on the Nissan, it was a damn slush box. After the first couple of gear changes (up or down) it seemed to lose any consistency. I'm not totally confident about my new Toyota's though. Seems like a quirk but I can live with it if there is not a fix.

 

The Frontier seems slower because the ecu only lets the throttle open 40% when the vehicle is under 40mph, if you run across a frontier that has been superchips tuned it takes the WOT restriction off....watch out cuz it is going to spank your tail all the way up and down the road. Each trucks have their own positive points and the brakes on the frontier were top notch. I make these comments because i traded a 08 4.0 frontier crewcab in on my taco.

 

Why would nissan want that 40% throttle thing? That's stupid. Is it for MPG?

 

no one really knows for sure...its been discussed on clubfrontier, but i would assume for drivability, with wot off you really don't have to even get on it hard and the rear end is breaking loose, and you really have to watch out in the rain.

 

yeah, it makes sense but that's why you need to know how to drive. I just wouldn't want the ecu limiting me, not that I floor it off the line but I just don't like being that limited and I would like the decision to be up to me not the computer.

 

Agreed

 

I test-drove a current Nissan Frontier quad cab 4x4 V6 and an equivalent Tacoma quad cab 4x4 v6 in the same day.

The Tacoma felt like it had a lot more power off the line, around town, and merging onto the interstate. I don't know how that breaks down, whether they have far different gearing or vehicle weight, but the 236 hp Tacoma felt faster than the 261 hp Frontier.

 

One consistent thing I've seen in professional reviews of the Taco (Consumer reports, R/T, C/D, etc.) is that it is very responsive at all throttle levels. The peak numbers may not be as high as the Frontier, but it appears to have a more even power spread.

Besides, if you want to thrash all the competing midsize pickups out there with your Tacoma, there's an easy solution - get it blown.

 

Eh, I'm (mostly) past the age when I care about thrashing everyone. But if Nissan artificially handicapped their Frontier, they should know that that was a big component of my decision not to keep looking at them.

(That and the difficulty in finding one with side air bags.)

 

I did look at Frontier but they are rare. I test drove one Pro4x and I was impressed but the price tag did not impress me at all. a toyota salesman told me Nissan was getting out of the truck business for lack of sales. he said you can't even get a Frontier or Titan anymore?

 

I gave my local salesman the opportunity to find the Frontier I wanted at a price that was "very competitive" with the equivalent Toyota, considering that Nissan has a $3,000 rebate on the Frontier right now. He quoted me a truck for $3000 under MSRP. Uh, NO. The absolute highest I was going to consider was $3000 under invoice.

Since the closest truck they could find for me (in Kansas) was on the East coast...just too hard to find a decent one at a decent price.

 

of all the Nissan dealers I went to only 2 dealers in my state had a 09 Frontier. One was that Pro4x for $35k!!!! with $3k rebate THAT'S IT. The sales guy told me that's all we will do. I left but he did call me 2 days later to get me back in, so I went back in. The best they could do on that Pro4x was the $3k rebate + $530 = $3530 i walked. this time they never called me back. i drove by a week later and I saw a SOLD tag on it, ah well, they got someone willing...

another Nissan dealer had a LE and again it was $30k. I tried to negotiate but again they would not even budge. Walked. They called me the next day. went in, and they would not budge. Just the $3k rebate and that was it. Tried playing number games with me...they just said that Frontiers are in high demand and at this time Nissan is not producing anymore for 2009 so what's out there is what is out there, take it or leave it. I walked.

But as I continued my research on the Frontier I was shocked to find out there are no 09 SE/LE/Pro4x models available. One dealer told me they could not even order one and suggested I wait for the 2010 models.

I guess it was just a blessing in disguise for me to pursue a TACO 100%.

But that Pro4x was sweet sorry...

 

I sat in the Frontier for about five minutes, no test drive needed. I knew I wanted the Tacoma after I opened the drivers door.

 

Hey.... I can direct you to a nice used frontier....it holds a special place in my heart. The funniest part is that they are asking 19988 for the truck and i bought it brand new for 17300.00...no $ down, no trades.

http://www.ricetoyota.com/Preowned-Inventory.aspx?InventoryId=28057599

 

only a year old? what happened?

oh its a 4x2? no wonder the price...

 

Funny, I agree and thought the same thing when I saw it.