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Comments
Also, advance is making a folding tonneau cover, should be out in march and under-cover is also making one, should be out in march as well.
Thanks guys
I agree with you, it is a great truck and this little blip doesn't change my view that it was the right decision over the Taco, at least for me. Everyone will have their little blips as they iron the wrinkles out of a new vehicle.
Just seems no one has bought one yet.trying too get some input.
Hay good luck with you Fronty dude!!!!!!!!
Its just seem like no one has the king cab LE 4WD yet.
Good luck again.
badness,East coast,NJ
I test drove the taco and went 3 miles before I realized the wind noise I heard was because I failed to make sure the door was all the way closed! I drove the salesperson nuts trying to figure out the noise until I saw the red light indicating the door was not closed.
The Frontier's engine is much more quiet than the Tacoma.
It wouldn't keep me from buying a Tacoma if I liked the truck enough otherwise, which I don't.
I also had some noise in a Toyota truck I used to own. That was a loose heat shield; some fastener had vibrated loose after traveling a hundred miles of washboard dirt roads.
However, I thought the complaints about under-hood noise likened the sound to rattling marbles, which is NOT what either of my sounds sounded like.
Another possibility: if you drive a lot of dirt roads, there may be gravel sitting on flat areas such as a battery pan. I wondered what the rattling under my Jeep's hood was till I popped the hood and saw a sh*tload of gravel sitting in various places. After I swept it all away, the rattling went away...till more gravel accumulated.
Jason
On another note, I need to have a tow hitch installed. Should I do that at dealer or is that going to be highway robbery? I saw a post that said $400 or $500 which sounds way high. Any reason to have dealer do it as opposed to somewhere else?
if you go mor ethan 5000 miles between oil changes, i would recommend synthetic...if not, dont waste your money.
The factory-installed system puts the receiver square at a cutout in the middle of the factory bumper, so it's not sticking out from the bottom of the bumper. Better clearance for 4-wheeling, when you are not pulling a trailer.
If you have an aftermarket hitch installed after getting the truck, the cost will be lower but I don't know if they would use the same cut-out style bumper. There is an additional labor charge for having to remove the bumper, which the dealer told me was necessary in a post-factory installation.
Cost will be more than $150 unless it's Class I hitch with no bumper removal required. My Wrangler's cost $150 (Draw-Tight Class I) but I was told that a Class III hitch for my '92 Toyota truck would be at least $250, because the bumper would have to be removed first. I decided to just trailer off a $10 ball on the stout bumper, because it was a light trailer and the bumper is rated to tow 3500 lbs w/350 lb tongue weight. Wiring cost $50. Total of $60...not bad. Just have to be careful not to jacknife it.
So yes, it's cheaper to get the hitch installed at an aftermarket place (sort of like getting better stereo systems for less money aftermarket). I chose the factory hitch receiver anyway because I like the better clearance. The factory system is covered by the vehicle warranty.
The "Selection Guide" catalog, which details all Frontier models and features plus accessories and options, shows the cut-out style factory bumper that I described above. (See items H, I, and J). That's what was on the dealer's Titan that he pointed out to me as being the factory set-up.
But the general Frontier catalog contains a photo of a blue SE KC 2WD with a typical under-bumper hitch. Maybe the cut-out style is only for 4WD models???
I figured it was worth the extra $100 or so to gain better clearance at that end.
Also the back seat seems smaller in Frontier and more upright. I would appreciate anyone's comments.
Combined front and rear legroom is bigger in the Frontier. Put a six-footer in the front, then try to put the same person in the back, and you'll see the Frontier is bigger. If you're only interested in front legroom, the Tacoma is bigger.
Biggest deciding factors for me were:
1. Tacoma's rear drum brakes feel weak to me.
2. Frontier has more power on regular than Tacoma on premium.
3. Drove four 05 Tacomas; all had quality problems. Worst was difficulty going in and out of 4wd, similar to what others have reported on this forum, as well as numerous car magazines. Tacoma owner forums report many problems with the 05. If you prefer Tacoma, wait a year or two to get the bugs out. Frontier, Xterra, and Pathfinder share the Titan's platform, which is in its second year. 04 Titan owners have reported few problems.
4. Tacoma exhaust hangs below the transfer case skid plate, so it will get damaged off-road. Everything on the Frontier is tucked above the frame or skid plates. 04 and earlier Tacomas had the best ground clearance; for 05 the Frontier is best.
I had a deposit on a Ridgeline because I've had excellent experience with my 02 Odyssey, 04 Accord, and 05 Odyssey. After seeing the Ridgeline at the press introduction in San Diego, I concluded it wasn't capable of serious off-roading because the exhaust is the lowest point on the right side of the vehicle from front to rear. I got my deposit back and bought an 05 Frontier NISMO Crew and have taken it off-road in places that are normally only conquered by friends with heavy aftermarket mods. For off-road, the Frontier is the clear winner for me. For other considerations, MotorWeek and USAToday pick Frontier. Motor Trend picks Tacoma because of its many configurations.
