Tachoma VS Nissan

Hello All,

Just a quick question. I'm in the market for a new truck and am considering the double cab Tachoma or the double cab Nissan. Anyone have any thoughts on either of these trucks.

Thanks Much!

Clint Your Portion Of Light

Whether you are a brilliant flame or but a tiny spark matters not-for the world needs whatever portion of light is yours to give.

Reply to
Clint S.
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I've driven both of those trucks. Style wise I like the Toyota much more. The interior isn't so dated, and it doesn't have those ugly JC Whitney looking fender flares. Also the nissan has this wierd bar in the front that I have no idea what it's for.

Anyhoo there is a new Toyota coming out that is going to be bigger and have bigger engine and everything. I think you may want to wait for that. If you prefer the smaller truck, this is the last year for them, and the dealerships should want to clear their lots soon. I still see a lot of double cabs in the lots, but the reg cabs are few and far between.

- Jeph

Reply to
Trailswipe

considering

I looked at both (ended up buying a used 4Runner for now). I like both vehicles but the Tacoma DC seems a higher quality vehicle with better styling (what is up with those fake bolts on the fenders of the Frontier? Cheesy!). For the money, though, the two are close because the deals I saw on similarly equipped Frontiers were several thousand lower than the Tacomas.

Reply to
Zen Cohen
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Reply to
HoloBarre©®

Pardon my ISP... rcn don't seem to be able to handle NGs!

CHEESEY??????? Those fake fender flares are partially why I *bought the frontier*!! Or is it just the fake bolts that offend you?? Seriously:

The 2004's: I was going for the taco, because toyota *may* have a slight edge in reliability, but I fell in love w/ the nissan electric blue, those "cheesey" flares (love'em!), and 04 the frontier is one of the few lines that offers the crew cab AND a long bed (74"), and it seems a few more amenities, like cargo lites, locking tailgate, 3 12V cab outlets, cabin filter, etc. AND is cheaper--poss. considerably cheaper than the taco, w/ the 2500 cash back. The sports package w/ the frontier has nice racks and side rails. Don't know much about the taco engine, but the mileage and power on most compact trucks sucks, except for mebbe the Dakota, which has sucky mpg's but good power. The fronty still has a distributor!! But lots of room under the hood. But a nice civilized ride in both, from what I gather. The taco has a locking rear wheel differential, which, iffin yer climbing Mt Everest, might come in handy. The sports package in the fronty offers limited slip differential. Also, in the nissan, you lose the 4 cyl engine pretty quick--can't have it w/ a crew cab OR 4WD. W/ the taco, you can still have a

4 cyl w/ 4WD (but not w/ crew cab), but I hear people bitch about the low power. I believe it, and I'm not a hp guy, either--even the reg V6's leave something to be desired. But then 4WD crew cabs/long beds are heavy. Also, the listed payload for an extended cab taco is really high--1500-1600 lbs, vs 900-1200 for almost all other trucks, including some full-size!! I don't know if these numbers are real, or if it's easy to bump up the 1100 lbs in the fronty.

Styling-wise, there is no comparison, imo, between a crewcab fronty w/ sports package, and a taco. Esp w/ some of the nissan colors. Get the power package (windows,locks, mirrors, remote, cruise, tilt) in the fronty--makes it civilized. Lot of people go for the super-charged V6's, but to me it's more gas, more to break.

there is also a nice support group for fronties, nissanfrontier.net. Quite helpful.. These people are serious about their fronties!

In 05, things are different. I heard Toy is also offering a long bed crew cab. And nissan is putting a bad-assed 4.0L in the frontier, sposedly the hottest engine in its class.

But if you wait around for mid-December, you should get some really good deals on either the taco or fronty 2004s (whatever's left!), and mebbe, if the saleguys are hungry, a good one on 05s. For me, it was the crew/longbed combo, and then styling and price --some bad-assed big tires on the fronty, it seems. P265/70R15 tires, on alum rims; considerable extra on a taco.

You'll get more stares in the fronty--esp w/ the solar yellow, or even the electric blue--very pretty. But either the taco or fronty will do you good. Shop hard for price. My dealer tried to bang me with an

**$1800** extended warrantee. Goodgawd...

One more thing: the nissanusa.com site allows you to locate vehicles matching your specs (or close to) at specific dealers, within your choice of radius. Toy don't do this, AFAIK. This helped me quite a bit. Without this info, dealers hook you down there w/o telling you that nothing is on the lot, and then pound the crap out of you. W/ the nissan locator, you know more than some of the salesmen know about their inventory! Once you know where "your" car is, the deal goes smoother.

Most dealers don't push accessories, because access are from the service/parts dept, and sales and svc don't seem to be in sync. But I recommend not taking any access other than the bedliner (and you may want to have your own "sprayed" on instead--about $400 from what I've read--but proly should be able to get it much cheaper). One reason is that a dealer can screw up a license plate holder, and you may just want to sit w/ yer truck for a while, and decide/shop around, for better tonneau covers, etc.--all those snaps are a PITA. But, sometimes the dealer accessories are in fact cheaper than a lot of aftermarket stuff, and I was offered a lot of accessories below msrp, w/ no charge for installation. Declined anyway--just easier to pick up the truck stock, and get outta there.

Reply to
HoloBarre©®

considering

The 04 Frontier is being phased out for the new model, which has a larger engine and shares some design cues with the Titan. Just a FYI...

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Reply to
Dave Stone

Yes, the fake bolts deeply offended me, not unlike the way a fat woman is offended when someone congratulates her for being pregnant.

Seriously, I actually liked the fender flares but IMO the fake bolts kinda make it look like a toy.

Reply to
Zen Cohen

Spoken like a true truck purist! And *deeply* offended, at that! :) Ahm thinkin of painting my fake bolts chrome! If you've faked it, flaunt it!

Reply to
HoloBarre©®

considering

Wait until the '05s come out to make a decision, if you can. Tacoma due this month, Frontier in December.

Reply to
Tony

I'm just shopping now so there's no URGENTCY at this point in time. I would like to see the Tachoma get a bit better milage but from what I'm reading it looks like this might no come true with the 05 models. I had a 97

4Runner and it got 27 on the freeway and 19 around town but the Tachoma only get's 20 on the freeway. What happened?? The 4Runner had the same 6 cylinder engine as the Tachoma so, what's up with that?

Ciao!

Clint

Your Portion Of Light

Whether you are a brilliant flame or but a tiny spark matters not-for the world needs whatever portion of light is yours to give.

Reply to
Clint S.

Reply to
EARTHLINK

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