Nissan Nismo Frontier pickup? Good, bad, and ugly?

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Oct 14, 1998
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I went pickup shopping today. The Toyota Tundra just didn't do it for me on the test drive. The 4x4 was waaaayyyyyy stiff. It seemed to have a lot of blind spots too which I found odd. The side mirrors were nice for looking back but, they blocked a lot of the view for smaller cars and motorcycles beside me. Turning radius was astoundingly good! You can turn that thing around on a descent two lane road without doing a 3 point turn.

Nissan Titans have too bad a repair history for me to consider them. A family member has one and isn't impressed. So, I looked at an old favorite of mine, the Nissan mini-pickup which isn't really mini any longer.

The Nissan Frontier 4x4 Nismo Kingcab was a nice ride. Those Bilstein shocks seem to really tame the harshness I noticed in the Tundra. Turning radius was close but, it seemed a little bigger then the Tundra. The power train seemed pretty good, actually outstanding since I compared it to the I-Force 5.7L Tundra power plant. Sure it only tows a 6500 pound trailer but, that is a pretty big trailer for most folks. Load capacity seems to be on par with most 1/2 ton pickups at 1200 lbs.

Given a budget of ~$25K, it seems the Nissan Frontier Nismo has the most to offer. Am I missing something? What do you current Nismo owners think of your pickup now that you have owned it a while? Was it a good purchase? Did it live up to the sales brochure hype? What's the good, bad, and ugly here?

Thanks!
 
What about the Tacoma ? All trucks are getting larger The newer model of my F150 is about 600 lbs heavier which eliminates the 6 cyl engine that I have.The compacts are now mostly mid sized . It's crazy !!
 
I had a Nissan Frontier several years ago. I had to get rid of it because my boys got too large to fit in the back. I had it a couple of years and thought it was a pretty good truck for its size. I would personally consider the Dodge Dakota. I liked that truck very much but just wasn't big enough. Previous to the Frontier I owned a F-150. Excellant truck, probably the best truck I ever owned though I have a Dodge 1500 right now and it is giving my memories of the F-150 a good run for its money.

I am very much looking forward to getting rid of the 1500 only because of size and gas consumtion. The boys are both old enough to drive themselves so I don't really need the full back seat anymore and will probably get a Dakota for my next vehicle.

FWIW,
KR
 
mete said:
What about the Tacoma ? All trucks are getting larger The newer model of my F150 is about 600 lbs heavier which eliminates the 6 cyl engine that I have.The compacts are now mostly mid sized . It's crazy !!
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Its stupid. The war for horsepower and tow ratings is so overblown in the half ton market that they're almost making them 3/4 tons.
The tundra may be able to pull 10,000 lbs but if you look over the details you have to get it with a 4.30 rear end......goodbye gas mileage. And their big honking I force V8 thats supposed to pull so hard makes its peak horsepower around 5000 rpms.....It may pull that hill but it will be 40 miles an hour in 2nd or 3rd gear with the motor screaming.
Ford and Chevy claim similar numbers now if not bigger. Half tons just aren't meant for that kind of loading, and the people who are buying them don't know the difference between their standard equipment half ton, and the heavy suspension, tow package, etc. equipped truck from the advertisement.

My one ton diesel is rated around 3600lbs payload, and 16000lbs towing. They're saying half tons have 3000 lb payloads and 10000lb tow ratings now.....what happened to the 3/4 ton trucks?
 
I comparison shopped the Nissan (& Ford, Chevy and Dodge) before I bought my 2005 Tacoma 4WD w/TRD Offroad package. I was looking at extra cabs, so I don't know how much difference that might make, and I don't know if they've changed since then, but the Tacoma won easily (for me).

I am still completely happy with the Tacoma both on & off road, great ride and handling, plenty of power, and comfortable even for long trips. No problems so far (25K miles). Great truck- was also Truck of the Year.
 
I do not know how many left over 06 Tundra's there are, but I would see if you can find one. I LOVE mine. I have an 06 Tundra, Double Cab, Limited, with the TRD package. It is the best truck I have ever owned!! (I used to be a die hard Ford fan.)
 
I drive a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder SE 4x4 with the OFF ROAD package. I really like :thumbup: I have 20,000 miles on it and no regrets. The Pathfinder and Frontier are build on the same platform.

Buy the Nissan. :D
 
I've only bought Nissan vehicles for the last 20 years----had an 03 supercharged Frontier 4x4---but it had horrible gas mileage---the big full sized trucks get better gas mileage----nothing wrong with it other than the mileage issue----traded it for an 06 Sentra becuase it was costing me $100 a pop to go see my daughter in KS when I had the truck.

Nissan 4x4's good vehicles----horrible gas mileage.
 
