Rental Review - 2018 Nissan Frontier Pro 4X

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As an owner of a previous-gen Nissan Truck, what I can say is that after 20 years, it will likely still look and drive exactly the same, all those hard plastic surfaces will still look the same, probably not crack, peel, or get sticky. And the seats will still be comfortable and it should still be reliable - it just might smell a little funky inside. I've been less than impressed by the interior durability in the nicer looking new trucks. When I sold my last Nissan truck, the A/C still worked, the transmission had never been opened and it was nearing 300K miles. The timing chain was wearing into the guides - so work would have been required at some point in the future, but, about 20 years of good service with only a few sensors and relays beyond routine maintenance. A lawn maintenance/handyman guy is still driving it around.
 
Originally Posted by CBR.worm
As an owner of a previous-gen Nissan Truck, what I can say is that after 20 years, it will likely still look and drive exactly the same, all those hard plastic surfaces will still look the same, probably not crack, peel, or get sticky. And the seats will still be comfortable and it should still be reliable - it just might smell a little funky inside. I've been less than impressed by the interior durability in the nicer looking new trucks. When I sold my last Nissan truck, the A/C still worked, the transmission had never been opened and it was nearing 300K miles. The timing chain was wearing into the guides - so work would have been required at some point in the future, but, about 20 years of good service with only a few sensors and relays beyond routine maintenance. A lawn maintenance/handyman guy is still driving it around.



This is basically the result of my dads 01 Supercharged Frontier.
313,000 miles. AC still works. Had to replace one of the AC lines. Original engine and trans. It doesn't drive like new but for the mileage it's pretty good.
 
Well I hope to get that kind of reliability out of mine. The truck is remarkably quiet at idle with no vibration in drivetrain at all. My Mazda was louder and often had a slight vibration at idle you could feel in the seat.

There is an amusingly large discrepancy between the overly critical automotive press reviews and the owner reviews. "This truck is old and outdated." vs "This truck is perfect for my needs and exactly what I was looking for!"
 
Originally Posted by CBR.worm
As an owner of a previous-gen Nissan Truck, what I can say is that after 20 years, it will likely still look and drive exactly the same, all those hard plastic surfaces will still look the same, probably not crack, peel, or get sticky. And the seats will still be comfortable and it should still be reliable - it just might smell a little funky inside. I've been less than impressed by the interior durability in the nicer looking new trucks. When I sold my last Nissan truck, the A/C still worked, the transmission had never been opened and it was nearing 300K miles. The timing chain was wearing into the guides - so work would have been required at some point in the future, but, about 20 years of good service with only a few sensors and relays beyond routine maintenance. A lawn maintenance/handyman guy is still driving it around.


My 300ZX was the only car I ever owned that didn't fall apart. I'm ready to get into another Nissan ASAP.
 
I drove the rental Frontier 512 miles and put 30 gallons of gas in it, that nets 17 MPG. I had to drive it to the airport to pick someone up and if I had more time I would have exchanged it. It's thirsty and there had to be something wrong with the power steering on this one as it had almost no assist and coupled with the 30 turns lock to lock and ridiculous turning circle, I did not enjoy driving this truck. It also downshifts a lot for a vehicle that has a nice sized engine and only 5 gears.
 
These things are admired and worshiped as much as Crown Vics on here......go figure.


I guess because they are cheap.....and anything cheap on here is praised.
 
Originally Posted by CKN
These things are admired and worshiped as much as Crown Vics on here......go figure.


I guess because they are cheap.....and anything cheap on here is praised.




Toyota like blandness without the Toyota tax, what's not to love?
 
Originally Posted by CKN
These things are admired and worshiped as much as Crown Vics on here......go figure.


I guess because they are cheap.....and anything cheap on here is praised.




lol.gif
there is some truth to that.
 
Originally Posted by dishdude
I drove the rental Frontier 512 miles and put 30 gallons of gas in it, that nets 17 MPG. I had to drive it to the airport to pick someone up and if I had more time I would have exchanged it. It's thirsty and there had to be something wrong with the power steering on this one as it had almost no assist and coupled with the 30 turns lock to lock and ridiculous turning circle, I did not enjoy driving this truck. It also downshifts a lot for a vehicle that has a nice sized engine and only 5 gears.


Trucks don't get good gas mileage. I agree it does downshift quite a bit. I find the engine/trans smooth overall.
 
Originally Posted by CKN
These things are admired and worshiped as much as Crown Vics on here......go figure.


I guess because they are cheap.....and anything cheap on here is praised.



I thought the CX5 was the next Panther?
21.gif
Hey at least we are now up to at least two BITOG approved vehicles!
thumbsup2.gif
 
Nissan has been making this truck exactly the same for nearly 2 decades. It stands to reason that it is a very known quantity.
 
Originally Posted by buster
Originally Posted by dishdude
I drove the rental Frontier 512 miles and put 30 gallons of gas in it, that nets 17 MPG. I had to drive it to the airport to pick someone up and if I had more time I would have exchanged it. It's thirsty and there had to be something wrong with the power steering on this one as it had almost no assist and coupled with the 30 turns lock to lock and ridiculous turning circle, I did not enjoy driving this truck. It also downshifts a lot for a vehicle that has a nice sized engine and only 5 gears.


Trucks don't get good gas mileage. I agree it does downshift quite a bit. I find the engine/trans smooth overall.


The engine and trans are pretty smooth, no real complaints there. That fuel economy is pretty sad though, I had a 2005 F-150 with the 4.6 that got 19 mpg. There was a 4 hour all highway trip in that 500 miles too.

There was an issue with the right seat track on the passenger seat, it rocked back and forth upon braking and acceleration no matter how we tried to adjust it.
 
The Frontier is not up to date with the competition for sure but I think that is one of the reasons it still sells so well. The observations about the fuel economy, turning radius, and interior are spot on. There are plenty of people out there that want midsize trucks and that want one with no turbo, no direct injection, etc. Just a proven setup that should provide years of trouble free service.
 
Originally Posted by fisher83
The Frontier is not up to date with the competition for sure but I think that is one of the reasons it still sells so well. The observations about the fuel economy, turning radius, and interior are spot on. There are plenty of people out there that want midsize trucks and that want one with no turbo, no direct injection, etc. Just a proven setup that should provide years of trouble free service.


I'm not sure about the years of trouble free service, even with the outdated technology I wasn't impressed with the quality of the vehicle. Just because it's old doesn't mean it's good, it might just be old junk.
 
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