Samsquanch
Well-Known Member
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I had a chance to drive the 2022 Frontier 4x4 in SV trim yesterday. I have a ‘21 XLT FX4 and wanted to see how they compare. Here is a few thoughts on how they stack up.
Interior- Frontier has a nicer interior in some ways. The Ranger seats are slightly more comfortable to me but the layout of the frontier is better and the dash and interior trim is nicer. The SV trim level isn’t anything special though, if I were looking at one of these I would want the top trim. Frontier was generally comfortable except one area which was the back seat. The ranger back seat is way more comfortable because the frontier backrest is like literally vertical. The ranger has more room in the back as well. Not so important to me but if you ever haul adults in the back they would be happier in the Ranger. Regretfully I ran out of time and forgot to check the under seat storage of the Frontier but I’m sure it’s better than the tiny little boxes we get. Look to see how Ford improves this on the next gen.
Exterior- I like the size of the ranger better in a lot of ways. It’s just slightly bigger here and there including the bed. The frontier bed is a couple inches shorter. It’s not dramatic but a bigger bed is kind of nice on a mid-size. The Frontier bed at the mid trim level was probably more useful as it included a rail system and 110v outlet already but the ranger bed as mentioned is bigger in each direction. The fit and finish of both trucks is similar and I won’t comment on styling as it is completely subjective. The build quality of the Frontier was more impressive than I thought it would be. The panel gaps and stuff on the frontier seemed a little more consistent but both trucks were similar in that aspect.
Steering- The steering feel of the Frontier is better. It’s old school hydraulic steering and it feels great. It makes the electronic steering in the ranger feel vague in comparison. The steering in the ranger probably isn’t bad for electronic steering, I just prefer the old school rack and pinion feel which is much stiffer and feels directly connected to the road.
Power- The Ranger is faster and has more torque but the Frontier is a lot smoother. The ranger and 10spd have way more vibration and always feel clunky to me especially when I’m speeding up and having to let of the gas a bunch. On the bright side the ranger always pulls hard without much effort. It takes some coaxing to spin up the 3.8 on the frontier but it’s better than the old 4.0. Nissan feels like a last gen powertrain but not anemic like a Tacoma. This might not be a bad thing depending on who you ask. I wish my truck was that smooth but you can’t deny the ecoboost.
MPG- I did some reading and it looks like our rangers are probably going to maintain better gas mileage especially when driven hard. The frontier gets like 18-22 so not a world apart but I have driven my ranger plenty at this point and am always very satisfied with my MPG.
Conclusion? The trucks are more evenly matched than I thought. All things considered I would not sell my ranger for an SV Frontier. There’s just not that much stuff that’s better and there are definitely things that are worse. I might be enticed away for a Pro4x frontier with the nicer interior, suspension, rear axel, locker, etc. but the main draw of the last gen Nissan was they could be had dirt cheap. That is no longer then case in this economy and Nissan is asking an awful lot for the Frontier in my opinion. When the new Ranger and Colorado come out the Frontier will feel a generation behind once more. It’s a great update that should have happened 5 years ago.
Interior- Frontier has a nicer interior in some ways. The Ranger seats are slightly more comfortable to me but the layout of the frontier is better and the dash and interior trim is nicer. The SV trim level isn’t anything special though, if I were looking at one of these I would want the top trim. Frontier was generally comfortable except one area which was the back seat. The ranger back seat is way more comfortable because the frontier backrest is like literally vertical. The ranger has more room in the back as well. Not so important to me but if you ever haul adults in the back they would be happier in the Ranger. Regretfully I ran out of time and forgot to check the under seat storage of the Frontier but I’m sure it’s better than the tiny little boxes we get. Look to see how Ford improves this on the next gen.
Exterior- I like the size of the ranger better in a lot of ways. It’s just slightly bigger here and there including the bed. The frontier bed is a couple inches shorter. It’s not dramatic but a bigger bed is kind of nice on a mid-size. The Frontier bed at the mid trim level was probably more useful as it included a rail system and 110v outlet already but the ranger bed as mentioned is bigger in each direction. The fit and finish of both trucks is similar and I won’t comment on styling as it is completely subjective. The build quality of the Frontier was more impressive than I thought it would be. The panel gaps and stuff on the frontier seemed a little more consistent but both trucks were similar in that aspect.
Steering- The steering feel of the Frontier is better. It’s old school hydraulic steering and it feels great. It makes the electronic steering in the ranger feel vague in comparison. The steering in the ranger probably isn’t bad for electronic steering, I just prefer the old school rack and pinion feel which is much stiffer and feels directly connected to the road.
Power- The Ranger is faster and has more torque but the Frontier is a lot smoother. The ranger and 10spd have way more vibration and always feel clunky to me especially when I’m speeding up and having to let of the gas a bunch. On the bright side the ranger always pulls hard without much effort. It takes some coaxing to spin up the 3.8 on the frontier but it’s better than the old 4.0. Nissan feels like a last gen powertrain but not anemic like a Tacoma. This might not be a bad thing depending on who you ask. I wish my truck was that smooth but you can’t deny the ecoboost.
MPG- I did some reading and it looks like our rangers are probably going to maintain better gas mileage especially when driven hard. The frontier gets like 18-22 so not a world apart but I have driven my ranger plenty at this point and am always very satisfied with my MPG.
Conclusion? The trucks are more evenly matched than I thought. All things considered I would not sell my ranger for an SV Frontier. There’s just not that much stuff that’s better and there are definitely things that are worse. I might be enticed away for a Pro4x frontier with the nicer interior, suspension, rear axel, locker, etc. but the main draw of the last gen Nissan was they could be had dirt cheap. That is no longer then case in this economy and Nissan is asking an awful lot for the Frontier in my opinion. When the new Ranger and Colorado come out the Frontier will feel a generation behind once more. It’s a great update that should have happened 5 years ago.
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