Yet another car compare thread

[5.9 R/T]

With a twist :D it's actually about trucks. Anyways, Nissan Frontier (non-S/C) vs. Toyota Tacoma. In V6, 4 door, auto trans trims these two trucks are almost the same. The nod for power goes to the Tacoma, but looks goes to the Frontier. Both have similar payload and towing capacities and both are similar in price. Opinions or experiences with either? I'll be checking them out sometime this week, but thought I would get a heads up on things to look for, or to avoid between these two.

[Redlyne_mr2]

The frontier is basically the same as the tacoma but built cheaply. If possible go for the trd package, better tires and a killer bilstein suspension setup are a noticeable improvement on the truck. You'll also notice the tacoma to be quicker than the frontier. Are you buying or leasing? The tacoma will definitely hold its value alot more than the frontier, theres just something about those Toyota trucks that everyone wants. Ive found the interior to be a hell of alot more driver oriented as well compared ot the cheap trim and plastics that Nissan use. Dont get me wrong I lvoe Nissan vehicles but they still arent even close to being what Toyota is.

[T5_X]

The Frontier has not proven to be as reliable as the taco in consumer reports, but is still slightly more reliable than the ranger and way ahead of the compact GMs

The taco has much more aftermarket available, and you will find that the ride is much more refined and build quality is higher.

The main thing I would be worried about with the frontier is its safety ratings. It only performed adequately on the drivers frontal collision test and poor in the IIHS offset crash.

Overall the taco is a much better choice, they are without a doubt the best of the compact pickups, but they are expensive.... new and used. Test drive a ranger too, IMO they are a pretty close second to the taco.

[ramminghard]

tacoma for sure. Reliable and lots of aftermarket support. Spend the extra and get the TRD package though. Well worth the extra.

[benyl]

You can a get a factory supercharger for the taco with a warranty from Toyota. I think that would bump power even more.

[5.9 R/T]

Not a single pro Nissan? Interesting. If I was interested in making mad amounts of power I wouldn't be looking at these two, the primary concern is mpg and reliability, but it has to have enough oomph to tow a 3800lb boat. The Ranger is a nice truck, but it's 4L V6 sucks a little bit more gas compared to these two. It's a trade off between economy and power, economy is winning.

[T5_X]

Actually, the SOHC 4.0L is just about on par with the toyota and nissan V6s in terms of mileage, yet it easily outpowers both.

MPG with autos:

Ranger 2WD: 16/21 4WD: 15/18
Tacoma: 2WD: 17/20 4WD: 16/19
Frontier: 2WD: 17/20 4WD: 16/20

Remember the Ranger has the new 5 speed auto, which is a fantastic tranny.

[DonJuan]

Ok i'm a HUGE Nissan fan... but i have to say that even if I had to chose between a TRD Tacoma and a S/C Frontier, the Tacoma is what i would get, cuz resale is so god damn high! And I also cuz i'm not that big a fan of the Frontier styling. Both are great trucks, and will do basically anything you would need it to do, the Tacoma is just better at it for the simmilar price.

[5.9 R/T]

OK so I drove both today and here's what I thought. The Tacoma has the better quality interior, motor, and transmission. Everything was smooth, quiet, and logically placed. The frontier gets points for such options as a Rockford sound system, more standard equipment, and IMO a better look. The Tacoma falls short in the options area, looks, price, and it has a very short bed. The frontier had a very sloppy transfer case, the auto wasn't nearly as smooth as the Tacoma’s, and both the regular and S/C V6 felt rather slow compared with the taco. Fully optioned out the frontier came to about 38 with the V6 S/C and leather. The Tacoma was over 40 grand with the TRD package. But the difference comes in when you look at the lower end of either model and the choices they offer. The base 4 door, V6, 4wd taco is a mind staggering 39 000 dollars! Whereas I can get the frontier with 4 doors, V6 (non-S/C), 4wd and options like the upgraded sound system, fog lights, keyless entry, locking tailgate, and roof rack for 33 000. I'm not sure if I can justify spending an extra 6 grand for famous Toyota reliability. The taco was an excellent truck, rode a little stiffer then the non-S/C frontier, but IMO the frontier offers better value for the dollar even with the transfer case and transmission shortfalls. Now I have to decide if I can live with those shortfalls or if the extra money spent on the taco is worth it.

On a side note after testing the S/C frontier and being rather unimpressed with the power that it offered the salesman wanted to see what I was comparing it to. Needless to say the salesman quickly realized why I had my foot to the floor the entire test drive and apologized for not having anything similar on the lot. LOL.

[T5_X]

The supercharged V6 nissan gets terrible gas mileage.... I think its like 15/17

Crash tests:
http://www.highwaysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/98005.htm
http://www.highwaysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/98007.htm
http://www.highwaysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/ce/html/98003.htm

I still stand strongly behind my advice, in this class for a daily driver its ranger, tacoma or nothing. If you want 4 doors, the explorer sport trac is essentially a 4 door ranger.

[5.9 R/T]

15/18 same 'terrible' gas mileage as the ford, but I'm not looking at the S/C so that doesn't matter. As for resale values the numbers speak for themselves:

2002:
Toyota: 11 450-22 300 USD
Nissan: 11 600-17 900 USD
Ford: 8 200-11 600 USD

So in one year the ford that I just spent 25 000 USD on isn't even worth half? No thanks. Also I need 4 doors, the ranger doesn't offer that, and the sport trac is too big and expensive. Ford is not in the equation. However, those crash tests are interesting, and I will definitely take that into consideration before I make a decision.

[benyl]

Why not get a Dakota Quad cab. I am sure that you can get a way better deal than for either of the two you are looking at. Lease the behatch and send it back when you are done with it. Over 3 years, the depreciation will be about the same (actual not relative). Get the V8... mmmm V8

[5.9 R/T]

Gas mileage sucks on the dakota engines, especially the V8's.