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Old 02-18-2020, 05:15 AM   #1
Raz
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New Frontier... sort of

After at least 15 years making basically the same truck, Nissan is updating the Frontier. New engine, new transmission, better mileage, and no more crank up windows.

New Frontier
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Old 02-18-2020, 06:09 AM   #2
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There’s a lot to be said for slow, incremental change. They’d sell more if there were a bit more room in the back seat, but that would require more than incremental change. I loved my last Frontier, a ‘98 king cab 4x4, 4 cylinder, manual transmission, transfer case, and hubs. Sold it to make way for kids. Now they’re teens, and they would not be happy in the back seat of the crew cab.

The 9-speed transmission makes me a little nervous.
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Old 02-18-2020, 06:16 AM   #3
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raz, i just traded my 2010 frontier for a new 2019. at a bit over 200k miles it was still running great. i got wind of a "major" remodel coming and thought it best to trade now so i could reuse my topper and could find no fault with the tried and proven version. i did move up to a 4 door version with the long bed. my puppy sure enjoys her bigger space back there. so far (just over a thousand miles) i'm pleased with that decision.

p@
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Old 02-18-2020, 06:48 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
There’s a lot to be said for slow, incremental change. They’d sell more if there were a bit more room in the back seat, but that would require more than incremental change. I loved my last Frontier, a ‘98 king cab 4x4, 4 cylinder, manual transmission, transfer case, and hubs. Sold it to make way for kids. Now they’re teens, and they would not be happy in the back seat of the crew cab.

The 9-speed transmission makes me a little nervous.
At 6' 2" I fit fine in the back.....until someone sits in the front and pushes the seat back. No complaints from the dog.
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Old 02-18-2020, 06:55 AM   #5
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raz, i just traded my 2010 frontier for a new 2019. at a bit over 200k miles it was still running great. i got wind of a "major" remodel coming and thought it best to trade now so i could reuse my topper and could find no fault with the tried and proven version. i did move up to a 4 door version with the long bed. my puppy sure enjoys her bigger space back there. so far (just over a thousand miles) i'm pleased with that decision.

p@
I did the same thing in 2017. At only 15k, I don't think I'll be trading any time soon. I have owned three Frontiers. The only issue I had was a tail gate adjustment. Fixed under warrany in 10 minutes..
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Old 02-18-2020, 08:20 AM   #6
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Did they improve / upgrade the front end ( Styling) ?
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Old 02-18-2020, 08:43 AM   #7
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Clearly that’s a matter of personal taste, because I have always liked the clean, understated styling of the current and first generation Frontiers. Hated the second generation.

The 2020 body is a carry-over; only the mechanicals are new.

There are plenty of online images of what the next generation will likely look like (if it ever comes). It appears taller and follows recent styling of the sedans and crossovers.
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Old 02-18-2020, 08:51 AM   #8
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havent kept up

so what do one of these cost I am behind? Looked at a Ford truck the other day the 80k price tag ran me off real quick!

all I can say is wow!

bob


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Clearly that’s a matter of personal taste, because I have always liked the clean, understated styling of the current and 1st generation Frontiers. Hated the 2nd generation.
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Old 02-18-2020, 10:06 AM   #9
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so what do one of these cost I am behind? Looked at a Ford truck the other day the 80k price tag ran me off real quick!

all I can say is wow!

bob
Years back several of my son’s buddies bought Nissan Frontiers mainly because they wanted to drive a truck and the Frontier was inexpensive.
Looking at the starting MSRP for the 2020 / 2021 Frontiers , Rangers , Colorado , Canyon midsize trucks are no longer the low price alternative

Bob ; there are a lot of nicely equipped / optioned 1/2 ton trucks that fall well short of the $80 K price range
A lot depends on which options are a necessity for you .
One thing that makes the price jump is that many options are not stand alone requiring you to buy large option packages
When I bought my 2019 Ram 1500 , I wanted leather seats , heated / power mirrors , heated seats and heated steering wheel . Those options caused me to purchase a lot of extra options I didn’t want or need

