Toyota Tacoma v. Nissan Frontier

I was in the exact same situation. I had a line on the Frontier for about 21K otd and the Taco for 26K OTD. I test drove both and found that I liked the way the clutch and transmission felt in the tacoma waaaay better. The interior on the Tacoma is 100x better then the frontier. Both are still very basic on the interior but it is more than enough for a truck. You can how cheap the frontier feels when you play with the knobs and such on the temperature controls and such. They just feel like they gonna break and it doesn't have the refinement you would think for a 20K+ vehicle.
The Frontier is more powerful though at 265hp vs the taco's 235hp. The bed of the Frontier is better because it is lined and the track system is nicer all around and has more tie downs than the Taco. The Taco has a composite bed liner and rail system, it is pretty good and strong but slippery, you gonna have to buy a bed mat to keep things from sliding around. The Frontier comes with a bed extender, while I had to buy mine after the fact. The frontier's back windows does NOT roll down but it does have rear defrost. The tacoma has no rear defrost but has a little sliding window. The Frontier has a Cargo light for the bed while the Tacoma does not, so when your loading shit at night, you gonna need a flash light.
The Tacoma has higher ground clearance than the Frontier so it's better for off roading or going over curbs. The major thing I found is that the Tacoma handles a lot better than the Frontier. Go test drive both and make sure you do some U Turns. The Frontier turns like a full size tank. Taco radius is much smaller and tight, it definitely handles more like a car which makes driving, parking, and turning a lot easier. That was a biggie for me.
The Frontier is a fully boxed frame, while the Taco is a C Channel frame, that makes the Frontier's frame stronger. However the Tacoma seems safer as I read people have crashed these things totaled them and walked away no problem. 4x4 is a must and they both have that of course. The Tacoma has grease zerks so you can do the lube on your differentials with a standard grease gun. I assume the Frontier is the same way. On to oil changes, Taco wins hands down. I don't have to jack it up, the Oil Drain plug is in the front, and the Oil filter sits on top of the engine when you open the hood. So changing the oil in the Tacoma is about as easy as it gets.
I had problems with my clutch squeaking but I was able to fix that, turns out it was a push rod was loose. The windsheild made a high pitch noise when I went about 75 MPH, they have a TSB and the dealer fixed that for free. They also had a TSB for a rear leaf pack, so I got mine replaced for free with a 4 Leaf Pack instead of 3, which make it stronger and less bottoming out when carrying heavy loads. The 1st gear is really low on these trucks, for rock crawling and such so you'll have to adjust. But it's not bad, you can really crawl in 1st gear without stalling but you can redline the shit out of it in you not paying attention.
The MPG is rated at 15/18 city/highway for the standard. That shit isn't a lie either, I thought if I drive it like a girl I'll be able to get better MPG. Nope, I get about 14-16 mixed, best I got was 19 coming back from Mammoth. Normally, its about 17-18 highway, and my average over the time I had it is about 14mpg. One full tank, I get about 270 miles out of it. Now normally, sticks usually get better MPG, but in the Tacoma is does not. In my model truck, the Auto's rev about 500rpm less while cruising. So at about 70mph, my RPM's are about 3k, while the auto at that speed is about 2500 RPM's. The autos get about 18 mixed and 20-22 highway. So if you think about it, you can get the same MPG with a standard (14-19) as you would out of a full size truck with cyclinder shutoff or whatever like the F150, Silverado's, (Maybe Tundra's)…. But with the full size you get way more power and torque but good luck finding a stick. Plus they are like tanks, harder to park, drive, won't fit in your garage, etc…. But they yield a lot more hauling and payload capabilty. Up to you and your needs on that one.

Oh, yeah and Toyota makes a stock Super Charger that kicks the Tacoma up to like 305 Horses without voiding your warranty.

 

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