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Nissan Frontier Crew Cab VS Ford Explorer Sport Trac
The Ford Explorer Sport Trac is due to arrive
early. Debut is now January 2000. It will sport a
206hp 245ft/lbs of torque single-overhead-cam V6.
Have some standard features found to be optional on
some vehicles in this class. Give your opinion,
how do you think it will sell?
early. Debut is now January 2000. It will sport a
206hp 245ft/lbs of torque single-overhead-cam V6.
Have some standard features found to be optional on
some vehicles in this class. Give your opinion,
how do you think it will sell?
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Comments
i can pretty much guarantee an v6 ford cant tow 7000 pounds...
I dont think the sport trak will sell very well cuz its arriving too late to the crew cab/hybrid SUV party
You get wonderful Transmission problems!
Equally impressive and very sluggish ride!
Wind Noise to keep you company on them long drives!
Bearings that don't bear up to regular driving!
Air Conditioning that keeps you Lukewarm!
BUT you'll have PLENTY of time to catch up on your reading and or work in the Service Center Lobby of your Local 5 STAR DODGE!
The New Dodge they are DIFFERENT!
Based on the 1999 tow ratings, the highest tow rating for the Explorer with the V-6 is 5,900 pounds in the 2wd 4 door model. Opt for the V-8 instead and the tow rating increases to 6,740.
new 3.3 L V6 motor and automatic trans. In my test
drive, the truck seemed to get off the line fairly
easily, but ran out of steam shortly. At 65 mph
with the OD on the engine rpm seemed high, at
somewhere around 2,800 rpm, and slightly noisy. I
can live with the slight noise, and the lack of
spunk, but I'm concerned about the high rpms. Is
this an engine that I can easily get 150,000 mostly
highway miles out of, assuming excellent
maintenance ?. I would be towing 1,200 # max., and
very few times. If I understand, this engine has
been around for quite a while, in other Nissanmodels.
Also, who can tell me anything about the camshaft
belt drive ?. I hate rubberbands, but the Tacoma
and Tundra use one, and Toyota buyers seem to be in
love with their vehicles. Dealer tells me service
life is 100,000 miles. Kind of scares me since
premature failure of the belt leads to major engine
damage since it is an interference engine. I find
Nissan's 2000 Frontier brochure ironic in that
they brag about how the 4-cylinder engine uses a
durable timing chain, and conveniently make no
comment about the belt used with the V6.Is this a reliable powertrain ?
american. after you've owned an american car/truck fora long time, they do feel "solid"
anymore. i have owned 3 nissans so far, and i have been nothing but impressed with their reliabilty. my friends seeing this have also bought nissans. so far 9. i also have friend with american cars which rattle and make misc. noises all over the place. this is why in the long run the nissan cc make more sense. if you get new cars often, who cares, get american, good prices nice options. thats my two cents worth.
I currently have a Nissan Pathfinder ('91 XE), it comes with the 3.0 V-6. I think it's the same block as the 3.3's. So far I have 105K with no problems, still running smoothly (except of course for the manifold studs breaking - bad batch of studs from a Korean supplier). Japanese engines are meant to be revved high, they can take it! I've personally seen some old 'Finders with 250K - original engine and tranny, no rebuild/overhaul. Hope this helps.
I just got back from the Washington D.C. auto show (12/26) and saw all of them.
The SUT was impressive looking, but very tiny...nothing brawny about it. I'm sure the engine is good, but too small for my needs. I also found one interior design flaw that could prove to be a headache: the door handle gets in the way of the back seat as it folds down. The floor model already had one handle missing because of it. Not a major problem, but a problem none-the-less.
The Sport Trac was a bit bigger, though, couldn't get into it because it was on one of those darn platforms. The Ford rep told me that the 4WD is not yet a definite. Didn't really believe him. They also didn't have any literature to take home. Compared to it's nearest sibling - the Explorer....it has an open bed - making it a pick-up. The rep said I'd probably be better off getting the SuperCrew. But that's too big. All-in-all, not too impressed with the SportTrac showcase. And this is the vehicle I WAS most interested in. Come on Ford.....get with it! It needs more options.
Lastly, I looked at the Dakota Quad-cab. In short, I like it. It has good leg room and practical spacing. It also has good engine options....definite brawn here. The payload is the largest in its class. This is actually a turn-off for me. I like the abbreviated beds in the Sport-trac and the SUT. The 4WD system appears more reliable and sturdy as it's mounted on the floor - no push-button electronics. Electronically controlled 4WD systems bother me. I've seen and heard too many problems with them....though, this may be an outdated opinion. I read the prior reviews in this forum about the questionable tranny reliability. This may be true. I can't verify it. But if it's well maintained and not abused, it should be fine.
