Anyone Have a Nissian Frontier?

I am thinking about trying to trade in my Ford Escape for a Nissian Frontier. My Escape still has pretty low miles (50k) and I got a good deal on it so hoping to get a decent trade in value. I absolutly love the Escape, but after coming out of a F150 I miss having a truck too much. I always have my seats folded down and we all know how wakeboards and gas cans smell after a few days insaide your car.

Anyone on here have any Experience with a Frontier? I would be looking for a 4x4 4 door. Not too conserned about towing, not going to be pulling a G or anything, but maybe the occasioinal small wake boat.
Any known problems too look for, or any model years to stay away from?
Basiically just looking for any personal reviews.
Thanks!

I don't know anything about the Frontier specifically. My wife just got a '12 pathfinder and the v6 motor rumbles and shakes at idle. Other than that, it's smooth and seems to have plenty of power. I'm not sure how the dashboards compare on the pathfinder vs. frontier, but the pathfinder has a screen with controls all over the dash so it looks difficult to swap in a standard stereo and still maintain the factory info / settings screen and buttons. The throttle response and shifting are so much better than my '12 Ram 1500. I looked at the Frontiers at the dealer and they looked cool. The one there had sweet bed rails with tons of attachment points for accessories and for tying down cargo.

Originally Posted by saberworks

I don't know anything about the Frontier specifically. My wife just got a '12 pathfinder and the v6 motor rumbles and shakes at idle. Other than that, it's smooth and seems to have plenty of power. I'm not sure how the dashboards compare on the pathfinder vs. frontier, but the pathfinder has a screen with controls all over the dash so it looks difficult to swap in a standard stereo and still maintain the factory info / settings screen and buttons. The throttle response and shifting are so much better than my '12 Ram 1500. I looked at the Frontiers at the dealer and they looked cool. The one there had sweet bed rails with tons of attachment points for accessories and for tying down cargo.

I just bought 13 Pathfinder. Here's the pix

Nice. We got the last '12 the dealer had. My wife really likes the more square older version, but honestly, I think she would have liked the newer one better if she gave it a chance. It drives more like a car (obviously going from body-on-frame to unibody) and probably has better features. This one is pretty lame in some cases, like you can't fold down the 2nd row seat to allow access to the 3rd row w/out moving the front seat way forward. Annoying, who designs crap like that?

Stay away from the 3.5 L and 3.5 supercharged ones they don't have any power. Get into a new body style one with the 4.0 L they are nice and can pull lots of weight for a compact truck. The frontiers do not have the screen like the pathfinders. Make sure it has the utility bed track package super handy. Good luck

I had a Frontier in 02. Not sure if they have changed much, but I wouldn't never attempt to tow a boat with it. Brakes were weak, severely under powered with the standard V6, and a few hundred pounds in the bed would nearly bottom out the suspension. It was good for trips to the snow, and that was about it. It drove more like a sedan than a truck, and a month later I was wishing I spend the extra few K on the Toyota Tacoma.

I had a 2006 frontier. I loved it and had no problems. Only sold it to move up to a heavy-duty diesel to carry a slide-in camper and tow the boat. Towed a 19' i/o with no problems, 6500 lbs tow rating. It did not pull the Sanger V215 as well as I had hoped, but it got the job done until the upgrade. In other words I really liked the truck, but do not know about the newer ones.

Good info, I do like the Tacoma, but they are very hard to come by especially in a 4X4 and I feel even though they are nice they seem pretty overpriced.

Originally Posted by jarrod

I had a Frontier in 02. Not sure if they have changed much, but I wouldn't never attempt to tow a boat with it. Brakes were weak, severely under powered with the standard V6, and a few hundred pounds in the bed would nearly bottom out the suspension. It was good for trips to the snow, and that was about it. It drove more like a sedan than a truck, and a month later I was wishing I spend the extra few K on the Toyota Tacoma.

'02 Frontier vs current Frontier is a world of difference.

I had a 2000 Xterra (same chassis I believe), so I know exactly what you mean.

I sold Nissans for 4 years... The Frontier is a really solid truck (05+, the previous gens were noodles.) Never heard any complaints about them at all. The frame is actually a variant of the Titan's if I remember correctly. VQ V6 is among the more reliable engines ever made.

I had a 2000 V6 auto with the 3.3L. Thing was and still is bulletproof. I gave it to my brother with 260k miles on it and its now @325K it still runs great. I dont know about towing a "wakeboat" though. I towed a 17ft bass boat with no poblems but was only in the 2700lb range. You like your ford? Ford is coming out with a new F100. Replacing the Ranger might want to look into that as an option...You know keep it American!!! I have a 2012 Escape V6 now but I would never dream of towing a wakeboat with it. It came with the tow package but it looks so fragile (LOL) I am affraid to tow anything with it. Love the Escape though. It get the family around in style for not too much $$.

Thanks for the info!
Glad to hear you had good luck with your Frontier.
The new F100 I think would be about Perfect, and I am a ford fan (Loved my F150 and my little brother has it now) but I think a new one would be out of my price range. I thought about putting a 2 inch receiver on the Escape, but I felt it would be pretty worthless even though it has a V6.