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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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Here in Austin the Toyota and Nissan dealerships are next to each other. Just got home from driving both. Each was access cab, 4cyl, auto, base units. The Tacoma had a smoother engine, smoother ride, but bad driving position. The Frontier had a nicer driving position and tighter handling, but the engine seemed stressed, the ride was firmer. I also experiences blind spots in the Nissan. I think if the Tacoma's steering wheel was positioned out towards the driver, it would win hands down. So now, I'm still confused!
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Replying to: chris512 (Jun 30, 2007 10:39 am)
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Replying to: asa (Jul 01, 2007 4:32 am) However, after the first 3 test drives in 4 x 4s, we thought for sure we'd have to go with a 4 x 2 after all, because the 4 x 4's felt sluggish and not nearly as nimble--in fact, the first 4 x 4 was definitely the runt of that day's assembly line litter, because the engine was noisy and anything but smooth and the traction control was doing weird things. The last 4 x 4 we test drove we bought a little below invoice at 2.9% financing and took home with us last night--its engine feels almost as powerful as the 4 x 2, it's ride almost as smooth. Considering that the 4 x 4 components add 200 lbs. of weight, that is quite an accomplishment. I have a Nissan Altima 2000 and I can say that nearly every time I have had it serviced, the mechanics have made some comment about what an unusually zippy engine it has--so not every car is created equal. After 7 years and 79,000 miles, my Altima feels just like it did driving new...it's going to be really hard to let it go, but we only need one commuter car and we are keeping the one with the very best gas mileage to offset the loss in gas mileage on the truck (my Altima gets 27 mpg, my wife's Echo gets 37-39). Point is, each one is unique. Test drive several of the same model with the same features to find the one whose ride fits you to a T. It's a lot easier to stomach the immediate depreciation of the vehicle (and in our case, the lower gas mileage that the 4 x4 gets) when you really love the ride. Before this purchase, I hadn't realized to what extent an individual vehicle's performance could vary. The same day we bought our new truck, we had test driven an identical one (exactly same features and options and miles on it...only 17) that was actually in the color we really wanted (white) but we were completely unimpressed with the drive. With how few of these 4 x 4 there are within reasonable distance from us, we felt good about getting one that drives like a dream. Now, does anyone know what aftermarket add-ons GENUINELY increase the gas mileage? We got 16.9 mpg on the freeway coming home--it started out much lower than that, but increased as we kept driving. Didn't think gas engines really had a "break-in" period in terms of gas mileage increases. Note that we will not be blazing any new off-road trails because we will not destroy pristine areas or contribute to new erosion problems. Our other car is a Toyota Echo and we are planning to get the plug-in Prius when it's available to help balance out having this truck. Happy Shopping and Happy Trails!
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Replying to: tent2tt (Jul 01, 2007 5:56 am) I drive quite conservatively 90% of the time, so consequently, get decent gas mileage. I'm not at all concerned about fuel prices, because for one, I average 9000 miles per year including a yearly long road trip. And this truck is my wife's and I only vehicle. Enjoy! |
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With the recent $2K rebate for '07 model year close outs that Nissan has been advertising, I was basically sold on the Frontier. It was a no brainer to get the Nissan when a comparably equiped Tacoma was $4,500 more with fewer options. Previously I had an '01 Taco D-Cab 4x4 SR5. It was a great truck but a bit under powered and tight in the rear seats. I didn't like the way the seat was positioned and the limited head room but otherwise I loved my Taco. It never failed me in the mtns during ski season or those few sudden winter storms that came up in the PNW. The new '07 Frontier is roomier, and with a much bigger engine. It has a great ride that is much less truck like on the highways and much more quiet than my '01 Tacoma. I would say that the interior on the Tacoma is better. I liked the white gauges on the Toyota. The interior plastic and fabric door trim was nice too. The Frontier interior with the hard plastic and the small traditional gauges is not as nice IMHO. I do like the gauge that tells you what gear you are in and the 4WD indicator though. The extra nooks and water bottle storage compartments in the front door are nice features too. The flip up rear seats with storage compartments are also clever. I like the locking rear tail gate and the standard spray in bed liner and rail system that comes with the SE package. My previous truck to the Tacoma was a 4x2 Nissan hardbody that I had for 10 years. The only thing I replaced on that truck was the battery, oil and a starter motor. After 90K miles the rear brake padsfinally wore out, and the clutch started to stick at 130k miles. Consumer Reports has some very favorable ratings on the Nissan Frontier reliability, and my own past experience with Nissan has been nothing but great. I think both trucks are great vehicles but for me it came down to price, and I just couldn't justify spending the extra dough on a Tacoma. |
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| they were the same price could I justify buying the Tacoma. | |
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Btw, don't forget that the Frontier has a TIMING CHAIN!! I can't tell you how happy that makes me. My 1998 Nissan Maxima has a timing chain, and it now has 227,000 miles, without ever having to worry about replacing a timing belt. All I have done is oil changes and basic maintenance. Does the Tacoma have that? I think not. Also, if you read the Feb. 2007 issue of Car and Driver, they have a 40,000 mile report on the Toyota Tacoma Double-Cab. The title of the article is "Growing Pains." I quote: ". . . All of us noted that the Tacoma's structure lacked adequate rigidity. By the truck's 40,000 mile mark, tranversing a large bump would cause the body to quiver and the door seals to squeak. That, combined with the floppy suspension, made the Tacoma an unpopular choice for the drive home after work. . ." End quote. Anyways, if you want to buy a Tacoma, more power to you, but I for one LOVE my Frontier.  In comparison, the Frontier has a full, ladder box frame, so you will not have those problems. A guy at the Toyota dealer told me that Toyota is working on making the welds stronger on the Tacoma for next year, because the squeaking has been a problem on Tacoma's.
