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Pickups Toyota Tacoma Toyota Tacoma vs Nissan Frontier
1428 messages, Last post on Jul 02, 2008 at 6:58 PM
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Test drove the new Frontier yesterday. Had some "bells and whistles" that I wish were available in the Tacoma(sunroof, leather seats, light in the bed(what's up with no light in the Tacoma bed, even my old '93 Ranger had that, thought that was a "no-brainer"). IMHO, however, the Tacoma is a much better looking vehicle, and there is no comparison in the ride. I then made the mistake of test riding the Titan - NICE!!! Lots of room, lots of "WOW". The large center console folds back into a small seat! After the "Wow" factor wore off, I realized that the Tacoma is still the truck for us. Will be buying/ordering our new Tacoma next week! |
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| I have looked at the DC 05 Tacoma...liked the composite bed...and the storage behind the back seat, which the previous Frontiers did not have. I have not seen the 05 Frontier yet, as the nissan dealer here does not have one yet. I did have one major problem with my 01 Frontier, the AC leaked after only 51,000 miles, which is pretty unusual for any vehicle, American or import. For quality, toyota tops nissan, hands down. For those who have seen the 05 frontier, did nissan finally have a usable storage area behind the back seat? | |
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| Someone previously started an interesting discussion group of 05 Taco vs 05 Frontier, not much interest so I thought I would go to the Taco board. I have test driven all the foreign players in full size and mid-size truck market, my impression is the Frontier is by a much better truck if your goal is a livable daily driver and you don't need a full size truck for towing or transport. Maybe the Taco is better if your goal is to climb Mt. Everest with your truck, but how many people really do this? The engine engine is unbelievable in the Frontier. The Taco feels and sounds like a truck, I expect more for my money and from Toyota. Also, the lack of options is ridiculous, no excuse. I hope some people are either offended or have strong opinions because we are the people who shape this segment. I will post this in the Frontier vs Taco discussion board and encourage people to voice their opinouns From my point of view, if your desire is 80-90% daily driving and weekend adventures, the Frontier is the winner. If your goal is to beat climb Everest with your truck, the Truck of the year is for you. | |
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| what about opinions on the 4cyl models? | |
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Replying to: seminole_kev (Dec 27, 2004 2:11 pm) I have to say I was impressed with the Nissan. Overall construction looked/felt pretty solid. Engine was torquey and felt every bit as fast/smooth as the Tacoma engine. The overall ride quality was decent (although a bit bumpier than the Tacoma). The tacoma may be a little more composed, but these are trucks and both are more than bareable. The Frontier definitely does seem to have a stiff chassis as nothing shuddered when running ruff terrain. I'm up in the air over the Composite bed vs. the spray in bed liner...so no leaning either way on the beds. Interior wise is where the Nissan definitely has some issues. The overall materials (top dash, window sill, and especially buttons) were not as high quality to the touch as Toyotas was. I did like the stearing wheel and the layout of all the controls....just not feel of some of the plastics. The radio controls felt particulary plasticy...just really cheap plastic. The seats in the NISMO package are very similar to the ones in the TRD package...so I'm cool either way. One thing I did notice was that the seats in the Tacoma allowed for much more driver leg room (something important to me since I'm 6'5"). I also did not like the back of the Frontier's access cab as much as I did the Tacoma's. Some might like that the seats in the back fold up to give you the flat floor, but I personally do not and felt the folded up seats took up way too much space. The overall look of the Frontier is nice. My girlfriend actually likes it more than the look of the Tacoma. I still like the Tacoma more (it looks more athletic to me), but the Frontier is warming up to me. I'm not a huge fan of the silver center stack of the Taco, but I love the interior materials and overall feel of the Taco. The Frontier is kind of bland in side...but it gets the job done. The really nice thing is the price though. The Tacoma I want has a sticker at 27,251 and is basically Access cab, TRD OR, V6, 4x4, 6spd manual. The same NISMO Frontier comes out at 24,910. Buying the frontier just based on sticker prices will save about $2300. That is not bad. On top of that, Nissan is much more willing to deal around my area..so the savings could be even more substantial. Not to mention that I could have some nice extras like the upgraded sound system (not available in Taco access cabs) and side/curtain airbags and still be over 1K less than the Taco. This has definitely made me think more and more about my purchase. Probably my biggest positive I have is for overall Toyota quality. I realize some people have been having some small problems here and there...but it doesn't seem anything like what people have been having on Titans, Chevy Colorados, etc. So, at the moment I'm still planning on buying that Taco ... but who knows if I'll change my mind... |
