Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Nissan Frontier base model

Still speculating on vehicles.

I've been a sworn Toyota fan, but Nissan still makes a plain-jane 2dr extended cab pickup with an inline four/manual transmission for about $20,000 out the door. Looks like it has manual door locks and wind-down windows and everything I figure inline fours are inherently bulletproof and leave room under the hood so you can actually get to everything.

Around here I'd have to drive a long way to where I needed 4WD. Amenities? I'm the guy with no AC who sleeps on the floor. Towing capacity 3,500lbs - more than enough for me. Ya I know an inline four would be dog-slow pulling most anything but I grew up driving 40hp VW Microbuses so its all relative.

#1 criteria for me is reliablilty, I'd be needing maybe 250,000 miles at least out of whatever vehicle I'd buy.

The auto version starts $5,000 more expensive on account of it defaults to more bells and whistles at which point I'd prob'ly go Toyota.

Only downside to manual transmission is whether my knees hold up another 15yrs, OK so far.

Any thoughts appreciated.

The Nissan isn’t as sexy as a Tacoma but I think it’s a good value for what it is. I’ve been thinking about one myself. I’ve got a ‘94 Nissan that is still going, no major repair yet, just under 200,000 miles.

Had one as you described, pretty much bullet proof. Who knows what your experience will be? Beat the hell out of it, but it is still going strong after a buddy needed a vehicle.

Switch tailgates to this and you'll be golden.

Nissan isn't the quality company it was 25 years ago. Their vehicles aren't what they once were. They merged with Renault and things went down hill from there. Buy a Toyota and you will be happier in the long run.

I had a Nissan Frontier for 7 years and it was a great truck. I pulled a 21 foot boat (all flat land and 4 wheel drive for the ramps) and had no problems pulling or stopping it. It did have the larger engine. Gas milage was a little better than a full size truck, but not by much. I'm 6'4" and the size of the truck was perfect. I could drive it 12 hours on the road and get out and not be tired. Only money spent on it in 7 years was for service, tires and windshield wipers. Loved it.
The only issue I had with the Frontier was when filling the gas tank. When it reached full and would automatically shut the pump down, sometimes it would blow about a pint of gas out the fill pipe. Nissan couldn't fix the problem and I eventually sold the truck because you had to fill it so slowly to prevent the blow back.

The old 2.4 liter 4 banger was bulletproof, I abused one for 14 years and I really mean I abused it. They came out with the 2.5 liter engine about the time I went 6 cylinder/automatic, due to "old paratrooper knees", but I did test drive a 2.5/automatic, and it was sluggish as heck compared to the 5 speed. I went with the 6 and an automatic, as my knees were giving me fits.

Keep that in mind if you're having knee problems.

I'm on my 5th Nissan pickup, I've had good service out of them. If you like to sit upright instead of half-laying down, the Nissan has a better seating position than the Tacoma, especially on a long drive. I've had nothing but good service out of the Nissans, and they will save you about 5K over a similar Toyota. They are a dated design, but that means they've got the bugs worked out by now.

All new design coming for frontiers available 2021 supposedly.

My 2000 Nissan Frontier King Cab is still trucking along at 335,000 miles. 2.4 4-cylinder, 5-speed, doesn't burn oil, still gets 27 mpg on the highway. It's a utilitarian truck and will serve you well as long as you drive it like it was designed to be driven. I like it so well I bought a 2013 Frontier 4-door with a V-6 and automatic transmission last year.

Birdie.

Smart man thinking about your knees in the future. Also will depend on where you live if you can get by with a stick instead of auto. We still have two manual trans vehicles that get used regularly, but realize we are fifteen miles from town. Out the driveway, 2 miles to first stop, turn, 2 miles next stop, next stop almost 10 miles. Easy peasy in a standard.

If we go to the big city for Dr appts, it sure is nice to take the new car with the auto trans. Stop lights and clutches are no longer fun.

We also agreed on the auto in the new vehicle as we have both had surgeries that prevented us from driving a manual transmission.

4 Cyl nowadays, well 2001 Toyota 4 cyl at least, have more power than my '54 Chevy 6 cyl which was much bigger. Depending on what you want to haul, a 4cyl might just work well for you. This was taken on one of the trips moving after retirement. In the mountains of E OR. Truck likely near max weight with reloading stuff and tools, rack, boat, firearms, Geno's fat ass etc. Trailer likely near 800 lbs of camping, hunting, ammo, and household good. Sure I had to downshift to 3rd gear on some of the hills on 395S from WA. That's what transmissions are for, right?



AS for the 4WD deal? well, we went an awful lot of places in the 60's and 70's in 2wd station wagons with scouts. Of course, there were a carload of kids to push if they got stuck. Later, as teens and young adults we went even more places with 2WD vehicles. A Frontier with good tires and suspension, maybe a little lift, would likely get you most places and cost a bit less to maintain. I went with 4WD for hunting and exploring purposes.

Good luck whichever way you go.....................but I lean toward 'yotas. As in 3 of them in the driveway now.

Here is my 1998 Frontier with the 4 cylinder and stick. This one is 4WD. This is a great vehicle. I bought it used in 2011.
I bought one new at the dealer, a 1995. Drove it up here in the mountains in the snow and salt. I put 225,000 miles on it and it began to rust out. I sold it to a local guy for $800.
This hill billy removed the bed, rebuilt the frame and brake lines, put a new bed on it. Last I talked to him he had 355,000 on it and still running strong.

That 4 cylinder Nissan engine is one of the best engines ever built. No you won't win a drag race with it. But, I also had a VW van, air cooled 1600 cc and 60 hp, now that thing was a real dog and couldn't hit 65 unless you had a tail wind.

