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Review 1 of 177
Price Paid:
$14000.00
from Private sale Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 Frontier Crew cab SE-V6 Summary:
This is a review for an '03 Crew Cab naturally aspirated V6 with the standard bed, 4x2, and 4-speed automatic. So far I have had this truck nearly a year and have put 20,000 miles on it. I purchased it with 59,000 in late June 2007 and it currently has roughly 78,000 miles.
The only other vehicle I was considering was its closest competitor, the 01-04 Tacoma Doublecab Prerunner V6. Typically, I will side with the Toyota over any Nissan due to its reliability, level of skill required for DIY maintenance, styling, overall quality and performance. However, I found the Frontier to overcome the Taco in every aspect except perhaps straight-line performance where the Toyota's 3.4L DOHC V6 edges out the Frontier. The Tacoma's weakest suit, the interior, felt thin, tinny, cheap (surprisingly), looked very bland and bare bones, the seats were flat but supportive, overall the styling seemed to have carried over for 15 years since the debut of the new-for-1989 Toyota pickup. The clock was still hidden behind the ugly 4-spoke steering wheel, which is convenient. But nevertheless, panel gaps were minimal and construction was fairly solid.
Exterior styling is clean and presentable, but a little "curvy" and rather girly compared to the squared off, straight-edge appeal of the Frontier. Nissan refered to the styling as "modern industrial", which is very accurate.
The Toyota's ride is stiff, jolting, jittery, and very unforgiving on rough pavement. Combined with rock-hard seats, it made for a thoroughly unpleasant ride.
Both the DOHC 3.4L and the 3.3L SOHC V6 are very comparable to one another. Both are torquey and sound like they are working hard in the upper rpms...they are both gruff yet beefy sounding. The Toyota does have a slight advantage in straight line performance making 10 more hp, 20 ft lbs more torque, and weighing in at around 300 pounds less. Observed fuel economy is about 1-2 mpg better with the Tacoma with similar combined city-hwy travel.
The overwhelming deciding factor between the two was price. As mentioned, I purchased by Frontier for $14,000 which was about $2,500 undervalue, according to edmunds.com. A comparably equipped Toyota, lacking a couple of unexpected but useful features that my Frontier has such as compass/outside climate display, leather steering wheel, and steering wheel mounted auto controls priced at around $4-5,000 more than the Frontier which was hardly worth it. Resale value and rate of depreciation are very close. While the Toyota costs more, it will still be worth more than the Nissan after 5-years. Yet when the Toyota is just as reliable, but the Nissan offers more options and overall bang for the buck, the Nissan becomes the obvious choice.
Both trucks are very reliable. I have friends with both Taco's and Fronty's and both have had no major issues, if any, with over 175-250,000 miles, though I know they will both go much longer with proper maintenance.
Onto the review of my truck.
For starters, I really like the design. Mine is in solar yellow which stands out but complements the sportiness of the truck. As stated, the design is very modern industrial, but is attractive and beefy looking. The interior is nicely appointed with grey sport cloth, silver interior accents, and a very sporty looking three-pod black-to-grey fade gauge cluster. Fit and finish is standard late 90's, early 00's Nissan-grade which is solid. The seats are soft and supportive. The doors shut with a confident sound, emanating the signature Nissan "cloomp".
Ride is truck-like, stiff but moves over bumps softly. The steering is heavy at low speeds and a little sloppy, but the truck handles around curves in a surprisingly agile manner for a 3800 lb truck with a fully boxed frame.
Currently, I have installed an aftermarket air intake and full exhaust and torque is abundant with power tapering off around 5000 rpms. It is heavy and makes 180 hp stock. It is not going to win very many races on the street. But it moves off the line quickly and can pass adequately on the highway.
The truck is louder with the intake and exhaust, yet it seems to subdue the somewhat unrefined engine sound with a sporty howl from the intake and a grumbly, markedly evil sound from the exhaust.
Fuel economy is observed around 19-20 mpg with a 50/50 city-hwy combination.
So far, I have had the truck for about one year and 20,000 miles. The only problems to date were a leaking low pressure A/C hose and a leaking brake master cylinder. Both were purchased from the dealer ($300 combined) since parts are a little hard to come by which is odd because these are very popular trucks. The engine still runs top notch and the automatic shifts smoothly with no whine or jolts. Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and hope to get many more trouble-free miles out of it. Strengths:
Exterior and interior style, fit and finish quality, aftermarket intake and exhaust emit a very beefy and sporty note, functionality, reliability. Weaknesses:
Fuel ecomony, a little weak on top end power, back seat room is a little tight for 6' adults such as myself, parts are a tad expensive, engine bay a little cramped and hard to work on depending on the task. Similar Products Used:
2003 Tacoma Dcab Prerunner V6
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