I was hoping to see if Toyota came out with a four-door competitor. Haven't seen or heard of one.
Chevy supposedly has a four-door Silverado. Not sure about this one. Didn't see one at the show either. I've read so many articles at this point they're all starting to blur.
Speaking of which. I think I'm blurred out. Thanks for the indulgence.
I also figured that if I was going to "settle" for a 6 cyl, I'd opt for the SUT - due to it's added features. You convinced me, however, to give the Frontier another look - especially when considering the overall price.
more power and better mileage as the engine
begins to loosen up. Mine has every option except
that tacky roof rack and the limited slip diff,
which would've been a good thing. I don't think of
it as a compact crew cab truck, so much as a mid-sized SUV with
wet storage. Park one next to a Cherokee or an Explorer and you'll see what I mean. This suits my needs. It's also
a serious off roader. Shortish wheel base, good ground clearance. On road, I forget I'm in
a truck. It corners very well and is a great
mountain pass car. It eats up Tacomas and even Suburbans in this realm, not so much
because of power (which is good) , but cornering and balance. Mine
has the five speed manual. The automatic is a power sapping
dud. To dominate, the only thing my Nissan Crew
needs is another 30 horsepower and I'm waiting
on the aftermarket crowd to come up with right
computer chip. ARE YOU LISTENING OUT THERE?
MY GOLD CARD IS READY!
The Sport Trac is based on an Explorer which is
a station wagon with high chair visibility and a big butt. In stock form it's offroad abilities are a little better than a Subaru Forrester.
The Dakota 4 door
came together in 24 months, presumably after they
found out what Nissan was up to. That's a very
short development time and Dodge is known for getting things
right after about two or three go arounds ( ask
early Ram owners about that one). The 4 dr Dakota
is only a few inches shorter than a Suburban!
How those guys get away with calling it a compact
truck is a question to raise with writers
at car magazines. Besides, I hate that priggish pilgrim throwback in
the Dodge commercials. I bet he drives a Neon.
I suppose if you want to bring
your horse float or haul cinder blocks, the Dakota
makes a decent welter weight tow vehicle. If you want to be able to climb and turn around in the real boonies, buy something that is smaller than a '67 Impala.
Nissan Crews have been running around Central
America, Australia and other developing places for at least 15 years. Down there, real adults use them for real work -- none of this market positioning showing gnarly youths and kayaks.
Anyone who has owned a Nissan knows they will
last for a very long time. Wouldn't it be nice
if Nissan came up with a 4 liter V-8? The N-Crew
could also use a factory equipped snorkel for crossing deep streams. Of course if they did that,
Ford would come up with a bigger composite one in several designer colors. They would also claim
that they did it first.
The bed extender really adds to the utility of
this rig -- 6 ft space. This is a fraction of an
inch more than will be available in the Sport
Trac -- which has an "innovative" bed extender,
which is nearly identical to the N-Crews.
If utility matters more than pose value in your
SUV equation, think Nissan Crew.
My Nissan dealer says the company is coming up with a Sport-Trac styled vehicle in 2000, while keeping
the N-Crew for those of us who don't like so
much plastic.
Regards, Mike
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/nissanfrontierclubhouse?as
>Don't trust the forigen cars or trucks there just
>pieces of [non-permissible content removed] I and mean that!
If it weren't for competiton from these foreign s**t cars/trucks, I DOUBT American car quality would be at levels they are today.
>GO WITH AMERICAN TRUCKS!!!!!
No, go with whatever suit your needs. Don't be bought into the "I'm an American so I must buy American." If I were laid off because my company builds an inferior product (not saying that Ford is BTW), then I have no one to blame but me and company, not the consumers.
Don't get me wrong, I respect Ford (esp.) for the improvements and ingeunity that they have put into their products these couple of years. But as asdf11 pointed out, these Nissan crew cabs have been in use for quite awhile around the world, if they weren't any good, people wouldn't be using them for so long (and there are other car companies available to them).
Interesting to note, on a recent trip to the Malaysian Islands, the only SUV's I've seen there were 4Runners, Discos, Jeeps, and some Pathfinders/Terranos. Of course, there's always those Suburbans used by the American embassies. Keep in mind that their infrastructure makes the worst pot-holed filled road in the US look like freshly paved ones. (Tire industry must be pretty profitable there!)
