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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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Replying to: jasong2 (Jan 10, 2005 8:44 am) Thanks
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Replying to: badness (Jan 10, 2005 2:13 pm) My father has an '01 Frontier CC SB in which he carries his Honda 4-wheeler quite frequently. He has a large tool box in the front of the bed though, so he has rigged a double-ramp system on which the machine is driven up into the bed and then the front wheels are driven up onto the tool box. He can actually close the gate on his, but if it was flat in the bed, he could not. It rides like the machine is not even there which is great for hunting and taking it off road with the 4-wheeler on board. |
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was between the taco DC long bed 4x4 and frontier CC 4x4. I looked at Dakota and Colorado, but neither really compared to the quality of ride/comfort afforded by the taco & the frontier. Power/towing: Both will easily tow my 4000 lb boat+trailer easily, so no clear winner. Edge slightly to the Taco for the longer wheelbase. Exterior styling: I think the roof rails of the frontier are dumb looking, so I gave the edge to the Taco here. Interior styling: I thought both were nice. Neither really stood out as better than the other, they are just different. Wash. Comfort: The rear seats of the taco were much more comfortable than they are on the frontier, but since the passengers back there will be in car-seats, not the supplied seats, this is a wash. I like the fold-up on the frontier a little better. The ride itself seemed similar. Very slight edge to Frontier. Bed: The taco composite bed worries me a little bit since conditions in the upper midwest can be extreme, but I tend to think that was accounted for by the engineers. The length of the LB DC is nice, and I like the usability of the 6ft bed over the 5' bed of the frontier. Edge: Tacoma Options: The wife wants VDC and supplemental side airbags. Go ahead and try to find either of these with those options. This essentially meant either truck would be an order. Frontier gets the nod on available options though with factory moonroof and leather/heated seats. Dealers: The Nissan dealer in town is willing to give us a fair value on our trade without me having to negotiate it up to the fair value, and price the frontier at 500 over invoice. The Toyota dealer would come down 500 from MSRP and wouldn't commit to a trade value since its an order, and wanted $1000 non-refundable deposit. IE, Toyota dealer wanted me to be in a position where I either take their lowball trade offer or I lose the 1000 deposit. Guess which truck I'm going to order tomorrow? Yep: Frontier LE CC 4x4 with leather, side airbags, moonroof, traction package and radio upgrade. All this for less than $30k. Not bad. Now, how long will I have to wait.... |
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Replying to: djwtarheel (Jan 06, 2005 5:00 pm)  . Thanks tsikes
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Hi guys, I had a great opportunity to compare the nuts and bolts of both of these trucks at our local auto show. It was great; Toyota and Nissan were all of a 30 second walk away from each other! Well, this is what I observed on the trucks. Since I have a family of four, the rear seats in the crew/double cab are very important to the family and me. My kids are only 3 and 6 years old, but they will only keep on getting bigger! Anyway, I liked the seat height on the Tacoma much better. There is enough height from the floor to the seat cushion that my thighs would rest on the seat. However, in the Frontier, the seat height was too low. My thighs could not rest on the seat cushion unless I crossed my legs. I felt like my knees where in my chest while sitting in the Frontier. I also liked the interior of the Tacoma much better. The Frontier reminds of the interior of a 1985 Chevy S-10. As far as the horsepower thing goes, both have plenty of power. Not that I have driven either one. I just figured my 2000 F-150 4X4 Ext Cab SB has 260HP and 350 lb-ft and weights 4800 lbs, so 245HP and 265HP in trucks that weight 4100 lbs should be more than enough power. Especially considering both have 5-speed automatics, which is better than the 4-speed automatic in my Ford. You may be wondering why I’m looking at a mid-size truck with a growing family. It’s true that I own a full-size truck, but the Ext cab just doesn’t have enough room for adults to sit comfortably. In addition, because of these stupid horsepower wars going on between manufactures, none of V-8 engines around the 5-liter range get anything better than about 12-14 mpg. I just can’t afford to feed a gas hog like that. BTW, my F-150 has a 3.55 rear end and is a 2 valve per cylinder design and gets 16 mpg in the city and 21 mpg on the highway. My revs at 70mph are only 1800 rpm. Why in the world would anyone need more than 250HP in a full-size truck, no along in a mid-size truck? I’ve never run out of power in my Ford. When I needed more power pulling stumps and bushes out, I used Low Range. Because of the above reasons, I am pretty much forced into buying a mid-sized truck with a crew/double cab. Sorry if I’m ranting a bit. I’m looking to either buy a Tacoma or Frontier within the next six months. I am leaning toward the Tacoma because we bought a Sienna and the dealer says he can match the Nissan’s lower pricing because we would be repeat buyers. I don’t know if that is a line of B.S., but is worth looking into. That’s my $0.02 worth. |
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Replying to: tsikes (Jan 12, 2005 7:31 am) I have taken one long trip to Savannah (about 260 miles) and it rode great...I think you feel a few more bumps with the sport TRD package than you would say with a standard SR5 package, but the handling is great for a truck like this which was important to me just coming out of a sporty sedan. I've switched back and forth with gas octanes and have gotten a bit over 18mpg in the city and 19-20mpg on the hwy (cruising around 75mph). Not quite as good as the 22mpg on the sticker, but ok. I'm hoping that the engine will get "worn in" and the mileage will go up? I don't believe there was much difference in gas mileage between the different octanes. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the truck and have gotten several complements from coworkers...including one who wants to trade in his '04 tacoma for the new one since he rode in mine. Dislikes, I have a few - I have the weird suspension noise that some have been complaining about-dealer has gone over it and has ordered new parts (apparently this is a relatively common problem across the country and they now claim to know how to fix it-we'll see). Also, with the sport package comes the hood scoop, which I like the looks of very much....however, I have a silver mica exterior and when the sun hits the scoop just right, it shines right in my face-very annoying. Luckily, it's not often, just in that one spot. Anyhow, good luck with your new Tacoma, which in my opinion, is still the best option in the mid-size truck market today. PS Just FYI my other household car is a 2001 Nissan Maxima SE which I would choose any day of the week over a camry...just so you know I'm not strictly a Toyota person.
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Replying to: djwtarheel (Jan 13, 2005 4:55 pm) |
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...I have a '98 Nissan Frontier 2-wheel drive 4-cylinder, 5-speed manual regular cab truck that's a lot more basic than what you all seem to be buying nowadays! It has only 46,000 miles, because I use it primarily for commuting and light hauling around town. However, we also take it to the beach in the spring and fall, so my wife and I can ride our bicycles there. I'd much rather carry the bikes in the truck bed than hanging off the back of our Camry sedan! It has been VERY reliable - the sole problem was a faulty (leaking) coolant hose clamp that the dealer failed to fix on 2 tries, but my favorite independent shop fixed properly. NO other problems. (I would have done the clamp myself, but it was in a very hard-to-access location.) There was a "service campaign" (recall) for a faulty A/C line bracket early on, which the dealer took care of, but I've never had any actual A/C problems. Since I have both a Toyota and a Nissan, I have no particular bias toward one or the other, so I think you can't go wrong with either the new Frontier or Tacoma.
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Replying to: 210delray (Jan 15, 2005 6:09 pm)
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Replying to: centralcal (Jan 15, 2005 6:55 pm) I know he has had these problems because I was the one out there until 2:00am helping to fix the clutch problem and replace the power window motor. I was also the one that picked him up at the dealer when he dropped his truck off to get the AC fixed since that happened when the truck was still under warantee. I have noticed that the Nissan cars don't have any problems like that so maybe Nissan will start putting that quality into their trucks!
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