Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Nissan Frontier opinions

Starting to look for a new truck and had pretty much decided on a 2wd Tacoma but the Nissan has caught my interest mostly because it considerably cheaper. I don't need an off-roader and I pull a small trailer with an ATV a few times a year...something for a 50 mile round-trip commute that I can put dead animals, potting soil, etc. in occasionally.

I owned a "king cab" 4wd back in the 80's that was a good truck but I don't know anyone now that owns,, or has owned, a Frontier.

Thanks,
Mike

Run the numbers & local availabilty between the two.....new & used....

I'm a Tacoma guy.....know nuthin of the Nissan trucks other than less $$ than Tacoma

Search these SLC ads to compare prices here and your location....

I'd buy lightly used....avoid any depreciation hits

My most recent vehicle purchase was through CarMax...just an idea....worked well for me

https://cars.ksl.com/search/body/Truck

https://www.carmax.com/car/18748533

Fwiw, good friend has one, uses it as daily driver and light farm tasks. Lives 3/4mi down unimproved private road that is certifiably third-world. Guy does more four-wheeling to run for cigarettes than most pickups these days ever see. Anyway, have driven his Frontier there, and some interstate trips, and REALLY like the truck. Used to kinda look down my nose at them as “likely junk” but, no. Nice truck for that kind of use. Think it’s 6-7yrs old now, and trouble free. In contrast, the chevy canyon he had before that was litterally falling apart after two years. Anyway, contemplating getting a Frontier for myself, actually. For a knock around light truck, and at the pricepoint, imo a really good option.

Good 2nd place to a Toyota taco

just get a Taco truck........

They are good. A [bleep] load better than a Colorado or GM compact truck.

I owned a Nissan Frontier for 7 years and was happy with it. It was a four wheel drive with 4 doors and a kind of short bed. I used it for a daily driver/hunting and fishing vehicle and it did great. I pulled a 20' center console boat with it and had no problems. It had plenty of HP. I took it on a couple of long trips to Texas and Colorado and it did fine on the highway.

I got rid of a Chevrolet 2500 Z71 when I got the Frontier. It took a little time to get used to being able to park in any parking space and only gassing up once a week rather than every couple of days. The only thing that concerned me was sheet metal is thinner and it will develop small dents quicker than a heavier truck. It took a good dent in the side from a taller truck the day I got it, but it popped right back out too.

Other than getting it serviced and changing the wipers it was great at staying away from the shop. It just had no real issues at all. One thing that really surprised me was the resale value. I didn't expect much since it was a low end truck to start with and I had used the crap out of it for 7 years. I traded it in on a new Toyota FJ and was blown away by what I got for it. The dealer had to have had someone looking for the Frontier when they took it in.

I'd buy one tomorrow and never look back...

Long term driving test in Car and Driver I think. Different staffers drove it. Universal dislike for the vehicle.

I bought a new Frontier SV in 2011 it now has 81k on it no complaints so far..

Back in the seventies there were more Datsun/Nissan trucks around than Toyotas. Also lots of Mitsubishis, Mazda, and Isuzus, even though the latter three were more likely sold with a Dodge, Ford, or Chevy name plate.

All five Jap brands proved to be durable and dependable. And even though I have been driving Toyotas since 1979, they honestly offer nothing of any advantage over the competing Japanese brands except increased cost.

My son recently purchased a used Frontier king cab I4 4X4 for his sixteen year old daughter to drive to school. It is a really nice little pickup and yes like the post above, it gets driven through a mile of unimproved dirt, dust, mud, or snow each way between the house and the paved county road.

The Frontier is the only thing made by Nissan that I'd buy. A couple of neighbors have them and they seem to be solid trucks. I still like the Tacoma better, but it does cost more. I'd bet the only real difference is how a Nissan dealer will treat you vs how a Toyota dealer will treat you down the road if you have trouble. While the trucks I think are fine all of them eventually need some work. Toyota was still replacing parts on their dime up to 200,000 miles on my Tacoma. In the 13 years I've owned it the only parts I've paid to have replaced were the alternator and a HVAC motor. They paid for new springs and reimbursed me for the one U-Joint I replaced at 170,000 miles. Warranted the others up to 200,000.

