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I bought mine new in 2005 and am very happy with it. Because I was an early adopter for a total remake of the Frontier at that time, the truck did go to th dealership for more problems than I expected. However, it is still running strong more than 13 yrs later, and people think it is younger than it is. It is fun to drive, especially for brief stretches when I indulge in “spirited acceleration” (for a truck). Common sense and some concern over frivolous use of petro keep me reined in, but still...
The combo of longbed kingcab 4WD V6 Nismo (now called Pro 4X) with a manual transmission is no longer available in the new models. Nissan just turned away what would have been pretty close to a guaranteed repeat buyer. I do not like what happened to Toyota trucks after the early 90s.
And all pickups across the size range have ballooned up way too big, while the BED (you know, the TRUCK part of pickups) has gotten stunted in length.
Bottom line: Test drive them. IME, Mazda and Nissan vehicles seem to hve dialed in the suspension better than others. As in handling, not “soft ride”. If I want a big cushy sedan, I’ll shop for that, not a truck.
I have a 2010. It’s a great vehicle. If you buy one built between 2005 and 2010. Look up the trans cooler bypass. 30 minutes of your time can save you thousands on a known problem where coolant gets in the transmission and causes it to fail. The bypass is easy.
As for the turning radius, it’s objectively bad and it has to do with the platform being shared with the Titan. I usually reverse into right spots, I find it easier.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Creeping Incrementalism
The radiator-auto trans issue has been fixed since the 2011 model year, I believe it is. If you are mechanically inclined, lots of people can make a fix themselves for cheap. It is about $900 to have a dealer put in a new-design radiator. There were also some other issues such as timing chains that had problems until the later 2000s. Frontiers 2011 and later are flawless, as often happens with the later model years of vehicles from reputable manufactures as the bugs get ironed out.
The mileage of these vehicles is about what you'd get from anything else of this size and vintage. I don't think the turning radius is bad either, and I constantly park in cramped parking lots.
Just bought our 3rd Frontier. (2 '99's and a 2000). Love 'em. They are the perfect size, no crazy computer touch-screens, good simple reliable trucks. All 5-speeds, all King Cabs, one 4x4. The prices are going nuts, so I'm starting to buy any I find that seem like a good deal (almost stole this last one!). Won't be able to get them much longer, I figure. Like someone said above, there are vast caravans of these little guys heading south across the border. I got room. I'll play the market on them. I do the same with BMW e10's and e30's. When I find a car I like, I stock up. Fell in love with them starting with the '96 Hardbody. Put about 300k on it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blind Cleric
Was it an overheat caused by failure of cooling system or something else?
The 4 cyl. Suspect cooling system failure. It was raining so heavy at the time I couldn't find the leak. Been parked in the shop since. It has almost no compression, but still runs! I'll get to it one of these days...
Amen, I have a 93 Nissan pickup, extended cab with automatic transmission that I've put money into to fix body parts and to get it to pass CA smog. 170K miles or so. I intend to keep it until it or I die.
Great vehicle. Perfect size. Starts every time I ask it to. And, way cheaper than a Toyota :-)
I had 2 Toyota 4x4 pickups. One I had for 10 years, the other I had for 14 years, great trucks both I bought new. Wanted to get another one, I went to 3 Toyota dealerships, none would make any good deals. Went to Nissan and drove a Frontier and got that. It had the V6 265 hp. 6 speed and ran great. Trade off was crappy mileage.
I had 2 Toyota 4x4 pickups. One I had for 10 years, the other I had for 14 years, great trucks both I bought new. Wanted to get another one, I went to 3 Toyota dealerships, none would make any good deals. Went to Nissan and drove a Frontier and got that. It had the V6 265 hp. 6 speed and ran great. Trade off was crappy mileage.
Your mpg with the same-displacement V6 would not be any better.
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Frontiers are Great!
Fell in love with them starting with the '96 Hardbody. Put about 300k on it.
I'll get to it one of these days... 