Getting back to your original question: turning circles seem close, unless you get the Tacoma Double-Cab long bed, which has a HUGE turning circle. I like Frontier's back seat better, especially folding ease and flexibility compared to Tacoma. If you're not interested in off-roading or towing more than 5000 pounds, wait until March and buy a Ridgeline, which is probably better than both the Tacoma and Frontier in most respects. I'm an off-roader, so the Frontier was the best choice for me. I haven't regretted it.
Picked Frontier over Tacoma because of 05 Tacoma quality problems reported by owners and magazines, especially 4x4 system. Dakota has inadequate ground clearance; Colorado's back seat and power are lacking imo.
Some mags say NISMO street ride is rough, but I like it. Gas mileage is always within 1/2 mpg of trip computer. I get 15-16 around town, 18-19 on highway doing 80. Wish it had a lighted glove box, automatic door locks, and homelink, but otherwise interior is virtually perfect. Back seat folding flexibility is better than any other truck I know of, although Titan has more room of course. Nissan's ads are right on: the most powerful mid-size truck, period. My track tests ran 0-60 in 7.5, which matches most magazine tests. Stability system limits power off the line to keep the rears from spinning, so the actual seat-of-the pants feel is actually stronger from about 15mph on up. Stability system is awesome! Lets you rotate on dirt roads just a little, then automatically straightens you out. I find myself cornering ever faster as I gain confidence in the system. Traction package is a definite bargain at $500; a must-have imo.
Truxedo.com makes a custom, lockable, cover for the bed. Installed mine last week.
Very happy with my purchase. However, if you're not into off-roading or towing over 5000 pounds, I'd wait until March and buy a Ridgeline. JMHO
Gas mileage: do you have manual or auto transmission? 18-19 mpg is lower than the EPA highway rating, but if you were in 5th gear instead of the tall 6th gear, it makes sense.
Traction control: which type of traction control are you talking about, the ABLS that is on all the '05s, or the special package that is optional on the automatic transmission trucks? I managed to (accidentally) peel out a KC 4WD in 1st gear, so my experience is that the stick shift does have a surprisingly strong seat-of-the-pants feel right from a dead stop.
I prefer the NISMO suspension also. Can't stand the 2.5-ton marshmallow feeling that many SUVs have.
Went to the library and saw that Motor Trend's tests listed Frontier's 0-60 mph at 7.6 sec (4WD 6-spd NISMO), a full second faster than their Tacoma's results. Somebody posted earlier that the Tacoma was faster by 0.5 sec, so I wonder where that came from. If the truck in question was an X-Runner, that'd be no surprise, but real-life scenario would compare 4WD to 4WD, TRD to NISMO, manual to manual or auto to auto.
BTW, I read that Dakota's ground clearance in '05 is identical for 2WD and 4WD. Question is, is the 4WD low or the 2WD high? Looks like the former. Strange; it must save production costs, plus people might like it better for highway handling.
With my auto, I get 22 on the highway if I keep it down to 65, but most of my highway miles are at 80+, so my mileage drops to the 18-19 range. Less gas mileage than I would have liked, since my 01 Silverado consistently got 16-17, but I'm still happy with the Frontier.
My seat of the pants in the Tacoma and Dakota was slower than Frontier. All 05 Dakotas only have 7 inches ground clearance according to Dodge, which is why I dropped them from consideration.
The 05 Frontier doesn't have a cutout in the bumper, so the factory receiver goes underneath, doesn't it? This is my dilemma: bumper hitch and 3500 capacity, or lose a little departure angle and 6500 capacity. I'm leaning towards the latter, as I can always remove the hitch for off-roading.
As I mentioned in another post above, Nissan's glossy catalogs show both the below-bumper hitch in one photo and the cutout bumper with hitch higher up in another photo.
If I understand the photo and my dealer correctly, there IS no dilemma. You just have to get the factory hitch with the cutout bumper if you want better ground clearance. Tow capacity/class of hitch receiver is a different question (though it's possible that the Class IV is not useable with a cutout bumper). I'm getting Class III with cutout bumper for $380 from the factory.
If you actually need to tow 6500 lbs, you should get Class IV. But be careful, because not every Frontier model is rated to tow 6500 lbs, not even every V6 model. The NISMO 6-spd rating is 6300 lbs. Maximum tow rating usually goes to a 2WD truck with HD suspension, not 4WD.
The advantage of the cutout is that when the hitch bar and ball are removed from the receiver square, nothing sits lower than the bottom of the bumper. In a standard setup, the square is below the bumper.
Remember to get a hitch bar that has the proper drop for towing your trailer flat. You can run just a $10 ball from a sturdy bumper to tow (the one on my 2WD truck is rated for 3500 lbs towing), but with 4WD truck the trailer and load would be sloping down.
IMO, it's better to pay more for a low-profile hitch receiver than to have to unbolt a standard hitch receiver every time I want to go 4-wheeling. But I tow a trailer twice a week for most of the year.
On a different note, I don't want the traction package and can't get it anyway with the 6-spd manual. The ABLS will be more than enough for everyday driving, and the locker is there for 4-wheeling. I'm not that wild about electronic everything, ABS braking, power doors and windows etc. Speeding around corners is not my thing...too many dead elk and deer here (blind curves) have convinced me of that.