[Cruz'n]

Oh, and I continue to be impressed with the on road manners as well as its pot hole/rutted logging road composure.

I took the Frontier up some fairly gnarly roads in the mountain by the campground. Wife and kids weren't tossed around much at all. Wife was not happy to go explore, but commented after a while that she thought it would be 'way worse'. Damning with faint praise? Probably, but I was very happy with how it performed.

I even got to scrape the front skid plate on big pothole headed back down the mountain. Trucky-ness, confirmed.

I do miss the notion of the point and shoot AWD+Torque of the Cruz. I need to feather gas or I burn rubber.

 

[Airmonger]

I have to weigh in. Long time second gen Frontier owner (12 years). NISMO Crew Cab, One of the longest production gut wagons in modern history. I still have it, it still rides like it was designed by the Marquis da Sade. I was sincerely hoping the third gen was improved. Especially in reliability. I thought I would keep mine for rough duty, but i'm losing grip on that train of thought. I'm guilty of enjoying all things automotive and mechanical. With a Nismo, CJ5, MX5, as well as the SC and five M/C's I tend to be pretty felixible. A test drive of the new Frontier wasn't enough to keep me interested. I already had one slug in the barn. The SC is what the Frontier isn't. Fun. Comfortable. Confident. Will I give up anything? Not really, I used a trailer to haul everything with the Frontier. The bed sucks on it too.
Not picking a fight, just my expierence with the Nissan. It now has twenty more miles on it (and a trickle charger) in the last month and a half since taking ownership of the SC.

 

[Cruz'n]

I'm trying to process your post. You kept a vehicle that sucks and wasnt reliable for 12 years?

Anyhoo, good that there is choice in the market. After driving a new Tacoma, Ranger and Colorado I chose the Frontier. I decided that I wanted a traditional transmission and normally aspirated engine and bit more capacity than the Mav or SC could offer.

Would be interesting to see a Telluride or Palisade based truck, unibody like the Ridgeline.

 

[Airmonger]

The Gen 2 Frontier has never been my primary vehicle. I bought it to haul Kayaks and fishing gear. It did a fair job at that task. It was cheaper than the competition. It held up decently the first eight years. I kept the Frontier for the first six years because I thought it would make my daughter a good first vehicle. By the time she was ready to start driving, her mom bought her a Hyundai something or other. By the time it started having small but repetitive issues, the ravages of living on the gulf coast took its toll on value. I tried to trade it in, that was hilarious. I tried to sell it outright but wasn't going to give it away. It Currently has 143K on it, looks OK from twenty feet and hasn't done anything stupid since the second radiator was replaced along with an axle seal and about four batteries. I chalk the last to sitting even though I drive it at least once every 2-3 weeks for extended time. Slipping this month. Paid for new. Not worth anything 8 years later so I continue to thrash it when I haul anything major. I won't be towing anything with the SC as long as the Frontier stays in one piece. Pulling a trailer was the key to the short box. I flat tow my CJ5 with it and I don't know how punishing that would be for the SC. So I gets a reprieve once again. Been a like hate relationship.
Enjoy your Frontier, like I said, hope the Gen 3 is a major improvement. My impression was that it felt like driving through wet cement at low speeds, just like the one I currently have. My first thought was what else is still the same? Maybe a lot. Maybe very little. I guess I was just hoping for someone different.

Best of luck. Be safe.

 

[rrbhokies]

Would be interesting to see a Telluride or Palisade based truck, unibody like the Ridgeline.

If there was one, this is what it might look like

 

[Walking Black Bear]

It really would make a good looking truck. Just have to remove that cab separation line at the bed, because, unibody.

 

[zroger73]

It really would make a good looking truck. Just have to remove that cab separation line at the bed, because, unibody.

The second-generation Ridgeline has a "separation line" between the cab and bed. It was initially criticized as being "fake" to make it look more like a traditional truck, but the real reason it's there is because the rear fenders are separate stampings from the door frames which reduces manufacturing and repair costs. The first-generation Ridgeline had a single side stamping that was challenging to manufacture and expensive to repair. If you dent a rear fender on a 2G Ridgeline, it can easily be unbolted and replaced unlike the Santa Cruz and Maverick.

 

[Walking Black Bear]

Fair enough. I've never mentally processed that the current Ridgelines added that gap. Not like I never see one ... new owners of a house up the street have both body styles in their driveway. Obviously fans of it.

 

[ToadVine]

Fair enough. I've never mentally processed that the current Ridgelines added that gap. Not like I never see one ... new owners of a house up the street have both body styles in their driveway. Obviously fans of it.