I carried my entire log cabin up the steep one mile driveway in that Nissan, except for the logs. Tons of rocks and brick for the fireplace, all the 2x10s for the subfloor, plus the plywood, plus the entire roof. Dozens of trips up the steep mountain driveway and the Nissan never let me down. The 4 cylinder has about 142 horsepower. That is more than double the VW van. The little Nissan has plenty of torque.

I

1997 Nissan Pickup (pre-frontier)
2.4L I-4, 5sp manual extended cab 2wd
Got 14 years and 185k miles out of it until a nice lady from E Texas ran into me and totaled it. These Hardbody nissan pickups with I-4 and manual trans are the next best thing to bullet proof. Tow rating was 3500lbs, but I did not do a lot of towing with it. Drove like a dream with its torsion bar front suspension. Loved that truck. Good fuel economy, 22-27MPG.

2013 Nissan Frontier
160k miles
Crew cab (4 door) 4.0L V-6 5sp auto trans 2wd 5' bed
Was in a tight spot. Wanted a manual trans, but all they had was automatics. Came in handy when my wife was recovering from knee surgery. The motor is very powerful and it handles well unloaded. Only big repair bill was the thrice-dmned automatic shifter. A little thingy inside broke, but you had to replace the whole dang thing for $800 parts cost. At 100k, did a little towing and found the leaf springs had weakened a bit. So replaced all shocks/cartridges, front springs, and added "load leveler" or "helper" springs from Hellwig to the rear leafs. Just what the doctor ordered. Does not drive as smoothly as the hardbody, as the front suspension uses a strut instead of a shock+torsion bar setup for the A-arms. I do all the PM at the appropriate intervals and use quality fluids/parts.

When I started taking family into back woods, I invested in better tires. D/E load rating and ply, mud grips on rear axle then AT tires at all four corners. Busted a OEM tire on a gravel road. It was a "LT" but really just a passenger tire.

The 2005-now Frontiers are the best quality vehicle Nissan makes, designed pre-Renault. I have heard a few negative things about them:
1. I-4 can blow head gaskets
2. V-6 timing chain can go out
3. Auto trans not as tough as manual (duh!)

The new "mid size" pickups are nearly the size of the old square body half ton full size pickups. Not sure I would be happy with the little I-4, even with a manual trans. Mid size pickups get MPG similar to full sized half ton pickups, but cost only 2/3 the cost of a full size half ton. If I had the money, I would have bought a full size pickup with a manual transmission, but I like mine well enough and it has given good service. Avoid the GM mid sized trucks and the new Ranger turbo I-4, and the Toyota Taco is never the wrong answer, unless you can not afford it.

Good luck.

We rented one in Namibia. The lady renting it to us called the 4 lazy.

My brother had a Frontier (I'm going to guess a 2007 maybe), he had to replace the springs at some point but I suspect that is because he parked on dirt and not shale or black top. Other than that I don't think he had any mechanical issues.

I know a bunch of guys that drive Frontiers and they love them. If they got good gas millage I might be driving one instead of my full size Chevy crew. Hell I get better gas millage out of my Chevy than my buddy gets out of his Frontier Crew. He'd have a full size pick up but a full size crew won't fit in his garage.

I saw a picture of one (presumeably) in 2016, and disliked it so much I went ahead and traded my 2007 for a new 2016. It looked suspiciously like the Colorado, Tacoma, Mazda, and new Ford Rangers (which all look alike to me, and I don't like them). I'd probably still be driving that old 2007, except I was afraid that when I was ready for a new truck, it would be one of the "ugly" ones and not one of the "good-looking" ones. I'm really happy with the 2016 SV, it has all the gadgets and gewgaws that Birdie doesn't want, but sure are nice to have once you DO have them. Always, and I mean ALWAYS, get the Value Truck Package.

Two Nissan dealers and a Toyota Dealer today.

I just missed the last of the new straight four two-door Nissans, 2019’s all sold out, 2020 they’re dropping that in-line four from the lineup.

All the 2020 two door inline four Toyotas gone too, tho they will return in 2021.

CarMax is bringing in a base model 50,000 mile 2017 Tacoma for me to look at.

While we’re on the topic, how much should I plan on spending on a top? Not gonna leave anything valuable in there, in fact I’ll leave it unlocked so no one has to break in. I just need something so the dogs can ride back there.

New top around a thousand bucks!

Son bought a new Frontier just as you described, spring of 2016. Has around 70,000 miles on it. Zero issues. I think the only thing he's replaced, were the original tires? Found a minty used fiberglass cap that matches perfectly, right after he bought the truck. Think he paid around $700 including a new heavy duty roof rack installed on it? He loves that truck and still likes a 5 speed manual. Self employed carpenter/painter, so the bed is always piled full of tools and materials.

His truck has A/C and that's about it. I've driven it a few times, plenty of zip for him with that little four banger. Not enough for me. I've been driving GM 4x4s since 2006, with the 5.3L V8.

His Frontier reminds me of the '90 S10 I had years ago for a work truck. Four cylinder, five speed.
No A/C, no radio. That little bastard had a lot more go than the Frontier, but it was a rust bucket..

sad story about nissan. its really too bad renault bought them. Nissan used to be a cheeper built toyota with most of the reliablity. the pre frontier pick ups were the most reliable vehicles I have driven when I was driving them in the early 90's. I can't spend money on nissan because renault ruined them.

did some looking around if you can find a 2019 that is left over, which I was able to easily, combine that with incentives you might be able to get a smoking deal. its showing up to $5600 on incentives for 2019's if you combine that with an invoice price, which is about 10% off sticker. holy crap that is insane