The last Ford Ranger rolled off an assembly line at the end of 2011. The workhorse Ranger, a popular choice for companies and businesses because it was cheap and reliable, joins the Dodge Dakota, Mazda B-Series, Mitsubishi Raider, and Subaru Baja in the big scrapheap in the sky, leaving four compact or midsize trucks on the market. You’ve got the sales heavy-hitter, the Toyota Tacoma. You’ve got the anti-truck, the Honda Ridgeline. You’ve got the junky truck, the Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon twins, and you’ve got the honest truck, the Nissan Frontier (and, peripherally, the nearly identical Suzuki Equator).
I call the Nissan Frontier the honest truck because it’s not trying to be anything but a solid, dependable small truck. The Tacoma wants to be a big truck, and is too large as a result. The Honda Ridgeline is a reluctant truck, more like an SUV without a roof over the cargo area. The Chevy/GMC twins are simply inferior trucks in almost every way. That leaves the Nissan Frontier as the simple, genuine workhorse in the bunch.
Nissan Smells Opportunity in the Small Truck Market
With the Ranger’s death, Nissan smells opportunity. Perhaps you’ve seen the ridiculous new commercial of the Frontier skiing down a mountainside and performing a barrel roll. By advertising an older model like this one, Nissan is hoping to fill the sales vacuum left by the Ford, and is spending money to grab eyeballs and attention.
Since it looks like Nissan will be selling more Frontier in the years to come, Vehix thought it was worth spending some quality time with the Metallic Blue Frontier in the photos. And yes, Metallic Blue is the official name of the color. See what I mean about this being an honest truck?
About Our Test Truck
Our test truck was the Frontier Crew Cab SV with four-wheel drive and those nice looking Dark Hyper Silver 18-inch alloy wheels are courtesy of the SV Sport Appearance Package. This package also includes body-color bumpers, a Dark Hyper Silver grille, fog lights, Bluetooth, a CD changer, stereo controls on the steering wheel, a trip computer, an eight-way adjustable driver’s seat, sport seat cloth, and white-faced gauges. It also includes the “FRONTIER” body graphic, which isn’t what I’d want on my own truck but it didn’t bother me, either. The price came to less than $30,000.
Light-Duty Use Produces Heavy-Duty Fuel Economy
Since we’re exploring an honesty theme, I’ll admit that I did not tax the Frontier’s towing, hauling, or four-wheeling capabilities. As is my custom, I notified friends and family that I had a truck, and asked if they needed anything done that might require such a vehicle. This time, nobody did, which is good because our test Frontier arrived with a pristine bed and without a bed liner.
Since nobody needed truck-type assistance, my family took the Frontier to Costco and filled the bed with big-box supplies. As for four-wheeling, except to engage 4-Hi to scramble to the top of a ridge for photos, I didn’t explore the Frontier’s limits in any way. Instead, we used it to drive around suburbia, which is reflected in our 15.2-mpg average for the week.
That’s not very good, is it? And that’s why the small truck market is shriveling up. Historically, small trucks offered a compelling combination of a low price, basic utility and decent fuel economy, but when you load a Frontier up with a crew cab body, 4WD, a 261-horsepower V6 engine, and a near-$30,000 price tag, the value equation rapidly starts to evaporate. Especially when you’re getting full-size truck fuel economy.
Why We Like the 2012 Nissan Frontier
Still, I like the Nissan Frontier, especially with this SV Appearance Package. In my opinion, the Frontier is the best looking truck in its class, rugged and industrial in appearance, and nicely proportioned. The interior is shared with the Pathfinder and Xterra SUVs, but retains a hose-it-out look and feel. The seats are comfortable up front, but adults will feel crammed into the back. My kids, however, both riding in forward-facing child seats, didn’t seem to mind.
As for how it drives, well, it’s a truck, and despite the fact that it’s smaller than a Tacoma it is also heavier than a Tacoma. The steering takes effort to turn at low speeds and the suspension hobby-horses on L.A.’s sectioned-concrete freeways, but the 4.0-liter V6 feels strong, the transmission shifts flawlessly, the brakes are stout and responsive, and the frame feels about as sturdy as the Golden Gate Bridge.
An Also-Ran, but Success Likely by Default
Truck buyers like to compare specifications, and when stacked up against a Toyota Tacoma on paper, the Frontier doesn’t look particularly impressive. But sometimes choice is driven by factors outside of numbers on a chart, and in this context the Frontier is well positioned to capture market share and generate profits for Nissan. Add the death of the Ford Ranger, combined with the imminent departure of the Chevy/GMC twins from the market, and it doesn’t matter that the Frontier is an aging also-ran compared to the Toyota. It will be successful by default.
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- The Ford Ranger America Can’t Buy
- Review – 2011 Ford F-150 V6 Proves a Pricey but Capable Replacement for Ranger
- First Drive – 5 Facts about the 2012 Nissan Versa that Starts at $10,998
- Review – 2012 Nissan NV2500 Is Huge But Surprisingly Easy to Drive
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Tags: 2012 Frontier, 2012 Nissan, 2012 Nissan Frontier, Frontier, Nissan, Nissan Frontier, pickup, Pickup Truck, Truck
This is not a very well-written article about small trucks.. I spent months comparing the different options in small trucks, and ended up buying a 2011 Toyota Tacoma V6 SR5 TRD with 4W drive, and the frontier really does not compare well at all with this truck. I consistently get 20 MPG highway, has large tow capacity and hauling, and is a great all-around truck. The Tacoma has a built-in bed liner, great back seat, 6-disc CD, MP3 capable sound systemand one of the fastest V6 engines in it’s class ( 0-60 in 7.3 seconds.)
^How much did you pay for your Tacoma sir? Because other than the built in bed liner, My 2012 4.0 liter V6 Frontier has all the same specs as your Yota, and even with the pretty little Sport appearance package I only paid $27k. And honestly, where did you do your research?I can also go 0-60 in 7.1 seconds, have a 6 disc CD changer and mp3 capable system as well as Bluetooth. Just like your Tacoma, my Frontier can do 20 mpg on the highway, and depending on how frisky my driving is on a particular day I can get between 10 and 15 mpg city driving. It’s a really fun drive, and it looks like it compares pretty well to your truck.