I spent a week with a new Frontier

[dtech]

Nissan hasn't made vehicle with a soul since the 90's. Surprised it doesn't have a CVT.

Also, that thing is hideous.

talk about hideous, if this "thing" had a soul it's likely in the underworld and driven by Hades - the Murano Crosscabriolet .

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[JimJa]

OP? You didn' t comment about how comfortable the seats/driving position is? And how tall are you? I'm 6'2" and Ford does seats pretty good. The Ranger is comfortable for me although I wish the seats raised in front and/or lowered in the rear. I need upper leg support.

 

[DHH]

I think Nissan wasted a good opportunity to one-up all the other manufacturers.
Instead, they redesigned their truck to be comparable to what is currently out.
In another year (or so) everyone else will have a new truck and Nissan, once again, will be badly outdated.

 

[TomC]

Co-worker went with one because he couldn't find an Ranger XLT like mine. His 3.5 ecoboost did the timing chain thing and a rear main seal at the same time..... then learned about the burnt valve issues the v6 has on the Frontier.... Yikes. I'll take the oil in fuel (mine hadn't shown that yet in an extreme way) and carbon on intake valves (it will because GDI) over burnt valves IMO.

Can you elaborate on the burnt valve issue? are you talking the old 4.0 motors or the new Frontier 3.8? I've been looking at them casually with my son, and my 2005 frontier was mechanically solid thru 189k plus miles.

 

[dmeyer302]

OP? You didn' t comment about how comfortable the seats/driving position is? And how tall are you? I'm 6'2" and Ford does seats pretty good. The Ranger is comfortable for me although I wish the seats raised in front and/or lowered in the rear. I need upper leg support.

6'0" I really didn't notice the seating position one way or the other so it must be comparable to my Ranger. Although when I got back in the Ranger I was pleased to notice how much more plush my leather felt.

I think Nissan wasted a good opportunity to one-up all the other manufacturers.
Instead, they redesigned their truck to be comparable to what is currently out.
In another year (or so) everyone else will have a new truck and Nissan, once again, will be badly outdated.

I would agree with this assessment. Perfectly adequate in every way, outstanding in none.

 

[sandog]

The worst part of (most) all of the Japanese bodies are the front end and grill.
I don't get why the headlights have those cuts coming down off them.
Just when I think Japanese cars couldn't get any uglier I see a new one go by that wins the top prize.

 

[remtv]

Looks like a nice truck, if it had actually been out when I bought my 21 I might have given it a look ( my area had the opposite problem, very few Colorado's/canyons and Tacoma's at MSRP+ADM+Some high DOC fees)

Nissan just doesn't have the money to do a redesign and I agree it will probably be left behind again in 2 or 3 years when at least the new ranger and maybe Tacoma roll out.

The other problem I feel they had a huge bump in price and now is as expensive if not more than their competitors which lost the budget niche they had. Still though I think they were the 2nd best seller in class last quarter bumping the ranger down to number 3, something like a 300+ % increase in sales.

 

[WNCblueridge]

My 09 Frontier still gets more seat time than the newly acquired Ranger does. Had slight buyers remorse after Ranger purchase re vibration issues and interior quality & fitment issues. Need a long term reliable truck so I went to test drive new Frontier for comparison. After test drive I left with new found appreciation of the Ranger. Guess it was the boost

 

[Wytchdctr]

Can you elaborate on the burnt valve issue? are you talking the old 4.0 motors or the new Frontier 3.8? I've been looking at them casually with my son, and my 2005 frontier was mechanically solid thru 189k plus miles.

Ill get him to send me something on where he got that info. When he mentioned it I asked was that the 4.0, but he claimed it was an issue with the 3.8.

My last pickup before I got a ranger was a 95 Nissan - before they gave it a name. Solid little truck especially since I was young and dumb as hell - the only thing that ever broke was the clutch and that was 1001010101% my fault.

 

[dtech]

The other problem I feel they had a huge bump in price and now is as expensive if not more than their competitors which lost the budget niche they had. Still though I think they were the 2nd best seller in class last quarter bumping the ranger down to number 3, something like a 300+ % increase in sales.

Current times excepted Nissan was known for selling at significant discounts on their aging truck designs, once the market returns to normal times they probably will go back to aggressive discounts - not a horrible biz model, putting a high price tag on a mediocre product leaves plenty of room to discount as needed.

 

[RangerMarc]

That's a big goofy looking front end. Like the grille is too squared?

 

[Joeiconic]

I have seen exactly one new Frontier in the wild. Im curious what the sales numbers are.

 

[Jason B]

Ill get him to send me something on where he got that info. When he mentioned it I asked was that the 4.0, but he claimed it was an issue with the 3.8.

My last pickup before I got a ranger was a 95 Nissan - before they gave it a name. Solid little truck especially since I was young and dumb as hell - the only thing that ever broke was the clutch and that was 1001010101% my fault.

When I bought my first and only Nissan, it was still called Datsun. I was in high school in the '80's, it was a '69 PU for $300. You wouldn't believe how many teenagers could fit in the cab and bed of that little truck.

 

[myothercarizahearse]

from what ive seen the old body style frontier was one tough lil truck. better have been, they kept it the same since like 2004. thats plenty of time to work out any bugs.

nope. my bed fell of and that was the last straw. I have never met another frontier owner who liked it in the end because they had constant problems. traded it for my ranger and never looked back besides to say I wish I never bought it. The few years I owned it, the check engine light rarely went off, replaced fuel sending unit 3x, gas tank 1x, rotors rotted out in a couple years, knock sensor was trash, EVERY seal leaked, the transmission was clunky so bad in reverse it was like I tried to do backewards burn out every time I backed up, the heater/AC had 2 settings off/full blast, I won't talk about the oil leaking into the transmission issue they all have to some degree. so no they aren't tough little trucks. the old rangers were tough little trucks did I mention it never saw 100,000 miles?

 

[Apples]

The car magazines, describe all of these new trucks, with their fat ugly grills (note the "S"), bulged fenders and hoods, and huge headlight assemblies, as "masculine". In my opinion, it is what you can't see, that makes something masculine.

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