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Replying to: ocrealtor (Aug 08, 2007 12:17 pm) I ended up trading the 05 Frontier for an 07 Tundra. Gave up some off-road ability (Tundra is much wider and longer), gained full size comfort and hauling ability, 5.7 V-8 is a hoot, lost 1 mpg (15 in the Tundra vs 16 in the Frontier). BTW, the Frontier engine is an incredible V6, probably one of the truck's best features just like the Tundra 5.7 is one of its best features. The Frontier automatic was smooth, but lacked the grade logic the new Tundra has.
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Replying to: danielacosta (Aug 08, 2007 9:06 pm) I share the same experience with others here in that Toyota dealerships seem to have taken on a smug attitude and will not deal as easily. The brand sells itself and this in my opinion has lead to some laziness in both inovation and on the show room floor. Also the Toys are more expensive flat out. No denying that the Toyotas hold value longer than anything out there (Tacoma holds 3 spots in the top ten in resalse value, each spot a Tacoma with different trim). The Tacoma outsells everything, including the Frontier by about 4 to 1. (I think that actually has cost quality and inovation). And after all my test drives and research, resale is the only thing Toyota has left standing in regards to Tacoma vs. Frontier. Without getting into any styling debates, which I will leave up to your tastes, Nissan now makes a better truck. They are still the best two choices. Nissan always made good working trucks that came just short of Toyota quality and performance. No more. Nissan engines are better, the ride is better, the build quality is better, even the interior quality has finally surpassed the Tacoma. I would not be saying this if I had not beat myself to a pulp trying to find the truth. If it were 2004, it might have been a deadlock. But after 2005, Nissan had caught and moved ahead of its rival. Then there is price and deal-ability (if you will). Now its really a no brainer. I am convinced the Nissan Frontier with a V6 is the finest mid sized truck on the planet. Tacoma is still a fine truck and would take over any of the others, but if you buy a newer Frontier you are getting the highest quality of truck now made. A couple final words related to the topic to consider. Frame, tailgate, worldclass V6, towing, timing CHAIN.
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Replying to: alienstarguest (Aug 13, 2007 1:24 pm) 1. The gas mileage not towing anything on the freeway, but with the truck loaded full of stuff, was about 16.8 mpg. The best we have gotten so far on the freeway is 17.4 mpg. Towing was weird... first, we were very happy because it was 16, then 15.8 mpg. But then it went down to 14 and finally hit a low of 12.3 mpg. The weird part was that we were doing some long slopes while it was getting the better mileage and then we were on mostly flat stretches when it was getting the worst mileage. That was totally confusing. We were able to pull the trailer without straining the engine--the RPMS stayed at around 3,000 or under, except when we passed another vehicle on an incline, then they went to between 3 and 4,000 for a short period. Anybody have any comments about this gas mileage? It seemed dismal to us, but we realize that we may be unrealistic about towing mpg, but it would have been easier to understand if the mpg was 12 when going up the slopes and then got better on the flat stretches, rather than going from good to worse. Note that we have the heaviest combination one can buy in the Frontier--the NISMO, the 4 x 4 , roof rack, traction package and Crew Cab. Still, I would love to hear from anyone who has been able to increase their mpg with any aftermarket products. We are planning on buying a rigid two or three panel locking tonneau cover--have heard mixed reviews on whether or not that helps the mpg. We are getting it because we want to be able to store and lock things in the truck bed. But we saw an advertisement for an entire exhaust and intake system that claims to increase gas mileage by up to 15%. Not sure if the cost of such a system would ever be offset by the improvement in the gas mileage though. 2. Several times we had trouble shifting from P into D or D into R when stopped on a flat or very slight incline. We had the brake pedal depressed, but the shifter was stiff like it was stuck and when it finally did shift it made a loud clunking sound which sounded terrible and scared us! Anybody have a clue what that could be? I am taking it in to the dealer tomorrow to check on this and get its first oil change. 3. We stopped to gas up, and found when we turned the truck back on, the stereo speakers had stopped working. The CD player and radio display showed that it was playing and tuned, but the volume control did nothing--there was total silence. We tried changing stations, going from CD to radio to aux then back--nothing worked, so we turned off the stereo. The next time we turned the truck engine off and on again, we tried turning the radio on and the speakers worked just fine... haven't acted up since. What the? We still love this truck and know that we would still not want to be driving a Toyota Tacoma because the ride was so bouncy and the engine seemed much less smooth-shifting.
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