Well my truck a 2003 Dodge 1500 4 door gets no better than 13 mpg on the highway. It has the large engine. Not the hemi mind you. Its bigger (displacment) than the hemi with less horsepower and worse gas mileage. And it has the towing gears in the rear end. Other than the gas mileage I like the truck but now the kids are bigger I can't wait to get rid of it. Oh yeah. Around town, if I am really hammering the gas because I am going to fire/rescue calls. I get no better than 9 MPG, usually 8 point something.

WooHOO! I should have stock in the gas companies.

KR
 
Not much will beat a Toyota Landcruiser for reliability and durability, and if you can find one with a diesel it will last forever. My HJ-60 had a 5spd inline 6 diesel and got almost 30mpg. 280,000km and no engine work done on it whatsoever. I am not sure, but I think they only sell the $80,000+ yuppie version now in the USA, which is a shame as the landcruiser work/utility models are superior.

I was contemplating a Tundra but will never buy one until they offer it with a manual transmission. my 2 cents
 
mckrob said:
Not much will beat a Toyota Landcruiser for reliability and durability, and if you can find one with a diesel it will last forever. My HJ-60 had a 5spd inline 6 diesel and got almost 30mpg. 280,000km and no engine work done on it whatsoever. I am not sure, but I think they only sell the $80,000+ yuppie version now in the USA, which is a shame as the landcruiser work/utility models are superior.

I was contemplating a Tundra but will never buy one until they offer it with a manual transmission. my 2 cents
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Bingo. I agree, am looking for an older Tundra, maybe a LC. I won't buy one with an automatic, and those choices are starting to shrink, unfortunately. :grumpy:
 
In general, you're going to find that the Nissans get worse gas mileage than just about any truck out there, except Dodge(which is the worst).

I'd look at the Toyota Tacoma, but make sure to get the V6. :thumbup:
 
You should test drive a Dodge Hemi 1500 4x4 If you want a good ride with lots of accelerating and stopping power.
 
kr1 said:
Well my truck a 2003 Dodge 1500 4 door gets no better than 13 mpg on the highway. It has the large engine. Not the hemi mind you. Its bigger (displacment) than the hemi with less horsepower and worse gas mileage. And it has the towing gears in the rear end. Other than the gas mileage I like the truck but now the kids are bigger I can't wait to get rid of it. Oh yeah. Around town, if I am really hammering the gas because I am going to fire/rescue calls. I get no better than 9 MPG, usually 8 point something.

WooHOO! I should have stock in the gas companies.

KR
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The described truck you have came with a 4.7 and a 5.7 liter engines. So how did you have more displacement than a Hemi when the 5.7 Hemi is the biggest gas V8 dodge makes. Unless you had a SRT-10 V-10 truck your statement is incorrect. I had a 2005 Dodge 1500 crew cab 4x4 5.7Hemi with 3.92 gears (the lowest you can get in a half ton dodge). Mine would average 15 mpg (including hauling ass to fire/rescue calls) and I have gotten 22 mpg doing 70 mph without stops on the expressway. The newer models get even better mileage. If yours was the older body style then it would have had a 5.9 litre 360 CI engine and I would have to agree with you about the horrible fuel mileage in that model truck. Here is a few picks of the one I had.

Picture055.jpg


100_0319.jpg
 
ashtxsniper said:
The described truck you have came with a 4.7 and a 5.7 liter engines. So how did you have more displacement than a Hemi when the 5.7 Hemi is the biggest gas V8 dodge makes. Unless you had a SRT-10 V-10 truck your statement is incorrect. I had a 2005 Dodge 1500 crew cab 4x4 5.7Hemi with 3.92 gears (the lowest you can get in a half ton dodge). Mine would average 15 mpg (including hauling ass to fire/rescue calls) and I have gotten 22 mpg doing 70 mph without stops on the expressway. The newer models get even better mileage. If yours was the older body style then it would have had a 5.9 litre 360 CI engine and I would have to agree with you about the horrible fuel mileage in that model truck. Here is a few picks of the one I had.
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5.9L with 3.92 gears.

Yours was a nice looking truck. What happened?

KR
 
mckrob said:
Not much will beat a Toyota Landcruiser for reliability and durability, and if you can find one with a diesel it will last forever. My HJ-60 had a 5spd inline 6 diesel and got almost 30mpg. 280,000km and no engine work done on it whatsoever. I am not sure, but I think they only sell the $80,000+ yuppie version now in the USA, which is a shame as the landcruiser work/utility models are superior.
Click to expand...


I would love to get an affordable diesel here in the USA. I would also love to find a good Toyota Landcruiser or the Nissan equivalent but, those are not offered in the USA. I have looked at diesel Unimogs and Land Rover Defenders among some other Asian/Pacific Rim Japanese makes but, no joy over here in the USA. :(

I also tried to take European delivery of a Volvo S-40 Diesel for a daily commuter car but, that is not possible either. Gasoline is too cheap and low sulfur diesel is too expensive to make certification of one of the sweet diesels I have seen in Europe possible in the USA. :(
 
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