DTKWOK
A 4 foot bed will be more than adequate for the trips to Home Depot and for you to help a friend move some furniture. As far as moving all of your household goods, a few years back, I lived pretty spartan, but it still took me 3 1/2 trips with my fullsize longbed truck to move all of the stuff from a one bedroom condo. The next time, I spent about $50 on a U-haul (rental, gas and mileage) and moved it all in one trip, saving several hours in travel time and loading.
A 4 foot bed will also be plenty big and convenient for the standard camping trip or picnic. There is plenty of room for the muddy gear, barbecue grills and fish coolers that you don't want inside the vehicle. A good percentage of full and midsize truck owners rarely use all of the cargo space in their beds, and usually use much less than 4 feet.
And prices are going to be around the 20-24K range at first. When the hoopla dies down prices will drop.
Nissan has the weakest V6 in its class!LOL.
Anyway, there have been some news that a supercharger will be out for the frontiers (not sure on the specs) and a new 3.5L V6 for the pathfinders (rumor @ 240 hp/265 lb-ft.), this year as 2001 models. Should be interesting....
Regards,
DTKWOK
Yeah, I've seen some of the problems with the Frontier on this board (i.e. A/C system). I assume you were referring to something more serious (head gasket, engines need replacing, bad tranny)? Could you please point me to them? Thanks.
By the way why did you sell your Ranger with 96K? Liked new styling? I assume you sold it because you mentioned having a '98 model with 20K miles on it (Ranger board).
I now own a 1998 4x4 Ranger XLT 4.0 5spd 3.37 limited slip rearend, offroad pkg, tow pkg, CD, air, tilt, 60watt stero, alarm, ABS, K/N aircharger kit, chipped, nerf bars, rock guard, linex bedliner in a light blue. This truck hands down is nicer looking than ANY Frontier on the road, and will outpower any Frontier also.
Nissan has the weakest V6 in its class, like it or not.
Why do I get the feeling that just because "my" truck doesn't put out as much power/torque as "yours", that "my" truck is somehow inferior. If specs are all I wanted in a pickup, then I would have purchased a Chevy S-10 (4.3L) and blow away both the Ranger and the Frontier. But of course, not all consumers have the same priorities. My father currently has a '86 Toy pickup with the 22R engine (known for outstanding reliable) with 170K+ miles on it and still going strong (original tranny, engine, not rebuilt). Is it a high output engine? heck no! Does it get the job done, yes! BTW he uses it as a work truck for his little construction company, unlike many who just purchase these things as commuter vehicles.
I agree with Brutus that we should compare actual usage when determining maintenance cost. Mileage in itself can be very deceiving.
When talking about problems with any make of cars, one should separate those which are annoying (e.g. falling apatrt trim, paint chipping) and those which leave you stranded (blowing headgasket, tranny self-destructing). Which by the way has never ever happened to my family cars (knock on wood), ranging from a '83 Civic to '86 Toy pickup to a '91 Finder. Anyway my $0.02.
The only reason I sold my previous truck (92 F-250HD 4x4) was because I needed a bigger truck since I also bought a 4,000 pound Bigfoot slide-in truck camper. My current truck is a 99 F-350 Superduty dually 4x4 V-10 with 4.30 axle ratio. I owned the 92 for 86,000 miles. I suspect I'll drive this one for 150,000+ (I've just passed through 26,000 miles). The reason for getting my next truck will be "want" not "need". New technology in engines, suspension and design is always enticing.
Okay here are some questions for you. Few people could argue against the statement that at one time imports were better than domestic made products. (1) Have domestics become better than imports? (2) If so, when did that begin - year(s)? By which company? Which models? (3) How could you tell?
I've been asking the same questions myself. Considering the last car we bought is 8.5 years old, we don't quite know the answer to the first question, only from what we gathered from other people's recent experiences.
Yes performance is a factor, however not everyone has the same needs. Like I said before, I have a 91' Pathfinder. On a business trip to Las Vegas, a family in a previous generation Jeep GC V8 just zoomed by us going up a 6% grade (about 85 mph, while we were going 75 mph). But you know what? A couple of miles past the Nevada/California border, we saw them stuck on the side of the road with steam pouring out of the engine compartment. Sure they had more power and blew my truck away on the highway, but at least I made it to my destination without a tow truck!
Now, am I inferring that the same will happen to you? No, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but if you're towing a trailer I hope you do so responsibly, it's not a darn drag race. (Watching a family loaded-station wagon getting whipped by a tow behind u-haul from another car, was not a pleasant experience!).