Bet they stare longingly as you cruz past their house.

 

[Sparkland]

Well, for whats it worth. I walked away from my Cruz order.

I wound up finding what might be the frst Frontier to hit the streets in Canada.

I might be back to the Cruz someday. The accelleration and unibody awd is really nice.

But for now, this Frontier works for me.

Nice looking Frontier, @Cruz'n. Why are so many manufacturers going for the Subaru Crosstrek look on wheels? I am not drawn to the lower trim wheels on the SC either. Time to move on from that style, please. My SIL might get the new Frontier.

 

[Walking Black Bear]

Bet they stare longingly as you cruz past their house.

I don't know, but yesterday, out in my yard, I heard a couple of guys walking down the street, reading the name off my tailgate and making assorted comments about what is it and how cool it looks.

 

[Cruz'n]

That Telluride truck looks neat. I would have bought one if they existed.

 

[Cruz'n]

Hey there, thought I would chime in with a few things that have popped up from a competitive lens. Overwhelmingly, Frontier owners seem to be happy.

Some are exuberant, others are of course quick to chime in with issues. I have experienced my screen going black for no apparent reason a couple of times. It kind of sorts itself and comes back to life after a minute or two.

Many have reported (me included) weird streaks forming on the front drive and passenger window. It cleans off, but it strange.

Every once in a while I'll get a weird 1st to 2nd shift. Has only happened a couple of times but I will keep my eye on it and for any sort of TSB.

Some people report too much engine vibration, but who knows. One man's vibration is another man's smooth. That came out wrong, but you get it.

It has been an enjoyable experience thus far. It draws a LOT of attention from other mid-sized truck drivers. Where I live you can't swing a cat without hitting a Tacoma. They always stare the longest. Other previous gen Frontier owners give the wave or knowing nod.

Thats about it. I guess one major gripe are the growing pains of aftermarket support. I've just let the masses modify via trial and error add on goodies. IE, cool front bumper bull-bar thingy looked good on paper, a couple people installed it but it messed up the front sensors so they removed the bar and set it back. Stuff like that continues to play out.

A lot people instantly get a lift of some sort, some just to 'level' the truck others go with like a 6" lift. But there is not nearly the aftermarket support the other mid-size body on frame trucks out there. Tons of people swapping wheels, I like the stock ones just fine. Apparently bolt pattern and offset (an a lot of other stuff) carried from the previous gen so there are many wheel options.

The dome lights a joke. So is the resolution of the 360 degree camera.

One annoyance for me is there are no rear HVAC vents. So getting cold or warm air to the rear passengers is through front A pillar mounted vents that need to be cranked up to get air flow back there and it can be loud for the people in front.

I think I mentioned some Frontiers are being shipped with no hitch even though it was purchased to include the hitch. Dealers are giving credit back for that.

Thats it from Frontier land. I have only seen 2 others on the road. And I have also seen 2 Cruz's. Those LED lights looks wicked cool at night!

I have no regrets on choosing the Frontier at this point but again, I do miss that AWD Turbo + DCT goodness.

My next truck will likely be electric in a few years. Peace out for now.

 

[Yardtruck+]

From my experience, I agree with you 100%. Having only ducked in here a few days back, I may well be wrong on this, but I get the sense that the biggest chunk of folks here didn't seek out the forum to complain. Instead, most folks seem to be passionate about the SC, and came here to learn more. The community seems to have formed around the folks waiting for the SC to finally complete design, get released, and become available to purchase. Slowly, a piece of the community are getting their vehicle, and reporting back what they are experiencing. Those, like you, that are having a good experience so far give me hope. However, there seem to be more than a few having a less than desirable outcome.

Yes. The DCT catastrophic failures, electrical problems and assembly issues are a bit much...

 

[Cruz'n]

Que?

 

[CASD]

The Frontier was on my short list along with the Maverick...Tacoma..Santa Cruz.... The MPG on Frontier took it out of the running since I was looking for better MPG then my Chevy Avalanche's 13.7mpg.
Next the Maverick....put an order in June 9th.... Got tired of the weekly let downs of no builds this week BS... Starting looking for a New or slightly new Tacoma crewcab 2WD ...Could not find anything and did some research..bad seating and reliability issues,..Starting looking at the SC again... I got a build date for my "Maverick" but by then I was tired of it and Bought a Santa Cruz... Happy camper here......No regrets and My Maverick will be here Nov 18th...I'll let the dealer mark it up and sale it ...

 

[Cruz'n]

Agreed, the Tacoma was both overpriced and underperforming at the same time. I drove it around the block and couldn't wait to get it back to the dealership. No thanks.