I"m on my fifth Nissan pickup, I've had great service out of them, considering how I treated them, they were GREAT. The only hangup I have about it is the mileage, which isn't very good, about like a full-sized pickup. The turning radius is pretty bad, about like a school bus sometimes, but it's nice on a long road trip.
I strongly like the seating position better than the Tacomas, which have lower seats, and feels more like driving a car.. The Frontier's seating position is more comfortable for me, I have a bad back and I can ride in the Frontier for eight hours and still survive. Like I said, I've had five of them, and will certainly look at the next generation when it comes time to buy again, in about 10 years................




The bunch at Car and Driver are idiots, they picked the Honda Ridgeline as the best small pickup. Utter buffoons. Really? the Honda Ridgeline??? A unibody ain't a truck. Period. If they fugg up something simple like that, their whole reason for living is in dispute.

Consumer Reports has ragged on the Taco for decades straight. Uncomfortable, unrefined, yada yada yada.

Yuppie urban provincial opinions don't carry much weight with me......

My 2000 Frontier started having issues about 10 years ago. Window switch broke. Been replaced twice now. Headliner peeled from its backing. No more cruise control. Only 180k miles on the pickup, as in 2013 it became a second vehicle with limited use. Next project: replace power steering lines, as currently they're leaking badly.

This won't affect you, as there's a new engine and driveline design, but I also had to replace the cracked exhaust manifold and put in a one piece drive shaft when the bearing went out on the original two piece shaft (the design was changed in production in 2001)

My advice: Toyota.

My understanding is the Frontier gets pretty bad gas mileage for that size truck. Maybe the 2020's have improved.

That gas mileage thing is something common to the Titan, too.

I have a 2015 Titan, and other than how thirsty it is, I love it. It's done all I want, and done it well. Hauls deer, good traction in snow, comfortable for the family (4-door), enough bed space to still be useful...just drinks like a fish.

Since my daily driving isn't much, that's generally not a big deal. It's a '15 and just hit 50k, so I'm not stacking a ton of miles on it.

Mine is ten years old with 60,000 miles, bought new , extended cab, not 4wd . Short trip mileage, around 16.5 mpg. Would make the same purchase . again without considering any others. GW

I got a 2005 Nissan Frontier 2wd 4dr, with the short bed, 4.0L V6. Bought it used in 2009 with 100,000 miles on it. Had to put timing chains on it at 115,000. The 2005 thru about 2007 are bad on timing chains, also those models had bad radiators and I changed it a few years ago. Now it's got 245,000 miles. In the last year I've put on a new fuel pump, crank sensor, new coils and plugs, timing chain again, and 2 cat converters. Other than regular things like a batteries and tires, that's all that's been done.

That may sound like a lot, but its a 15 yr old truck and I've spent about $6000 in parts and labor in that time, excluding the batteries and tires. I wouldn't be afraid to head out anywhere in the vehicle. Gets about 20 mpg on the highway. The V6 is not great at trailer pulling, but it will get you there. I've got a 5 speed automatic and it has an overdrive lockout. When pulling it hard, I just lock it out and drive 55 to 60 at about 2000 - 2200 rpm.

If the price was right, I wouldn't hesitate to get another.

I beat the hell out of a 99 frontier for 170,000 miles. Sold it to my neighbor a year ago. I see him in it every day.

I think poor fuel mileage is pretty universal among all of the "midsize" truck market. Especially when you step into the V6 engines.

I have never seen an I4 Toyota PU get over 25 MPG even in 2WD configuration. The V6 pickup are considerably worse in that regard,

The Japanese are considerably behind American technology in this regard. Many American fullsize 1/2 ton pickups will get as good MPG as the Japanese "midsize" trucks.