Well, see you at the job site.
Quality of Ford/Dodge/GM have come leaps and bounds in the last 10 years. Get on the internet and poke around. You will be surprised at what you find out about Honda/Toyota and Nissans. www.carpoint.msn.com is just one site, along with cars.com to name another.
The imports at one time were hands down a better vehicle, better value, better quality, better all around no doubt. Ford/Dodge/GM havn't been sitting on their behinds just letting this go. I actually aplaud having Toyota/Honda/Nissan kick them in the butt!
There is a perceived quality/reliability advantage that is going to take another 10 years to go away that the imports have. Its just a matter of time. The value factor that Toyota/Honda once held is gone, their cars/trucks are more expensive option for option. Nissan/Renault have been able to keep prices at bay at least.
Consumer Reports is run by Consumers Union and is not-for-profit. They don't take advertising in their magazine, and they don't allow car makers to use their reviews in car ads.
Consumer Digest accepts ads and lets car makers use their reviews. I also assume they are for profit.
Also Consumer Reports bases reliablity ratings on thousands of surveys. Don't know how Consumer Digest does theirs, but don't believe it is survey driven.
In short, I think Consumer Reports is a better source of unbiased information.
Hate to tell you. I work for a Japanese company in the High Tech sector. Now, don't get me wrong, I like the company, like my work. But this inferiority complex just perplexes me. Everyday I have to redesign something, fix something on a tool that was made in Japan. The tool either doesn't meet U.S. electrical codes or safety codes, or was just on ergonimically designed right. go figure??
And your blind faith in the "if its built by a Japanese company it must be high quality right" stigma makes me chuckle. Search the net you may be surprised.
haven't got hang of it yet. But as soon as
they got the know-how, they will beat anybody in
quality. For them, building high quality products is almost the only way to survive considering Japan is a tiny island, their industry is export oriented. They don't have much choice like the domestic bully has.
1) Does the Ford Ranger 4.0 at 225 lbs/ft. torque really have that much of an advantage over the 200 lbs./ft torque rating of the Nissan 3.3. I raise this question becuase 90% of the Nissan 3.3 tourque comes in at a very low 1500 rpms. This low end tourque should be more than adequate for towing, offroading, and merging in to traffic. I have heard that the Nissan tends to run out of steam at higher speeds...then again, I'm not buying a truck to race it. Can anyone tell me what the tourque curve is on the Ranger 4.0. Vince.....I'm sure you can answer this one.
2) Both the Ranger 4.0 and Nissan 3.3 are rated to tow 5,000 lbs when mated to the auto tranny....so this is a mute point when comparing the two
3)American Loyalty? Well when I looked on the sticker of the Nissan it stated the truck was bult in America....therefore employing american workers.....and 55% of it's parts were American. There are some american vehichles that can't state that. I'm not sure about Ford. Again....Vince?
By the way.....the only trucks I have test driven have been a brand new '00 Dodge 4x4 with the 4.7 Liter V8 w/ automatic and a used '98 Ranger 4x4 4.0 w/ automatic. I was very impressed with the Dodge in every aspect, however reliabilty ratings and reports of tranny problems and engine problems (same engine in Grand Cherokee last year which has very poor reliability ratings by CR) have scared me away a bit. The used Ford didn't impress me much....it shifted hard, especially between 1 and 2 gear, the engine was noisy, and the power window on the passenger side chattered on the way down. In all fairness it was used and looked liked it had been used hard. then again, that's what trucks are for.
Looking forward to the comments.
Skip
My truck was built in Kansas City.
The 3.3 as high tech as it may be is a weak V6 when comparing to other V6's in its class. The 4.0 gets hammered for its pushrod technology. But hey, it works. And the Ranger will soon have the single overhead cam 206hp 240ft/lbs of torque, what will Nissan do then? Nissan knows the 3.3 is underpowered, this is why they are offerering a supercharger sometime this year.
Also, I would never tow 5K with a compact truck, thats crazy. All I can say is test drive its free!
Skip
Skip
I've finally seen the Sport Trac, and guys, god it's ugly. I was worried after buying my Nissan Crew Cab, that maybe I should have waited to see the Sport Trac. Now I'm glad I went ahead. Got a great deal on the truck, and it fits my lifestyle perfectly. I absolutely love it. Well, that's just my opinion.
Skip
By the way, 400,000 miles on one vehicle is more than enough "quality" for me anyday.