2013: Toyota Tacoma vs Nissan Frontier ?

Maybe some writers being paid by Nissan, because the owners and market sure say Tacoma takes the trophy.

 

^^ possibly, but there are things i would like from both

interior wise, overall......tacoma because of lay out and mostly materials.




but i will give the fronteir one big thing......that seat in the pro4x just beats the taco in terms of factory offerings

 

I have driven both the frontier and Tacoma let me put it this way the Tacoma is a better truck I mean I had to gun the frontier to get real throttle response. The Tacoma rides better and well it outsells the frontier almost 3 to 1.

 

What's with the Tacoma's one ridiculously small cup holder in the spot I would want a big one?

 

I don't know, but I can only fit 20oz soda bottles (or smaller) into the bottle holders in the doors...I rarely drink soda. Where do I put my Nalgene?!

 

I have OWNED a Nissan truck. I had a 1995 for 13 years and 181,000+ miles. I had the regular cab 4 banger and that little truck was a trooper. In those 13 years all I did was change the fluids regularly, replace the alternator and the distributor.

When I sold it in 2008, it still ran like a champ. If and when my Toyota truck gets to that point... I still won't hate Nissans.

 

When looking for a truck I concentrated on the Frontier and the Tacoma. I test drove both and liked both for various reasons and was having a VERY difficult time deciding between the two. The deal offered on my trade in from Toyota was what sold me plus the fact that the three local Nissan dealers didn't seem interested in finding a 4x4 for me (all only had 4x2s on the lot) and the Toyota dealer went out of their way to get me into the truck I wanted.

 

They moved your real cup holders to the dash to house your gauges.






Sorry, couldn't resist, hate that gauge housing style.

 

Each has its ups and downs. The Frontier feels like it lacks throttle response because it does.. But it is almost 100% do to the transmission. 1, 2, and 3rd are too tall and the TC is too slow to lock.

I do like the layout and feel of the Tacoma interior better, but I like the Frontier driving position better. I also think the Tacoma looks better in general.



In the end I went with the Frontier for one big reason and a few good sized ones.
---Good sized reasons; 1) I wanted 4 wheel discs because I hate working on drums, 2) I wanted a decent bed tie-down system and at the time I had just installed a bedcover on my friend's Tacoma and we bent the rails pretty quick, 3) I liked the fully boxed frame but that shows up in the mpg department :/
---Big reason; I truly despised my local Toyota dealer but went to them anyway to see about buying a Tacoma. I hadn't even been unpleasant towards them and they were non the wiser that I did not like them as a dealer. So I was very polite and was trying to figure out the final OTD price for a Double Cab 4x4 with a stick. They basically said if I didn't want to pay the sticker price ($38k before tax/title/license or something crazy like that) I could just go to the Nissan dealer down the street and get an inferior product. I did not like that attitude what so ever, even if they did have the better selling truck. So I took their advise and walked to Nissan and bought that inferior truck for $24k OTD. Granted it is a 2wd not a 4wd, but that is a different story all together. The 4wd was going to be about $27k-$28k OTD.



I honestly had/have nothing against Toyota (except maybe for not dealing with frame rust better), I just have a serious problem with some of their dealers. Now I know I may have had better luck going to the dealer on the other side of the island, but I can't change the past and I'm still happy with my purchase



FWIW the front cup holders in the Frontier will easily fit one of those stupid huge 44 oz. drinks and I think all 8 cup/bottle holders will fit them?

 

Frontier is faster than SC Tacoma, at least the one that pulled away from me when I was going about 110 was. We were on the highway and already going 70...but his seemed a bit faster and his top speed was definitely higher (maybe his governor was disabled, not sure).

It was pretty cool to see such a goofy looking little truck scooting so fast.

 

Governor must have been messed with. I think the factory nissan top speed is 95 or 105.. I changed mine to 89

Forgot to mention before that both are great trucks and you can't really go wrong with either.

 

Don't know what the top speed is on the Frontier but it is more than 105. Also the power is about the same as I have had both. The Frontier does have a slightly better pulling power. MPGs the same.
However the Pro-4X has options you cannot get on a Tacoma as you found out.
I traded my 2012 Tacoma for a Frontier mostly because of the bad shudder/vibration issues that they seem to not care about taking care of. Also because they have the same look for 10 years. You can say the same for the Frontier looks but it is new and different for me.
I think as far as being a good truck I would rate them both as equals.

 

I don't have an issue with the frontier at all and I did enjoy driving one but since I am used to the Tacoma I enjoy it more.

 

I dont blame you. Your local Toyota dealer sounds like a real bunch of pricks. It really irks me when people diss their competition there is zero benefit to doing that.

The cup holder in the tacoma, man oh man, that thing is small for sure.

 

That seat looks terrible. It's flat as a pancake with almost zero bolstering.

 

IMO the new Tacos and Frontiers are pretty much 1/2 dozen of one, six of the other. I ended up going Tacoma because I liked the looks, handling, and interior better. It was a big plus that I actually liked the salesman and dealership I worked with, and the price between the two was within $1000.

My first vehicle was a 2004 Nissan Frontier King Cab w/ 4 banger and 5 speed, and it ran fine until I starting having transmission troubles leading to a rebuild at 125K. For day to day use I don't feel like it gave anything up to a comparable Taco.

 

I was amazed that the Tacoma didn't have 4 wheel discs but the Nissan did. Really a bummer for the Toyota in my opinion. I have a feeling that if I hadn't already owned a Gen 1 Tacoma for 230k fairly trouble free miles that I would have bought the Nissan. It's a nice truck.

 

I would like some of these real world comparison between the Tacoma and Frontier towing, I've never been able to find them.

Also the Frontier and Xterra are known for a couple very serious issues, one being the automatic transmission fluid and antifreeze mixing and destroying the transmission, which they may have fixed now, but ruined almost every transmission for many years that didn't do the transmission cooler bypass. Also the differentials are terrible, especially the front. Granted the Tacoma frame rusting is worse than both of those but is probably preventable.

Saying the frame is stronger without any proof is ridiculous, just because it's boxed doesn't make it stronger, our 1 ton dodge has a c channel frame and I bet it's stronger than the frontiers. Not saying the Frontier's isn't stronger, just that you can't just make that claim.

The Frontier has better roll over crash protection but is rated only acceptable in seat restraints while the Tacoma is rated good.

A new Frontier pro 4x total msrp is $32,810 a new Tacoma trd offroad is $33,500, similarly equipped.

Never read anyone say that the Nissan vq series engine is refined, in fact almost all reports mentions how rough the vq engines are, but I do believe they are very good engines.

You also make many claims about the Frontier accelerating and braking better under loads with no proof and mention the Frontier's bed lasting longer when I don't know of anyone on here who have had major bed problems with the Tacoma.

Not trying to start a fight, I looked heavily at the Frontier/Xterra and still like them, but I don't think all of your points are completely valid.

 

I had a Nissan Hardbody pickup in the mid 1990's and had no complaints. Good little reliable rig...

 

In terms of stopping distance, I believe the Taco still bests the Frontier in the braking catergory.