I’ve looked at several 1/2 ton trucks with a window sticker in the $70 K price range . Nice trucks but not what I want or need .
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Old 02-18-2020, 10:30 AM   #10
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so what do one of these cost I am behind? Looked at a Ford truck the other day the 80k price tag ran me off real quick!

all I can say is wow!

bob
Were you looking at an F-150 or a Ranger? The Frontier is a mid-size truck comparable to the Ranger (in size, not capability mind you). $19,290 gets you in the door for a basic 2WD model vs. $24k for the Ranger. Top trim levels are closer in price. Building for my needs (crew cab V6 4x4), the Frontier beats the competition in price, but lags in capability and efficiency. Still, it's plenty to make weekend trips to the hardware store and pull around a smaller FG trailer.

I have the 2020 Frontier on my short list, but won't buy it new. I like the combination of an updated power train with the old aesthetics. All of the bells and whistles in modern trucks are designed to appeal to my demographic, but I hate almost all of them. More stuff to break, more distractions, more weight out of payload. We've rented both a late model Tacoma and Frontier and I preferred the simplicity of the Frontier, although it turns like boat.

I thought I read that the 9-speed was the same as the new one used in the Titan, but now I can only find that it is "similar." The new transmission is why I will wait two or three years to see if problems start cropping up. Same reason I am not sold on the Ranger yet. I bought the previous generation Altima in its first production year--won't make that mistake again. So far I've been free of major problems, but I don't like the specter of a transmission failure and $3,000 repair bill hanging over my head.
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Old 02-18-2020, 10:30 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
There’s a lot to be said for slow, incremental change.
I agree, but I suspect we are in the minority.

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The 9-speed transmission makes me a little nervous.
That has pretty much become the norm these days, time will tell if the greater complexity leads to more problems.

At least it's not a CVT!
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Old 02-18-2020, 10:44 AM   #12
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Setting price aside, I buy what works for me, if I'm going to use my truck for both pleasure and pulling a trailer I want a dual vehicle. Fuel mileage is not a big concern as most new trucks today will get somewhere in the 22-25 mpg range without the trailer. I'm not a Nissan person so the Frontier is out for me, but I do like the Honda Ridgline (owned two, 2008 and a 2017) and the Toyota Tundra, both Japanese and I'm sold on there reliability. When we purchased our Oliver I wanted a truck in the full size variety and the Tundra was my first choice, but for some reason Toyota has not upgraded the Tundra and most of it is old school, so I had to go with one of the other big three. I personally had a hard time making a decision on witch one. I retired from large DFW auto dealer, never owned a Ford, but did consider it, and had owned two Dodge Diesels back in the day. The new Ram really caught my eye and it became between the Ran and the Ford, went with the Ram and I feel I made a good choice. So I would say, buy what you want and works for you, if price is making your decision then do what you need to do, I personally like I said above, price does not make my decision on purchasing a vehicle, but I'm a pretty savvy buyer after working for an auto dealer for 35 years.

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Old 02-18-2020, 10:46 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by k0wtz View Post
so what do one of these cost I am behind? Looked at a Ford truck the other day the 80k price tag ran me off real quick!

all I can say is wow!

bob
You can buy a nice XLT for less than half that number. Only the top of the line versions are that high.
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Old 02-18-2020, 10:50 AM   #14
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According to Scotty Kilmer, Nissan's quality and reliability has dropped since Renault took control of Nissan. Nissan's profitability has dropped as well. If Renault makes "improvements" on the Frontier as they have on Nissan's passenger cars, look elsewhere. It's not a bad idea to wait a year or two before purchasing any new model to see how it does. Purchase and study a copy of Consumer Reports April Auto Issue before you purchase any vehicle.
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Old 02-18-2020, 11:36 AM   #15
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Great Truck

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...i just traded my 2010 frontier for a new 2019. ...and could find no fault with the tried and proven version.
Had a 1990 Nissan truck, inexpensive and solid vehicle. With kids, I switched to family vehicles such as station wagons and mini vans.

