2013: Toyota Tacoma vs Nissan Frontier ?

Best part about that? Being able to shorten Tacoma to Taco...and you can have a pink Taco.

Can you have a pink Frontier? No. Well maybe, but "pink frontie" just sounds and looks bad...

 

Hate to break it to you but most Tacoma owners only care about the ride down the road. The majority never tow or off road.

 

Yes, oh god yes. Unequivocally yes. Agree with you that the Tacoma interior isn't exactly luxury, but the Nissan looks terrible. I should have linked a picture of the clocks instead of the head unit, because that is really what looks cheap. I really liked the ride of the Frontier, and the motor felt great. I really wanted to like the Nissan, believe me- it would have saved me close to $3k.

 

We owned an '06 Frontier--bought it new. It was a nice truck--quiet & comfy. The interior was better/nicer than our current '06 Taco's interior. BUT, the gas mileage was terrible. Never got above 15 or so.

 

That was my only complaint about the Tacoma was the interior(wasn't going to stop me from buying it). I can paint, dip, whatever. That stuff can be changed. In the end, the engine and the body will out last the interior. I wish I had the kind of interior I had in my 2010 Golf. Either way, I love my Tacoma.

 

The Nissan Frontier out does the Tacoma in many aspects.
- Frontier has 4-wheel disc brakes and a more advanced braking system. Allowing it to have better traction control and allows its diff to behave like a limited slip
- Frontier uses a box style frame (exact same frame as on the Titan) which makes it more rigid but also adds weight.
- Frontier may be heavier but has a much stronger engine to pull with.
- Frontier has minor luxuries left out of the Taco (i.e. cargo light, auto lock doors, low fuel chime, delay headlights, etc.)
- Frontier's speed and towing capabilities exceed the Taco due to power and comfort in that it's heavier weight allows a more secure feel when towing heavy loads.
- Frontier's bed rail trac system offers more setting positions as well as 2 more rails that run along the floor of the bed.

I went with the Taco because Nissan doesn't allow feature choosing like Toyota does. Everything is part of a package that includes other things you may not want. (i.e. I didn't want leather). I enjoy the look of the Taco more and it's slightly wider stance. I buy trucks/ vehicles for my needs and the Taco does exactly what I need. Not to mention Nissan was once linked with Ford and I hate Fords.

 

Obviously consumer reports is high!! The Honda ridge line is top rated.... By a bunch of no mod Nancy's who like to keep their scroat in a hand bag!

 

CR has always had a bias toward Honda, followed closely by Toyota. Just picked up my Taco this weekend, my first Toyota in 34 years I traded in an offroad Xterra. The first Toy I had was a FJ55 in Washington State that I pulled the anemic POS 2F engine out of and dropped in a 350 that I started with a bare block and acid dipped.

Only a few midsized vehicles left out there and they put the Ridgline in that category. I hunt phez in SD with a bunch of retired military guys every year, the other 3 Navy guys of the group all have Ridgeline trucks and they do very well. I wouldn't say any of them carry their scroat in a hand bag, especially the admiral.


Back to the point... This Tacoma blows the Xterra away and it is based on the Frontier, they are very similar. I went with the TX package because of the suspension. I don't mod suspensions until the powertrain warranty is up or close to it. Everything now days including stock Toyota's come with a suspension for soccer Moms.

 

The only thing I liked on the Frontier was the extra storage compartments, interior lights, bed light, locking tail gate, and disk brakes. The Tacoma won me over with the 2TR-FE (an engine designed to be used in a truck unlike Nissan's car based QR25DE), decent mpg, standard composite bed with rail system, and the fact that the Tacoma comes in a regular cab. If the Frontier came in a regular cab, it might have won me over if it was cheaper (a lot cheaper), but thank goodness they didn't because I would have missed out a great Toyota truck (minus the odd A/C condensation drain location).

 

I don't know about the handbag thing but automotive speaking the Ridgeline is not a truck. Unibody frames have no business in truck world.

Too expensive, heavy as hell, and a true testament that Honda didn't look to their design guys as they pieced the Ridgeline together from other Honda vehicles. Put a frame and a long bed on it and maybe you'll have something

 

I have to admit, the Ridgeline is a nice crossover. It's perfect for someone who lives in the city and has a gardening hobby: car-like comfort, ride quality, etc... but a bed to throw mulch into.

I'd never tow more than a small U-Haul with it, and certainly wouldn't take it on anything worse than a gravel road, but as a lightweight, blacktop-only hauler it's not bad.

That is to say, what 70% of truck owners actually use their trucks for, it's perfect. How many Tacomas and Frontiers do you think actually haul more than a couple hundred pounds or leave the pavement? Outside this forum, not many.

 

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After owning well over 20 Nissan & Toyota, Chevy & Ford trucks (mostly Toyota trucks though ) .... I loved Toyotas the best ... liked the Nissan's second ... Chevy third ... and Ford was last. But that is based on MY experiences and models owned only.

With all that said ... I traded my 2012 Tacoma (DC/SB TRD OR) on a Ridgeline (while the R/L is NOT a body on ladder frame design ... I love this odd ball "semi-truck". But I do NO off roading either.


FWIW ... My favorite AWD vehicle is a Subaru ...

PS ... One last thing ... IMO ... Toyota & Honda stand behind their products (some here will have an exception to this) better than any other manufacturer.
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I think a lot of people bash the Ridgeline as a truck, but that's not what it is. As a vehicle on the whole, it's pretty handy. It's a crossover, but with a truck bed. Pretty good marketing idea for the majority of people that like the utility of a small pickup, but don't need the offroad capability, payload, towing, or general work oriented functions. It is unfortunate that CR and others lump it into the truck category, because it's like comparing apples and silly crossover oranges.

