Some people feel that you’re either a car person or a truck person and in the past, to a certain extent, that was true. Back in the day trucks were one dimensional work horses that were meant for hauling stuff around more so that people and cars were meant for pretty much the opposite. Now days people demand a bit more out of their work horse.
I recently spent a week in the new Nissan Frontier and I have to say that for the most part, I was pleasantly surprised by the level of comfort that I found in the little four door pickup. From the exterior it doesn't look like there would be a whole lot of space inside but in truth I had no problem getting my wife and our two boys to fit comfortably inside, even with their booster seats. I spent an afternoon driving clients around the valley looking at homes and even they commented on the level of civility that the Nissan displayed.
My daily driver is a four door sedan that leans towards the luxury side of the automotive scale so personally I didn't share my client’s enthusiasm for the ride quality we were experiencing. This is to be expected when you are dealing with a suspension that is made to do double duty. I am used to driving down the road and having the suspension absorb all of those nasty little inconsistencies in the road rather than transferring them directly to my rear-end but then again my car doesn't come with a towing capacity so it's all about compromise, right?
As far as fit and finish are concerned this is your typical Nissan. The doors shut with a confident, almost air tight thud, and the creaks and groans are held to a very acceptable minimum, especially considering the true nature of the truck suspension. The seats are comfortable and do a fairly good job of keeping you planted firmly where you belong. The back seats are roomy but don't recline, which proved very discomforting for my little guys in back one night coming back home.
By the time we got to our house they were both bent over to their side at perfect 90 degree angles sound asleep, but clearly not the slightest bit comfortable. When we are in our mini van they simply recline their seats and then saw logs, but in the truck there was no such luck. Then again, our mini van can't haul around a ton of dirt either.
The tester was powered by the proven 4.0 liter V6 that puts out 261 horsepower and a respectable 281 lb-ft of torque, mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission. The base price $22,750 and after adding the SE Value Package for $1,000 and moonroof for $700, side & curtain airbags and destination charges the sticker came to $25,705 which isn’t a bad deal for what you get. It is a pretty solid truck albeit with a couple of quirks.
The main issue I have with the Nissan Frontier is the turning radius. I know what your thinking, what kind of pathetic loser lets something as trivial as turning radius become an issue? Well, spend just one afternoon in a crowded parking lot trying to negotiate even the most elementary of parking situations and you’ll likely become irritated by the Nissan's lack of ability to turn. If it weren’t so incredibly frustrating it would actually be funny! In any situation that offers less space than the Panama Canal you may be forced to do a four point turn. Everyone who rode with me made a comment about it so I am pretty sure it wasn't just me.
I guess at the end of the day people need to understand that they are just going to have to sacrifice in one area or another when it comes to multi purpose vehicles, it's just the nature of the beast. The new Nissan Frontier is an all around great vehicle and I feel it proved that in spades buy not only hauling my family and clients around in a compliant peaceful manner but by also hauling some refrigerators and washers and dryers around with not so much as a peep of protest from the drivetrain or the independent front and multi-link, solid axle rear suspension. 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS are standard on this Frontier.
After my time in the Frontier I can see why so many people have opted for trucks over cars. That being said, I am happy with my cushy luxury car ride so I think I'll be sticking to my guns on this one. Maybe there's something to that whole "your either a car person or a truck person" saying after all.