Jumped back into trucks with a Nissan 2018 Frontier. Crew cab SV V6 2wd. The same basic truck in production for 15 years is what sold me, that and the inexpensive price

Could not be happier. Great truck, solid. And I am pleasantly surprised with the 2wd limited slip - braking system. Traveled stone, grass and dirt paths to camp sites - no problem. Even through wet dirt path (some mud) no problems. On factory highway tires!?!

Great truck, well designed, tried and true
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Old 02-18-2020, 11:37 AM   #16
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I learned something from a Ford engineer that you all probably already knew. I was complaining about gas mileage improving only incrementally while all the new gizmos and gadgets were thrown on at lightning speed. He threw up his hands and said more time and money is spent on gas mileage, but they’re fighting an ever-increasing public craving for niceties that add unnecessary weight. His example was electric windows. Nobody wants cranks any more, but each automatic window needs its own separate motor, and each motor weighs X lbs., and each added lb. costs Y in gas mileage. Pretty interesting.
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Old 02-18-2020, 12:08 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by Justus C View Post
Were you looking at an F-150 or a Ranger? The Frontier is a mid-size truck comparable to the Ranger (in size, not capability mind you). $19,290 gets you in the door for a basic 2WD model vs. $24k for the Ranger. Top trim levels are closer in price.
In the door, but not into a comparable vehicle.

The base Frontier has a non-turbo 4 cylinder, manual transmission, and a very limited tow rating. The base Ranger has the top-spec 2.3L Ecoboost, 10-speed automatic, and full 7500# tow rating. The equivalent Frontier is really the SV V6 automatic at $26K, which has a few goodies the base Ranger doesn't. Current incentives bring them back to approximate parity. I'm guessing there's more negotiating room with the Frontier. Hmmm...

In the most popular configuration, the Frontier SV V6 4x4 crew cab can probably be had for a little under $30K, which is a pretty good deal compared to the Ranger XLT Super Crew 4x4.

The Frontier offers one thing the Ranger doesn't at any price, and that's the long bed with the crew cab. I suspect that will go away when the new body style is introduced in 2021.
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Old 02-18-2020, 12:59 PM   #18
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When I checked this morning , the price for the new style Nissan Frontier with the most purchased options was $34,500 only slightly less than a Ford Ranger with the most purchased options
Auto manufacturers package their vehicles in such a way that entices people to upgrade . I see far more F150 XLTs and Lariats than the standard base units on the road and in dealers lots
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Old 02-23-2020, 01:29 PM   #19
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Great truck for a hobbit

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Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
There’s a lot to be said for slow, incremental change. They’d sell more if there were a bit more room in the back seat, but that would require more than incremental change. ...make way for kids. Now they’re teens, and they would not be happy in the back seat of the crew cab.
Jon, we're hobbit sized folks, so the 2018 Crew Cab Frontier is a great fit. Our two kids have comfortable lounging on long travel camp trips. And I really appreciate the storage space of the crew cab when I am solo.

I'm back and forth on whether to add a truck bed cap. So far (family of four) we have plenty of container storage in the truck bed.

Anyone see a storage advantage with a cap vs. containers and cargo net?
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Old 02-23-2020, 03:41 PM   #20
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Jon, we're hobbit sized folks, so the 2018 Crew Cab Frontier is a great fit. Our two kids have comfortable lounging on long travel camp trips. And I really appreciate the storage space of the crew cab when I am solo.

I'm back and forth on whether to add a truck bed cap. So far (family of four) we have plenty of container storage in the truck bed.

Anyone see a storage advantage with a cap vs. containers and cargo net?
Yes. For example you can easily keep four bikes out of the weather with a camper top. The top is most useful with taller stuff, that will extend above the bed of the truck. It also provides better security for your items, locked up and out of sight versus vulnerable.

The main negative with a camper top is visibility out the rear sides of the truck as my topper has solid sides (no windows).

Camper tops don’t hold their value. I bought my A.R.E. branded top for $350 lightly used. Brand new same top was selling for $2500....

I tried to survive with just a locking tonneau cover. Had to finally give that up.
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