 

that is a whole lot of vehicles

 

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In the old days ... would get several new cars a year and resell them. New and/or hard to get cars in the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000 when the dot.com money was flowing and chasing fancy cars.

i.e. ... BMW M-Roadsters, 1997 & 1998 Porsche S Turbo with OEM Euro Chip & etc. were very hot .... many people would pay sticker price for a slightly used vehicle or above sticker for less than 300 - 600 miles on them.

Had well over 100 new vehicles in my life and broke even on many of them.

That is BEFORE the tax structure was changed where a private seller NOW has to charge sales tax in Georgia.

Now, you have to buy something with an excellent resale value ... keep it low mileage & spotless ... and get a super deal when buying it ... Tacomas are the best for this ...

A good trader could get a new Tacoma ... exact model for model ... for about $2,500. to $3,000. a year ... less than $250.00 a month for a new truck every year ... given low interest rates & keeping them low mileage and spotless ...
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This is the most logical statement made in this discussion but excuse me, I am 60 yo.

 

I have a friend who owns 4 Nissan dealerships. They are not struggling to sell cars or trucks by any means. My biggest reasons for staying with Toyota is the reliability, resale value, and looks. The Nissan value drops way to fast, and I personal think they're ugly in and out.

 

I love my tacoma.

I have driven a ridgeline, about once a week for a year. Personaly i hate it, it has some awesome features. like the POWER LOCKING trunk in the bed, which also houses the spare.. would be easy to add to the taco. would also suck if you had a bed full of shit and a flat. That brings me to my next point, the ridgeline not only has a bed, very similar in size to the back of a 4runner, its less usefull. Literaly everything you put in it blows out, i used to have fun showing people, id put my shirt an empty can and a half full bottle in my tacoma's bed and drive down the road, around the block, 55mph down the highway and come home. stuff may have slid around. put the same thing in the ridgeline and drive in a straight line down the road at 45-55 mph and everything would blow out.. maybe i should say be sucked out like a vacuum.

Now that im done hating on the ridgeline.. wait, it has absolutely zero ground clearance.. its unibody, independent front and reat, and it is front wheel drive.. on NOW im done, there are some things that are great about it. it has big handles, knobs and buttons, you could wear your work or snow gloves drunk and work everything no problem. It HAULS ASS if you mash on it. just driving it it has minivan feel. It handles on raod very well, because its a tall car. Its got awesome storage and little cubby's everywhere. It is made by honda, and honda makes some awesome engines. It has a WIN in BAJA. It has bed lights, 4 or more of them, and they are automatic and manual. It had a tailgate you can open or swing, which was way handy.. or rather would have been if the bed was usable. Its also pretty comfortable to take a nap in, and the stock stereo wasnt too bad.

Anyway its pretty cool, but i hate it. yes. that is what i mean. its also ugly as sin.

Now on to this, the new frontier has some pretty sweet options, many of which arent offered on the tacoma. And the price is better. The look isnt bad, parts of the interior are ok and others are like wtf were they thinking. Those leather seats look NICE. I optioned one out, same as my tacoma PLUS the stuff not offered on my tacoma. Its still cheaper.

check it out, bed TENT as an option
WD hitch, as an option
the nissan heavy duty tiedowns we have a decent imitation of in the taco
Sliding toolbox, this one i really like actually.

Why dont we get some of these options?

I like the outside of the new frontier, and the post hardbody frontier. i dont like the in between models.

the interior has its ups and downs, i think it has some better options then the taco's but some of the colors or materials give it an older feel.

Im going to go to the dealer and test drive one. im just curious, i have no intentions of getting rid of my tacoma. i love it but i like to see other options. if and when i do ill throw up any other impressions i get.

 

Right now I'm torn between a new pro4x frontier or a new taco with the trd off road pkg. help lol

 

I will agree with you on this. I am both a toyo and nissan owner and will vouch for the vq engines. I owned a 08 pathfinder and that engine was superb when It was for towing. I did have some knocking issues but that turned out to be some faulty part nissan eventually fixed. The car was solid and its 4x4 got me through most conditions i threw at it during the time ive owned it. The vq is something i wish the tacoma had or an toyo equivalent in power. Although i love my tacoma very much i still have my issues with dealing in vibes i encountered in the front needle bearing.

Interior wise, hands down to toyo. The nissan plastics in their suv and truck models scuff pretty easily and are hard plastics. Now saying that I can say this is a little different and similar for japan manufactured nissans such as the nissan 350z i currently own. The interior door handle grips (and some other interior pieces) drive me nuts on the my 07z. They are a nice quality plastic (which most of its interiors pieces are) but they plasti dip them so they peel pretty easily. Like the vq, the 2nd gen vqHR motor in the z is a gem and has showed its refinement over the predecessor in very improved oil consumption in hard driving in extended periods and improving its power band. But i cannot really compare the z's vq against the entire vq family since its a niche sports car.

But for more adequate comparison, a pathfinder is a comparable car to the 4 runner and hands down toyo has better quality in interior as well as holding up for for a long time. The 11' runner that we have has virtually no rattles. The new 4.0 engine is amazing in the runners, so its a shame it did not make it into the new tacomas. Although it does require 7 quarts of oil to do oil changes -_- If toyo built the tacoma in near conditions and quality control as the 4runners or any of the japanese imported toyo cars....i would not be hesitant in choosing a toyo truck.

Don't get me wrong, i love nissan and its vq motors, but toyo in terms of overall package was my reason to go tacoma.