Might trade 15 Frontier for 15 Taco

I bought a 2015 Nissan Frontier crew cab short bed 3 months ago. I like a lot of things about it but I can't stand its seats. I've had a seat guy modify them but they are not great. Also I really wonder if a long bed would make more sense. I want to be able to put my dirt bikes or street bike (V-Strom) in the bed at times. My local Toyota dealer has a new 2015 4 door long bed for a decent price. I've sat in it for 20 minutes and the seats feel great, but that is when not moving. I don't know what they would be like when driving for long periods. My commute is an hour each way daily. I would want to have a sunroof added to it. I don't know if the ribs in the roof or the headliner would make that an issue. Lastly the color is white which I'm not thrilled with but I could live with. Quoted price is $31,135. How does that sound?

When I got the Frontier it took some getting used to the length of the vehicle. I'm not sure if the extra foot on the long bed would be an issue. The Frontier does not have a backup camera but the Taco does. I think that will get used a lot!

What are the weak spots of this generation of Tacoma? Is there anything really much better about the 2016?

 

I had a '14 rental Frontier for a week while I was looking for my Tacoma. It was a crew, short bed 4x4 SV I believe.

The seating position was better than the Tacoma, but the seats themselves were brutal for any drive of more than a half hour.

By contrast, the Tacoma seats are lower to the floor but MUCH more comfortable (in the TRD, anyway. The lower trims have different seats) I drove from Massachusetts to North Carolina and back, with as much as 5-6 hours between stops with no problem as far as comfort goes.

As far as length, the Frontier was a short bed and my Tacoma is a long bed. I think the long bed Tacoma maneuvers better than the short bed Frontier. That Frontier turned like a bus.

 

You can get the 2016s with a sunroof I'm pretty sure. It should be covered under the factory warranty if it leaks too

 

The factory sunroof models would cost a lot more due to only being offered on top end models.

 

You could figure out the cost of the 2015 with a sunroof added and talk to the dealer and see what the difference is in price, you said you didn't like white. If your paying 31k for a truck plus adding a sunroff might as get what you really want. It's only a little bit more. Unless you just want a 2nd gen.
The third gen have smaller motor with more horsepower, 6 speed auto, better mpgs, I think they look good, different interior (both look good) factory bed cover, cool tailgate, available sunroof available, leather seats.Oh yeah a factory go pro camera mount.

 

Also, I felt the Tacoma had more usable power than the Frontier. If you look at dyno graphs of each 4.0L engine, the Tacoma actually makes more torque to the wheels at a lower RPM than the Frontier does.

Frontier 4.0 makes 210 HP/208 TQ to the wheels. Tacoma 4.0 198 HP/222 TQ to the wheels.

Nissan has a tendency to use very tall gears in their rear ends and tries to make up for it with a short 1st/2nd gear in the transmission. That's fine off the line, but it makes it a pig on a hilly highway. The Frontier had to downshift constantly on hills at 55. My Tacoma holds 5th gear. Frontier is also heavier.

Only other thing that drove me mad about the Frontier is that the cluster is completely dark when the headlights are off.

 

How is the cluster on the Taco lit?

 

The Tacoma has more aftermarket stuff too.

 

It's backlit all the time. The backlight is just dimmer when the headlights are on. I don't understand why Nissan's is dark except for when the headlights are on.

 

How does the plastic bed hold up? Does it scratch easily?

 

Only downside is things slide on it, so a bedmat is a good idea.

I've thrown 50+ lb rocks into the back of mine and it still looks great.

 

I went from a 07 Frontier NISMO 4.0 Access cab to my new 2013 Tacoma TRD Sport DCLB- you wont be disappointed at all! I actually was gonna buy a 07 Tacoma prior to my frontier but for the price I got a better deal on the Nissan. Yet I always wanted the Taco. The Frontier was a good truck and the 4.0 IMO has way more of a punch when you step on it than the 4.0 Tacoma. However- the Tacoma speaks for itself. Best truck hands down, IMO looks 100 times better than the Nissan, handles performs etc! As for the bikes- get the long bed! IMO If you ride motorcycles- the long bed is a must have! From R1 to RMZ 450 all fit great in the Taco!!! I traded in my Nisan and it had a bed extender- I made my dealer through in the bed extender($300.00 +) and tailgate lock! My reasoning was- my Nissan had it so should the Tacoma at no cost to me! Make the dealer include this on sale! if they dont budge on bed extender - make sure you get the tail gate lock! Your Nissan has this stk and so should the Tacoma! Toyota finally got smart and included the tailgate lock on the 16's!

When I was taking delivery of my Tacoma @ Claremont Toyota (So Cal)- they had 15 tailgates stolen the night before . So my salesman really had nothing to go on about throwing in and installing my tailgate lock!

Again- Tacoma all the way man! you will love it going from a Frontier to Tacoma- huge difference!!!

 

My grandpa just got a '13 frontier and it's so much worse than my '01. That says a lot. The frontier has seats that would cause back pain if you were in them longer than 20 minutes. He has the 4cyl but man that thing is slower than their 4cyl Kia Soul on Eco mode. I also agree with an above comment that it turns like a bus. The turning radius on the frontier is terrible. Whatever you do OP, just drop Nissan. Worse cars ever. You don't even want to know what happened to my moms brand new '14 Nissan Altima after a month.

 

Thanks for the encouragement. Now it just depends how I like the test drive and how much they offer for my trade.

 

Work it man! Get the Taco. good luck

 

If you're really adamant on having a sunroof go with a 2016. Installing an aftermarket roof on a 2015 on top of the 31k would add up to about the cost of a 2016 with a sunroof. Plus it will be under warranty.

 

The aftermarket sunroof will cost $1100. A 2016 with sunroof would cost $38220. Are there any deals to be had on 2016s?

 

I looked at the 15 Tacoma last night. My first thought was I really don't care for the white color on this truck. When driving it it seemed wider than my Frontier and a bit slower. The seats were better padded but still seemed a bit on the narrow side and after 20 minutes I could start to feel the seam lines where the bolster meets the seat on the bottom cushion. So while I liked the truck I didn't love it. I'd be adding $10,000 to my trucks cost and not even getting a sunroof or a color I like. I will likely pass on this one.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

I think I'm going to look at a 16 sr5 longbed now. I wish it had a sunroof option.

How do the 16 seats compare to the 15s?