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The last three trucks I've had have been Tacomas. I had a 95, 01 and now I have an 03 4x4 TRD. I have never had any problems with any of them. On the other hand my buddy is a Nissan fan and has had 3 Nissan trucks. 96 Hardbody a 00 Frontier and now a 03 Frontier Double Cab. He has had nothing but problems with all three of them!! Clutch going out after 45,000 miles of mostly highway driving, AC going out, power windows wont roll down to name a few of the many problems. The 03 he has is giving him more problems than the other two so I don't trust Nissan's engineering at all! My buddy said he is going to switch to Toyota when he decides to get a new truck! He is tired of all the problems with Nissan. pricklypete, As for price you get what you pay for but I have been quoted $25,100 by a local dealer for a truck just like what you are looking for. 05 access cab 4x4 V6 TRD offroad #2 6-speed manual. That was a couple months ago so I'm sure the deals are better now that the Frontier has come out. 27,200 is just the sticker price you can do a lot better than that if you deal with the dealers internet sales manager! Also Toyota just lowered the invoice prices on the new Tacomas by about $800 on the access cab so the dealers should be more willing to deal with the buyers now. I guess Toyota did that to be more competitive with the Nissan pricing now that the Frontiers have hit the lots. I am going to wait another 2 months to see if the prices will drop more once people really start comparing the two trucks before making a desicion to buy. Then I will go buy my truck. |
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Replying to: tacofan4life (Jan 05, 2005 8:47 am)
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I just bought an '05 Tacoma 4x2 DBL cab SB with the TRD sport package #2. I narrowed my choices down to these two trucks and I think it's safe to say they are both great trucks and vast improvements AND both will likely have a few problems because they are new designs-but still much less than the competition. I chose the Tacoma because of the resale history, reliability forecast, exterior looks (just not sure about the Frontier yet-just my opinion) and the interior feel and quality of the Tacoma. Also, since I live and work in Atlanta, a wide turning radius is a bigger deal to me than it may be to others-another reason I went with the Tacoma. I agree that the Frontier does have an edge based on price and the options (oh, you can get a Tacoma with leather-at least here in Atlanta-for an extra $1300 list-I've seen them in person). Both have great engines and improved handling and rides. Something I thought of for discussion and please do correct me if I'm way off here:data is directly from each company's web site.... the Tacoma has 245hp and a listed curb weight of 3800-4100 pounds for the double cab V6 (this is 15.5 to 16.7 lbs/hp). The Frontier Double Cab V6 has 265hp and a listed curb weight of 4200-4500 lbs. (this is 15.8 to 17 lbs/hp)- slight advantage for the Tacoma. When you examine the torque per lb - 282lb/ft for the Tacoma and 284lb/ft for the Frontier and then factor in the greater weights of the comparable Frontier over the Tacoma, the Tacoma has more torque per lb than the Frontier. So,the Tacoma actually seems to have more power per pound in horsepower and torque despite the Frontier's engine actually being stronger. I realize these weights are only for the double cab and don't factor in options which may greatly change the weights here, but it is something to think about. |
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I just purchased a 2005 LE Crew Cab with leather and Rockford Fostgate packages. I initially test drove and had my heart set on a Taco but chose the Frontier because... 1) I like the exterior styling of the LE better than the Taco Sport with the cosmetic hood scoop. 2) Leather/Power Seats, Sunroof, Compass, Homelink not available on Tacos here in Chicago. 3) Spray in bed liner. Step rails. 4) Availability issues for both but found a Frontier close to what I wanted. Couldn't find a Taco close to what I wanted. 5) Local Toyota dealer not in a bargaining mood. New model, Truck of the Year....Blah.Blah..Blah. 6) Nissans reputation for building excellent engines and improving quality over the past few years. 7) Disc brakes front AND rear. That said, I'd be darned happy with a Tacoma if I could have found what I was looking for. I dont think you can go wrong with either. |
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Replying to: hkings (Dec 27, 2004 10:10 pm) |
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